SOP - Star Spangled

1:45 – Anacreon in heaven- the original National Anthem.
3:30 – Bar songs were pop songs from that time.
4:10 – “Finlandia” – Sibelius
5:00 – Turn of the 20^th Century – the timeline for our National Anthem and the Super Bowl
6:10 – Ben Wallace – all about plodding national anthems – Everyone must sing!
10:0 – Difficult melody and lyrics
12:00 – Octave and a 5^th!
12:10 – Bad renditions
13:00 – Pop Singers and artistic changes
14:00 - Woody Guthrie-ifying
14:15 – Marvin Gaye
15:30 – Whitney Houston – in 4/4 and harmonic changes
18:00 – Thorough pop-i-fication of the National Anthem = ad libs and changes
19:00 – Beyonce and YoYo Ma – pre-taped and stunning – even more vocal ornamentation and harmony
22:00 – The history of the performance

Artist: Bob Tozier
School: North Allegheny

Notes:

Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega pop-stars.

Comments

Anthony Hockenberry from: North Allegheny - posted: October 23, 2017
It is funny how this song that is so common and everyone knows has such a funny origin. From, a drinking song to a national anthom, who knows the orgins of many of the songs we listen too!

Amy Muhlenkamp from: North Allegheny - posted: October 26, 2017
I think the Star Spangled Banner is more fun as a drinking song but I definitley like what Whitney Houston did by making it in 4 time

Charles Hart from: North Allegheny - posted: October 30, 2017
I think it's hilarious that our national anthem came from that, I like the original version more honestly

Yosen Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: October 30, 2017
It struck me as a bit odd that the national anthem is such a difficult song to sing; after all, it would seem to make sense for a national anthem to be easily accessible for everyone.

Shane Stewart from: North Allegheny - posted: October 31, 2017
I recently saw some movie starring Sting and Boromir that was about a jazz club. One of the acts playing there was some Polish jazz group that played the National Anthem and completely ruined it, but in a good way. This made me think of the podcast.

June Bracken from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
I like the origin of this song, I only thought of how it started as a poem, but now I hear it as being a drinking song.

Maeve Smith from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
I'm sure the people who came up with the drinking song never imagined that it would become the national anthem of their country; it's funny to think how songs come full circle like that.

Maggie Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Sent to Tozier

Eugenia Lee from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
It's pretty funny how our national anthem came from a drinking song, which at the time were like our current pop songs. I think part of the reason our national anthem is difficult to sing is that it seems more grand, though other countries' national anthems I've heard are easier to sing than ours.

Angela Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
It's interesting how such a common song is extremely difficult to sing well. I enjoyed listening to the new spin that artists gave to the National Anthem.

Marshall Henry from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
Before this podcast, I did not know that our national anthem was a British drinking game. I think it is good now though that the original melody is not thought of as a drinking song, but as the anthem of the US.

sharon dong from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
Some other artists that remix songs into their own creations are Boyce Avenue and Antehm Lights. Anthem Lights combines a lot of songs into one.

Steven Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
I like how most of our patriotic songs are actually British like how the Star-Spangled Banner is actually a British drinking song. Another song that is typically viewed as a patriotic song is "My Country Tis Thee" which is actually the same tune as the "God Save the Queen," British National Anthem.

Mess Tajewski from: North Allegheny - posted: November 6, 2017
I think it's ironic that one of the most popular songs, recognizable by basically everyone, is a song so difficult to sing because of its range. You'd think our national anthem would be a bit more singable by the average person not vocally trained.

Natalie Daninhirsch from: North Allegheny - posted: November 7, 2017
The origin of this song surprised me! We were always taught that it was written by a man post war as he saw a flag on top of a hill... However, nothing surprised me about the demanding vocal ability it takes to sing this song. It is a dynamic piece with an intense range.

Kayla Grasak from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017
I think it is important to appreciate the original and the work as written, but the artistic liberties taken by the artists can be appreciated as well.

Jason Ginocchi from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017
This podcast made me dislike the national anthem becasue it is supposed to be the pride of our country and its not even an original song and other countries national anthems sound so much more awesome than ours.

Trevor Fenk from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
I think its pretty funny that our national anthem was a british drinking game. That kinda makes the song seem worse lol. But I like hereating these small and intersting facts.

Kirthana Kannan from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
I really love that the Star Spangled Banner is such a versatile song and can be changed for different time signatures and still be a well-written song.

Margaret Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
For a song that is supposed to be sung by everyone, why is it not easily singable and why isn't it taught more often? Shouldn't everyone know our national anthem?