Rock god Jimi Hendrix turned “The Star Spangled Banner” on its head at Woodstock (Photo courtesy of Redferns)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Happy Birthday America!
As our nation celebrates our 237th birthday with barbeques, pool parties and fireworks, Jake’s Take hopes that everyone listens to the Star Spangled Banner sometime today.
If you need to find a cover to listen to, there are thousands of covers to select from, but these 10 live performances take the cake.
Jimi Hendrix (1969)
The Guitar God spun “The Star Spangled Banner” on its head at Woodstock. From his epic riffs to his unbelievable stage presence, Hendrix’s cover set a new standard that opened the doors for other rockers to cover the National Anthem.
Reba McEntire (1974)
Country Music Television unearthed a video that showed a very young Reba McEntire performing the National Anthem in Oklahoma City at the start of her career.
Marvin Gaye (1983)
In one of his final public performances before his untimely death in 1984, the Motown Legend infused soul into Francis Scott Key hymn.
Whitney Houston’s triumphant performance of the National Anthem moved a nation! (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Whitney Houston (1991)
As the nation entered the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Whitney Houston delivered the best cover of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV. Her electrifying version gave viewers goose bumps and it remains one of the late pop diva’s greatest moments of her career.
Billy Joel (2008)
The legendary Piano Man opened the final concert at Shea Stadium with a rousing cover of our National Anthem. This performance showed that the “Just the Way You Are” singer still had his pipes and electrified the crowd.
Backstreet Boys (2008)
Tampa Bay’s own Nick Carter recruited three of his bandmates: Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean and Brian Littrell to perform the National Anthem at the 2008 World Series. Their barbershop quartet take on the song showed off some incredible harmonies and made a huge impression on the crowd.
Patti LaBelle stole the 2008 World Series when she performed her cover of “The Star Spangled Banner.” (Photo courtesy of MLB)
Patti LaBelle (2008)
That same World Series featured an outstanding performance from the legendary R&B diva Patti LaBelle. The “Stir It Up” singer showed off her high octave voice and took sports fans to church.
Amber Riley & the Cast of “Glee” (2009)
During Glee’s breakout year, the original cast members tackled “the Star Spangled Banner” during Game Three of the World Series. While Amber Riley slayed her solo, the rest of the cast provided lovely backing vocals.
Carrie Underwood (2010)
The American Idol winner delivered a passionate cover that showed off her superb vocals (including a great upper register) and featured perfect pitch.
Sebastien’s cover of “The Star Spangled Banner” won him countless of fans. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Sebastien De La Cruz (2013)
San Antonio native and America’s Got Talent’s resident Mariachi singer stole the show during Game Three of the NBA finals! His performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” received over 2,350,000 total views.
I do not own the clips that are sprinkled throughout the article, they belong to FOX, ABC and the different television networks.
