Some of us are still scarred by this, too: Roseann Barr “sings” the national anthem.
Whitney Houston '91 is often cited as one of the best renditions of TSSB. There’s actually very little melisma. If you want to say today’s singers copy Whitney’s style but overdo it you might have a case.
By the way, the whole poem where the lyrics come from is a thing of beauty.
As noted above, it’s called “melisma”. My son calls it “yodeling”. I think he’s right.
I call it “urban yodelling” (so as to distinguish it from country yodelling).
Okay, is there anyone here who thinks that melisma makes this, or any, song better?
Done in moderation, it is good if the singer has a good voice. Most examples of this are neither moderate nor well-sung (and by that I mean not just technical virtuosity.)
It should be sung as intended. It’s a national anthem, not an Aguilera cover anthem.
It’s a difficult song to sing and the privilege should be given to people who can sing it. Otherwise it’s just the first episode of American Idol.
Just for laughs, from the wiki page on the US anthem:
This is probably my favorite version that I’ve heard live, laugh if you must: The Cactus Cuties.
I’m not really all that amazed at Christina’s error. Stuff like that happens and shes a pro because she covered it perfectly. OTOH, I’m not a big fan of Christina Aguillera. It seems vocal gymnastics is all she’s good for. Her timbre is generic and uninspiring. Singing is more than just how high and fast you can sing.
I usually cringe at the way the National Anthem is sung. I agree almost 100% with the sentiments expressed by the OP.
Remember what Roseanne Barr did to it? My father, a conservative, non-demonstrative person, whose politics pretty much are 180 degrees opposite of mine, watched Barr sing and said "It would be worth getting arrested to try and run out on the field, grab the mike and say “Let’s do it right”. I told him I’d run interference with the cops and security.
The best two singings of the anthem I can remember were both at baseball games. Toni Tenille sang at a World Series game. Before beginning she told the folks present “Won’t you please join me in singing our National Anthem?” and then just sang it straight, no embellishments. Then, in the sixth game of the Series, in 1985(Go Royals!!!) the Oak Ridge Boys sang the anthem. I’d heard of them but never seen them and when I saw the group(which guy is it has the long beard?) I thought “Oh no!” But they sang it straight, in perfect four-part harmony, and the audience sang with them.
Worst version, after Roseanne, was Willie Nelson at the Democratic National Convention.
Ohh, to go off topic on “I’ve Got a Little List” I thought it was traditional to do that.
Last year I saw this performed in Topeka, Kansas, my home town and also where the rock is located that Fred Phelps and his “church” live under. One of the lines in “List” got a lusty cheer from the audience, when it was sung.
“And those that walk Topeka streets with signs that hate insist/
I’ve got them on my list, they never will be missed!”
“Lump in the throat and a tear in the eye? Even at sporting events? Mostly I just see people shuffling from foot to foot, staring at the ground, waiting for it to be over so the game can start, boredom wafting off their bodies.”
No, not at sporting events, which I don’t attend, but it’s hard to avoid the one sung at the Super Bowl. I didn’t see it on tv, but had to hear it online because I just knew it was going to suck (IMO).
This NPR interviewtalks about its roots in gospel, and how it can be used well. Personally the one example I could think of was The Isley Brothers’ Shout. Starting at about 2:09. But you can probably hear it in your head:
Now waaaaaaaaiiiit a minute
(yeah yeah, yeah yeah!)
You been so good to me
You been so good to me
I feel aaaaaaaaaalll riiiiiiiiight
etc.
When it was written, it was not traditional to do that. Gilbert and Sullivan would not have stood for it.
The one thing that always bothers me is, if you’re singing the national anthem to show respect for your country, why does no one sing the whole song any more? Sing the whole thing, or don’t sing it at all. The message you’re giving is that we want to honor the country, but six minutes would take too long and cut too much into commercial time. A minute and a half is about as much time as the country’s worth. Either that or people think the rest of the lyrics suck. If they do, then change the words to something better or pick a different song!
It’s true that if you only sing the first verse it isn’t a very good anthem - it’s an unanswered question. On the other hand, only people my mom’s age know anything but the first verse. (What blows my mind is that some people don’t even know that much - how do you grow up in a country and not know the national anthem?)
Then you learn it, or have a sheet of paper in front of you, or get a teleprompter.
I beg your pardon, but Gilbert himself would pen different lyrics for songs such as “As some day it may happen” (Better known as ‘I’ve got a little list’.) for each production in other cities. They established the tradition themselves.
From the Wiki article onThe Mikado -