The Star Spangled Banner - or Singer's Bane

Once again someone is thrown into traffic and run over (metaphorically speaking) while singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Here is a You Tube (what would we do without them) video of Jesse McCartney messing up the infamous song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrHsOQfiptA

This song is known as the singer's bane and here is a bit of humor from the article on wikipedia concerning the star-spangled banner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner#Performances

"The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing, because of its wide range – an octave and a half. Garrison Keillor has frequently campaigned for the performance of the anthem in the original key, G major, which can be managed by most average singers without difficulty[26] (it is usually played in A-flat or B-flat). Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song's difficulty in his book It All Started With Columbus."

"In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", and when, by the dawn's early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror ”

All humor aside, if you have ever seen a ton of people auditioning for the Star-Spangled Banner, you would find yourself just feeling sorry for the singers and asking the question: Why do we have this as the national anthem instead of "America the Beautiful" or maybe (just some humor) "O Cananda."

This post is dedicated to Jesse McCartney and all those who have gone before him both small and great that have had a train wreck with this song. At least Jesse was on key!