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THE FAULT, DEAR BRUTUS, IS WITH THOSE WHO
PICK THE SINGERS!
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Can we talk? Are we really the "unlettered, unwashed, green,
red-necky" bunch of colonial upstarts our British cousins
think we are?
Are they upset because our women refuse to wear HATS while
grocery shopping, going to the zoo, or jogging? Or is it the way
we, decade after decade, allow our most patriotic (and yes, sacred)
"anthem" to be butchered over and over, to the point where You
Tube is replete with crooners and singers (?) who totally screwed
it up---one way or another; and made "The Ten Worst
National Anthem Performances?" (Remember the R.A.B. episode?)
I think with the British, it is the anthem thing; yes...we definitely
deserve to be criticized---big time!
(After a before-game rendition of our anthem at a sports
event, a listener wrote in: "What a terrible job! Maybe they should
get someone who knows the words or has an ounce of respect for the
song, and what it stands for.")
The Star Spangled Banner, sung through many early years,
along with other patriotic songs, did not become the official US
National Anthem until congress made it so in 1931. (See MIL'S PlACE:
"SHOULD WE CHANGE NATIONAL ANTHEMS?") The SSB is a sort
of "war-type" song, if compared to the great "America, The Beautiful."
This beautiful song would have been a more singable, melodious
anthem---with its descriptions of the country, and its prayerful overtones.
It is more like "God Save The Queen," and the Canadian and Australian
anthems in its singability. It lends to good choral possibilities.
In the above referred-to article, I suggested that it is too late in our
nation to change anthems, considering all the history---all the wars,
military usages of the anthem, sporting events and games,
school assemblies, Olympic ceremonies, flag raisings aboard ships, and
on.... even with its drawbacks, Francis Scott Key's historical song, written
under the light of flares and artillery at Ft. McHenry, in Baltimore Harbor,
must remain our anthem, for these reasons.
This music was being played on the USS Arizona at 7:55 a.m. at flag raising
on December 7, 1941. It was played on the USS Augusta in Placentia Bay,
August of 1941, when Churchill and Roosevelt met in serious conference.
It was played at countless flag raisings over cemeteries all across Pacific
islands, Hawaii, France, and Europe during WWII. It has been associated
with countless sacrifices by our military men who gave their lives to preserve
liberty for us. On and on we could go...
These are things that are sacred to all of us and deserve dignity, reverence,
and respect. The meaning within the song requires our best singers. In the
midst of the sports events and car races of life, we need to remember our
history.
Someone, analyzing this anthem problem, has suggested, for example in
pro football, the powers that be---get the finest stadiums, the finest lighting,
the best players, wonderful bands, skilled announcers, best coaches, good
concession food... and then...then...they go out and get the most untalented
atrocious singers they can find. They don't realize that the brief opening of
the game is not entertainment, calling for a pop singer (even a famous one),
it is a time of collective dedication, remembrance, togetherness., and
patriotism.
There several things readily obvious here to anyone who knows music...
and the kind of rendition required for an "anthem." First of all, the fault is to
be laid at the feet of the ones who select and hire singers. You don't hire
crooners or pop singers. All this crooning, slurring, sliding---it's all they know;
they can't help it. They want to try to add gravitas and meaning, but they just
don't know how---they haven't been trained. They give a shot at it...but
can't cut it. The plain old fact is: just sing the song---less is more.
A reminder: if no decent vocalists are available, find a good band. There are
plenty around and I can't remember ever hearing a band butcher the
anthem. I have heard one or two take it a bit fast for my tastes...but then I
am not a band expert.
"Mil, after listening to all these renditions of the anthem on TV, before all
events, what is your feeling about the percent of decent, well-done
talented, performances of the anthem.?" "I would say: maybe ten or fifteen
percent are well done, maybe another ten percent fair....and the rest---
terrible, and keep in mind, there are various levels of "terribility."
What's the answer? Better auditioning by knowlegeable musicians. Select
trained classical soloists, glee clubs, choirs, small trained ensembles.
Never a pop singer, ever. Sometimes good folk singers with their
naturalness of sound might do it; it's up to the auditioners. (Use the same
singer for your whole season, if necessary. This is not a popularity contest.)
To our pop singers who get by the auditioners: always remember, when
singing the anthem, at phrase endings---"bra-ay-ay- yay-ay ya-a-ave...."
or "free-ee-ee-e-yee-eyee..." adds nothing in meaning to the anthem,
totally turns off musical people, ruins the anthem, and is an insult to
everyone's intelligence, including your own!
Another answer to this problem: twelve years of music in the public
schools, for all children. It will eventually pay dividends in culture...
and the British will be proud of us...again.
*******30******
BY MIL
8/14/13
Super Bowl 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj5NPNe3jNU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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