# Best rendition of the National Anthem before a sporting event **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605 "2012-02-12T15:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Supdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Supdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Supdog)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/41 "2012-02-16T13:38:19Z")
I’ve got to go with Faith Hill. I knew she could sing, but she blew my mind with this performance. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNM9WNQLb4&feature=autoplay&list=PL3FB2760A48E5EB79&lf=results\_main&playnext=2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNM9WNQLb4&feature=autoplay&list=PL3FB2760A48E5EB79&lf=results_main&playnext=2) ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/42 "2012-02-16T15:42:46Z")
Oh C’mon…gold medal winner… political candidate for office… movie star… [carl lewis national anthem - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLvCM4j2mg) Everything that’s great about this country!!! ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/43 "2012-02-16T16:28:27Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > That’s just silly talk. Especially if you think that changing the tempo makes it a different song entirely. What is the “proper” tempo for the National Anthem, pray tell? I’m not a musician, so I don’t know what beat it uses, but I assume it is what whoever originally wrote it put. But I can certainly hear a difference from the proper tempo. Houston’s is clearly too slow, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/44 "2012-02-16T16:59:36Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > There’s at least one example where the performer clumsily shoehorns it into 4/4 by stretching out one beat per measure. > > I certainly hate it when someone alters the notes or timing. It doesn’t sound artistic at all. It sounds like an inexperienced singer hunting for the right note. Yep. Kelly Clarkson’s rendition, while nice in many ways, f-ed with the meter so much (seemed like she added beats because she couldn’t get her breath otherwise) that it really threw me off the song. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/45 "2012-02-16T17:06:02Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#): > > Oh C’mon..gold medal winner.. political candidate for office.. movie star.. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLvCM4j2mg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLvCM4j2mg) > > Everything that’s great about this country!!! The reaction of the announcers is what really makes it: UH-OH! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/46 "2012-02-16T17:17:16Z")
Marvin’s is my all time favorite. I don’t know how you can watch that and NOT smile. It’s like the crowd slowly realizes throughout the whole thing that they’re witnessing something really special. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/47 "2012-02-16T17:24:48Z")
For a quirky acapella version, I like Uncle Bonsai, who sung it for a Sonics game in the 80s. [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qb5BArWMNQ) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/48 "2012-02-16T18:21:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > As technically impressive as Whitney Houston’s rendition was, she was lip synching. Minus 100 points. She was…really? Well, that sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/49 "2012-02-16T19:02:00Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > She was…really? Well, that sucks. Exactly. I wish I would have known that. If so, I would not have even started this thread! ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/50 "2012-02-16T19:13:30Z")
I am a fan of more “traditional” renditions of the anthem (especially with classical-style instruments backing it). The best one I can think of at a sporting event off the top of my head was Amber Riley at the 2009 World Series (it was billed as “the cast of Glee,” but it’s pretty much a Riley solo); I thought it was Game 1, but apparently it was Game 3. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/51 "2012-02-16T19:16:59Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I’m not a musician, so I don’t know what beat it uses, but I assume it is what whoever originally wrote it put. But I can certainly hear a difference from the proper tempo. Houston’s is clearly too slow, for example. But even that is tricky. The words come from a poem, which were set to a much older drinking tune. I have no idea how standardized To Anacreon in Heaven was, but I kinda doubt there was one official tempo. We barely know who even composed the tune - it was apparently first published in 1778. The versions I can find on line say “pronto” or “con spirito” - which are considerably faster than what is “typically” sung, IME. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/52 "2012-02-16T19:50:43Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Marvin’s is my all time favorite. I don’t know how you can watch that and NOT smile. It’s like the crowd slowly realizes throughout the whole thing that they’re witnessing something really special. I just listened to[Marvin’s version again](http://youtu.be/QRvVzaQ6i8A), and forget about smiling. This makes me want to make sweet lovin’ to my lady. I think that should be the bar at which we judge Star Spangled Banner performances-- which one makes you the horniest. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/53 "2012-02-16T19:55:28Z")
Roseanne. Oh! Best…nevermind, misread OP ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/54 "2012-02-16T20:01:34Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > …I think that should be the bar at which we judge Star Spangled Banner performances-- which one makes you the horniest. In that case… https://www.youtube.com/embed/rsFi0RRLeaQ?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/55 "2012-02-16T20:09:21Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > But even that is tricky. The words come from a poem, which were set to a much older drinking tune. I have no idea how standardized To Anacreon in Heaven was, but I kinda doubt there was one official tempo. We barely know who even composed the tune - it was apparently first published in 1778. The versions I can find on line say “pronto” or “con spirito” - which are considerably faster than what is “typically” sung, IME. The problem with Whitney’s (apart from playing hunt-for-the-right-note) isn’t the tempo, it’s the time signature. The song is in 3/4 and she sang it in 4/4, which means stretching out the first beat of every measure. That causes it to sound draggy even if the tempo really isn’t slow. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/56 "2012-02-16T20:09:35Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > In that case… > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFi0RRLeaQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFi0RRLeaQ) Nice! ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/57 "2012-02-17T22:28:02Z")
Whitney did sing the anthem. It was recorded earlier with the orchestra. And according to an account (some recent other source I can’t remember now but had a good description of the recording mechanics and the actual playing that day) she sang during the play back and those around her were very moved. The earlier recording was played over the sound system. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605/58 "2012-02-17T23:02:24Z")
Sorry everyone, but this is the best one:😛 [Marc Anthony](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfpKGi3SJr0) Love the way he has to unbutton his jacket at the end to get it all out. By the way, you have a great song there for your national anthem! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rendition-of-the-national-anthem-before-a-sporting-event/612605.md?page=2)