Notable renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner (4,789 views)

[beethoven]

I'm certain everyone here has heard of the Star-Spangled Banner, even those who are not American, and I'm sure a lot of people are aware of how it is a notoriously difficult song to sing and one of the reasons why the Star-Spangled Banner has been known to be a difficult song to sing is because of how the song has a range of an octave and a half, which is a wide range for an untrained singer, and people over the years have complained over the song's wide range, and have even suggested that the United States should have a new national anthem because of how it has a wide range in comparison to other national anthems, such as God Save The King (UK's national anthem), or La Marseillaise (France's national anthem). Another one of the reasons why The Star-Spangled Banner is notorious for being a difficult song to sing is the key that one starts the song in, for example, if an untrained baritone sings the song in C major (which would means that the lowest note is C3 in the word say in the "oh say can you see" part, and the highest note is G4 in the word free in the "o'er the land of the free" part) then he may end up believing that he started off the song too high. One of the things that have always intrigued me about renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner is the key people start the song, which will be my focus on the examples that I'm going to show in this thread. Feel free to give examples in which the same singer has done the Star-Spangled Banner multiple times, or even some wacky renditions in which the singer has gone off-key all because they started too high.

The lowest key I've heard:


The lowest key I believe I've heard from a well-known singer:

In this video, you hear some D2s sung with ease (I apologize if the quality is not that good since it seems to be recorded with a phone)

The highest key I've heard from a non-classical singer (C major):


Another rendition that starts off quite high as well (B major, one semitone lower than the Sohyang version):

[kaji]

Sandi Patty has easily the highest and most difficult version of it.
youtu.be/Bg-3Ll2UPcQ

[beethoven]

Jun 5, 2023 13:20:55 GMT kaji said:

Sandi Patty has easily the highest and most difficult version of it.
youtu.be/Bg-3Ll2UPcQ

Almost forgot to reply to this post, Sandi Patty's rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner definitely has to be the most difficult rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, and one of the reasons is that it has four different key changes (something unheard of when people interpret the Star-Spangled Banner). Sandi Patty’s performance concludes in C♯ major, the highest key I’ve heard anyone sing the Star-Spangled Banner, so you are right when you say that it is one of the highest renditions in terms of key. 

There used to be an operatic rendition in YouTube uploaded by the US Navy of a soprano singing the Star-Spangled Banner in C♯ major, but it has eventually been deleted from YouTube or made private.

[beethoven]

The highest key I've heard from an adult male voice (F♯ major)




The same person does it in an even higher key (G major) but it's incomplete

[Alex61]

[Steingrim]

Jun 9, 2023 17:32:21 GMT beethoven said:

The highest key I've heard from an adult male voice (F♯ major)




The same person does it in an even higher key (G major) but it's incomplete

Sounds a bit strained, even below the highest note.

[kaji]

Jun 9, 2023 17:32:21 GMT beethoven said:

The highest key I've heard from an adult male voice (F♯ major)




The same person does it in an even higher key (G major) but it's incomplete

['S]

I'm taking Maya's renditions as premonitions of the Fergiefication that was to come

[Breakfast in D-sharp]

It's an interesting one: like most national anthems, the original tune's nothing overly fancy (even if it does cover a comparatively wide range for a national anthem), but a lot of singers seem to feel compelled to embellish it and have some fun and/or show off a bit (which seldom happens with, for example, the English anthem God Save The King). I think a lot of anthems don't really have comparable traditions of popular solo singers performing them. Anyway, here's Bobby McFerrin's unique rendition:

[Seb]

sndup.net/7qsr/
_{notable rendition, you say...?}

[Steingrim]

Jun 19, 2023 7:37:26 GMT Seb said:

sndup.net/7qsr/
_{notable rendition, you say...?}

[beethoven]

Jun 19, 2023 7:37:26 GMT Seb said:

sndup.net/7qsr/
_{notable rendition, you say...?}

Even though this is a wacky rendition, this rendition takes the cake out of all of them. Perhaps the most significant part of this rendition is the ending, when he does the two-octave slide from E♭4, then to E♭5, and then to E♭6 (the highest note). He then ends off with an E♭2 (the lowest note). That right there is range-wanking at it's finest.

[divina]

Ponselle has a pretty good rendition. 
youtu.be/c4sEz2PcQh4

[Steingrim]

This is in the same low key as the one in the original post, but in chest voice. Down to A1.



Rodney Britt is a low bass, but that's a bit low for him. I like his voice a lot when he sings in octave 2 in other clips. His timbre is what I would call "profound".

[Yojojo]

[beethoven]

Apr 30, 2024 14:04:35 GMT Steingrim said:

This is in the same low key as the one in the original post, but in chest voice. Down to A1.



Rodney Britt is a low bass, but that's a bit low for him. I like his voice a lot when he sings in octave 2 in other clips. His timbre is what I would call "profound".

Can't say I'm familiar with who Rodney Britt is, but I am impressed with this rendition due to the key that he sang on, such as how he goes down to A1 various times in the song with such ease. Great find!

[Steingrim]

May 19, 2024 1:52:02 GMT beethoven said:

Apr 30, 2024 14:04:35 GMT Steingrim said:

This is in the same low key as the one in the original post, but in chest voice. Down to A1.

Rodney Britt is a low bass, but that's a bit low for him. I like his voice a lot when he sings in octave 2 in other clips. His timbre is what I would call "profound".

Can't say I'm familiar with who Rodney Britt is, but I am impressed with this rendition due to the key that he sang on, such as how he goes down to A1 various times in the song with such ease. Great find!

At A1 he's still in the part of his chest range where it sounds better than a fry note would, yes. 

[beethoven]

Last night, a country singer called Ingrid Andress sang the Star-Spangled Banner at this year's MLB Home Run Derby and is currently being criticized by people on social media for her off-key rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner

[Steingrim]

Jul 16, 2024 18:58:02 GMT beethoven said:

Last night, a country singer called Ingrid Andress sang the Star-Spangled Banner at this year's MLB Home Run Derby and is currently being criticized by people on social media for her off-key rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner

She says she was drunk and has checked herself into rehab, so that's basically a disaster.

[beethoven]

I'll be the first to admit that I am honestly not a huge fan of Jessica Simpson's singing style due to how I find that she has a very unpleasant tone to my ears, with all due respect, but in her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, she goes for the high note that female artists tend to do more often than not in the word "free" when they sing the Star Spangled Banner (which jumps their rendition of the Star Spangled Banner to two octaves). When female artists sing the high note in the word "free" in the Star Spangled Banner, they almost always sing it in falsetto, but Jessica Simpson opted to sing the high note in her chest voice, making Jessica Simpson's rendition a unique rendition of the Star Spangled Banner when it comes to reaching the famous high note in the word "free".