This is a rendition of the American national anthem, Star Spangled Banner karaoke style. It is in the key of D flat, but can be placed in any key needed. Please allow 2-3 days to format if key change is desired.
History
The history of the instrumental dates back to birth of our great nation. The words of the song originate
from a poem penned in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a then young attorney observing the battle of Fort McHenry. Not too long after, it came to be known as a patriotic American favorite. It finally became
official under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and by resolution from congress in 1931.
Many Americans do not know that there are actually five verses of the original song, but typically only the first verse is performed (original lyrics from Wikipedia):
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
I has become a great tradition for the anthem to be played before the start of most professional sports events, most notably in baseball. The first known occurrence of this was the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and Red Sox. Eventually, the Red Sox won the series, scoring the fewest runs in history. From then on, it was adopted as a tradition for all baseball games.
Greatest Renditions
There have been a great deal of artists who have given their version of the national anthem. From the soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye to Aretha Franklin, there are many that come to mind. But, perhaps the most popular Star Spangled Banner karaoke version is by none other than Whitney Houston:
