Worst National Anthem Performances: 10 Star-Spangled Blunders
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With Major League Baseball's World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Wednesday night, viewers each night will hear at least four renditions of 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' but the quality of the singing isn't guaranteed. America's national anthem has been butchered repeatedly at sporting events by everyone from athletes to amateurs to top recording artists. Hopefully, this series' baseball fans won't be subjected to anything as wretched as these 10 renditions.
Carl Lewis
The US track and field legend did his country proud by winning nine Olympic gold medals, but he should have run far away from being a singer. Lewis' rendition of his national anthem at a 1993 National Basketball Association game is, to put it lightly, painful. After one missed note, he even says, "Uh-oh," then tells the disapproving crowd, "I'll make up for it." He didn't.
Cuba Gooding Sr.
The father of the Oscar-winning actor is also the lead singer of long-running R&B group the Main Ingredient, but thanks to YouTube, he gets more recognition for this aberrant anthem rendition. Singing at a McDonald's-sponsored basketball tournament, Gooding's excruciating high notes are certainly a lowlight.
Caroline Marcil
The Canadian singer was slated to sing both the American and her native anthem at a 2005 hockey game between the two neighboring nations. Not only did she forget the words to 'The Star-Spangled Banner' twice, she left to get a lyrics sheet for a third attempt, then returned -- only to fall on the ice. Hard. All in a matter of one minute, 18 seconds.
R. Kelly
While Marvin Gaye had a hit with his R&B-tinged 'Star-Spangled Banner,' R. Kelly's -- delivered before a 2005 Bernard Hopkins-Jermain Taylor boxing match -- drew plenty of criticism. Maybe it's because he sped it up and brought dancers with him into the ring. The fact that he was still embroiled in the infamous child pornography case couldn't have helped, either.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
One can assume that SRV wanted to emulate his hero, Jimi Hendrix, when he was asked to perform the national anthem on guitar at the Houston Astros' 1985 baseball season opener. Vaughan, at the height of his drug and alcohol abuse, butchered this bottleneck-heavy rendition and confessed to baseball legend Mickey Mantle that he didn't know how to play the song.
Michael Bolton
Boston's Fenway Park can be a hostile place -- just ask Bolton, who sang the national anthem there during the 2003 American League baseball championship series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. At the 0:46 mark, the crooner forgot the words and paused to look at the lyrics, which were written on his hand. He recovered to finish the song, but fans haven't forgotten his blunder.
Kat DeLuna
DeLuna's performance at a 2008 Dallas Cowboys National Football League game exemplifies the worst of the "overwrought vocal flourishes" trend. The 20-year-old singer seemed more focused on emphasizing the words and her movements than actually hitting her notes, and after warbling through "land of the free," the crowd let her have it.
Roseanne Barr
The unarguably worst performance of the American anthem came at a 1990 San Diego Padres baseball game. The comedian and actress deliberately sang off key, then grabbed her crotch and spit in emulation of a baseball player. Then-President George H.W. Bush voiced the sentiments of millions of Americans in calling it "disgraceful."
Lucy Lawless
When the 'Xena: Warrior Princess' star sang the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at a 1997 Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey game, her vocal performance was spot-on. However, her choice of a sexy Uncle Sam outfit wasn't. At the song's climax, Lawless raised her hands in triumph, only to reveal her left nipple. She later called her breakout performance "quite a bit more exposure than I want." The following video is intended for mature audiences, and is NSFW:
'O Canada' Doubleheader
It's not just 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and its one-and-a-half-octave range that has singers tripping over their tonsils. The butchering of other nations' songs can happen just as easily. Witness these two performances of the Canadian national anthem, and you'll see this is an international problem.
Bonus: Enrico Palazzo
No discussion of 'The Star Spangled Banner' and baseball would be complete without this famous clip from the 1988 comedy film 'The Naked Gun.' Leslie Nielsen's buffoon cop, Frank Drebin, manages to find himself on the field pretending to be singer Enrico Palazzo and delivers the anthem in a manner that would seem ridiculous if it weren't for all the other musical massacres we've witnessed.
Carl Lewis
The US track and field legend did his country proud by winning nine Olympic gold medals, but he should have run far away from being a singer. Lewis' rendition of his national anthem at a 1993 National Basketball Association game is, to put it lightly, painful. After one missed note, he even says, "Uh-oh," then tells the disapproving crowd, "I'll make up for it." He didn't.
Cuba Gooding Sr.
The father of the Oscar-winning actor is also the lead singer of long-running R&B group the Main Ingredient, but thanks to YouTube, he gets more recognition for this aberrant anthem rendition. Singing at a McDonald's-sponsored basketball tournament, Gooding's excruciating high notes are certainly a lowlight.
Caroline Marcil
The Canadian singer was slated to sing both the American and her native anthem at a 2005 hockey game between the two neighboring nations. Not only did she forget the words to 'The Star-Spangled Banner' twice, she left to get a lyrics sheet for a third attempt, then returned -- only to fall on the ice. Hard. All in a matter of one minute, 18 seconds.
R. Kelly
While Marvin Gaye had a hit with his R&B-tinged 'Star-Spangled Banner,' R. Kelly's -- delivered before a 2005 Bernard Hopkins-Jermain Taylor boxing match -- drew plenty of criticism. Maybe it's because he sped it up and brought dancers with him into the ring. The fact that he was still embroiled in the infamous child pornography case couldn't have helped, either.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
One can assume that SRV wanted to emulate his hero, Jimi Hendrix, when he was asked to perform the national anthem on guitar at the Houston Astros' 1985 baseball season opener. Vaughan, at the height of his drug and alcohol abuse, butchered this bottleneck-heavy rendition and confessed to baseball legend Mickey Mantle that he didn't know how to play the song.
Michael Bolton
Boston's Fenway Park can be a hostile place -- just ask Bolton, who sang the national anthem there during the 2003 American League baseball championship series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. At the 0:46 mark, the crooner forgot the words and paused to look at the lyrics, which were written on his hand. He recovered to finish the song, but fans haven't forgotten his blunder.
Kat DeLuna
DeLuna's performance at a 2008 Dallas Cowboys National Football League game exemplifies the worst of the "overwrought vocal flourishes" trend. The 20-year-old singer seemed more focused on emphasizing the words and her movements than actually hitting her notes, and after warbling through "land of the free," the crowd let her have it.
Roseanne Barr
The unarguably worst performance of the American anthem came at a 1990 San Diego Padres baseball game. The comedian and actress deliberately sang off key, then grabbed her crotch and spit in emulation of a baseball player. Then-President George H.W. Bush voiced the sentiments of millions of Americans in calling it "disgraceful."
Lucy Lawless
When the 'Xena: Warrior Princess' star sang the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at a 1997 Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey game, her vocal performance was spot-on. However, her choice of a sexy Uncle Sam outfit wasn't. At the song's climax, Lawless raised her hands in triumph, only to reveal her left nipple. She later called her breakout performance "quite a bit more exposure than I want." The following video is intended for mature audiences, and is NSFW:
'O Canada' Doubleheader
It's not just 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and its one-and-a-half-octave range that has singers tripping over their tonsils. The butchering of other nations' songs can happen just as easily. Witness these two performances of the Canadian national anthem, and you'll see this is an international problem.
Bonus: Enrico Palazzo
No discussion of 'The Star Spangled Banner' and baseball would be complete without this famous clip from the 1988 comedy film 'The Naked Gun.' Leslie Nielsen's buffoon cop, Frank Drebin, manages to find himself on the field pretending to be singer Enrico Palazzo and delivers the anthem in a manner that would seem ridiculous if it weren't for all the other musical massacres we've witnessed.
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Reader Comments(1 of 7)
Wolfieat 10-29-2009
So Lucy Lawlesss gets cricitism for some nudity?
That means she's the best singing out of this list? ;)
elizabethat 10-29-2009
she did a beautiful performance.. completely out of place in this list.. the rest were HORRIBLE! Just because she had a costume malfunction shouldn't qualify for worst of all time... t
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Skitzoat 10-29-2009
Alright... most of these were bloody mess-ups for lack of a more powerful word but Michael Boltons was pretty understandable. People are such critics. Not only does it take a shit load of nerve to get out there and sing it, but the lyrics are sometimes hard to remember for artists. Gotta give em credit still for getting out there and doing it. He only forgot 1 tiny part for crying out loud.
Joeat 11-05-2009
Robert Goulet mangled the anthem pretty badly... he should be on this list.
Tinasat 10-29-2009
Agree completely. Most people don't even know the words.
Johnat 10-29-2009
Our National Anthem is a 3/4 time march to be sung with dignity and respect. It is NOT a rap song, a soul song, a country song, rock song, or sung with 20 note scales to each word. It is a song about a pivotal moment in our nation's history when the rising sun would tell if we were Americans or British subjects. All night long the shell fire had reviled Old Glory waiving over Fort McHenry and the rising sun illuminated the banner and our flag was still there. Much blood was spilled that night to insure that the flag would not be pulled down. Let us remember the men who never lived to see the morning light.
JOat 10-29-2009
John,
Thank you. Perhaps instead of singing songs
about Obama we should have our children sing our
national songs. It appears they've been neglected.
Jo
Elizabeth Rossat 10-29-2009
Quite beautifully stated John. In deed we should always remember those courageous souls who never saw the morning light and we should give thanks to them for sacrificing their lives for OUR FREEDOM. I hope that was intended to include the FREEDOM to sing a song in our own way. Those brave men and women did give us the gift of seeing the sun each morning and much much more however, I see no harm in the "individuality" in singing any song, as long as it comes from the heart and does not disgrace the meaning of the lyrics. We may not all have the same taste but we must honor & respect the fact that we have been given the gift of FREEDOM.
Elizabeth.
Deniseat 10-30-2009
Thank you John for your comments. Beautifully said.
I do not understand why venues feel they must hire "celebrities" to sing our national anthem and then allow them to bastardize it by putting their own spin on it which is so so disrespectful. I would much rather hear an announcment asking everyone in attendance to sing our national anthem as it was written and intended.
BogieHalfaDoobieat 10-29-2009
A nice note John. However you are only half right. The Star Spangled Banner is not a song at all; it is a poem that was later put to music (rather poorly). On another note, the shelling of Ft. McHenry resulted in very little bloodshed. I have no trouble with people putting their own spin on the music, as long as it is done with dignity and respect.
pat pascoat 10-29-2009
Well said, John!! I agree 100 per cent.
Kimat 10-29-2009
John,
You are so right. You don't hear anyone jazzing up or "rapping" another country's national anthem. Treat it as it deserves to be treated: with respect.
j.p.2at 10-29-2009
John, Your comment brought tears to my eyes I thought that I was the only person that felt this way. Anyone that changes, forgets or makes fun of the STAR SPANGELED BANNER is not American and has no respect for them selves or there country.
Emonieat 10-29-2009
The National Anthem is Sacred, I belive this si true. However, John, if you want it to actually live on, to stick with the young peolple, that old dronein song isnt going to work. Maybe rappin' and singing everynot drawn out is wrong but really, lets be rational.
History Buffat 10-29-2009
The Star-Spangled Banner" The lyrics come from "Defense of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by Royal Navy ships..
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "The Anacreonitc Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), set to various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing.
So there's your 3/4 time march to be sung with dignity and respect. You have the story about the poem correct but any true student of American History knows the tune was an English drinking song with impossible range which would only be attempted by one who is drunk. Gotta love Americans (even with a Revolution) they still had a sense of humor.
Marciaat 10-29-2009
Very well said John. You are absolutely right!
Bogie, I'm afraid you are only half right. The Star Spangled Banner was a poem when written. However when it was put to music it became a song and our National Anthem. If you would leave that HalfaDoobie alone you would have no trouble realizing that putting their own spin on it is disrespectful.
Brandyat 10-29-2009
Omg Thank You John You Are So Right, And Thank You To Every Single Soul Lost To Help Us Become Americans
Jasonat 10-29-2009
Get over yourself Denise. There is no 'intended' version as it is not a song. You don't know the history, ergo, you don't get an opinion.
As for the Canadian singer, the fact that she forgot the words is not a big issue. The fact that the American fans bitched about it is more indicative of their lack of class. Get over yourselves. How many Americans can actually recite (or know the name of) the Canadian national anthem, yet expect Canadians to know the Star-Spangled Banner? Idiots. While I'm an American (shudder), I am first-and-foremost an individual with common sense, and realize that America's national anthem is no better than any other.