National Anthem

The Parkview Pizzazz singing group for students in 2nd to 4th grade at Parkview Elementary in Sedalia performed at the Missouri Maverick's Playoff Hockey Game in Independence on Saturday (April 6). The group was invited to sing at the Kansas City Maverick's Hockey game In the fall.  Since the team made it to the playoffs, they invited the choir back to sing the National Anthem before the game. The choir is under the direction of music director Cindy Calafaty and 4th grade teacher Kylee Weber.

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When the BCS National Championship game airs on Monday (Jan. 7), football fans are in for a real treat. Whether you side with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Alabama Tide, you'll enjoy the pre-game entertainment, as Zac Brown Band is set to sing the National Anthem.

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For the last 10 years, six of those in Sedalia, I have played the National Anthem each morning before the show.  It is generally not something I point out nor do I put a lot of pomp and circumstance around it.  I just play it.  Last week, a friend of mine contacted me to tell me that she used my show as a history lesson.

It seems her cousin who is in 6th grade didn't know what our National Anthem was.  He had heard it before my show, but never knew the meaning behind it.  I count this as a pretty big failure on several levels, and I started to think of all the different ways I've heard the song done.

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There have been some beautiful renditions of 'The Star Spangled Banner' over the years, both by bands as well as singers.  Whitney Houston and Riccochet's versions are two of my favorites.  Jose Feliciano recently revived his 1968 performance of the piece at an NLCS game.

What did you think?  Should the National Anthem be sung traditionally or with a little bit of flair?

Like most US sporting events, Saturday’s Major League Soccer match between FC Dallas and the Los Angeles Galaxy was preceded by the singing of the national anthem, but only one rendition was this bad.

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Country music reigned supreme and staged a full-scale takeover of NYC on the morning of Friday, July 13. While Zac Brown Band performed on the ‘TODAY‘ show in midtown Manhattan, Luke Bryan commandeered the stage in Central Park for the ‘Good Morning America’ summer concert series. He performed a set consisting of ‘Country Girl (Shake It for Me),’ ‘Drunk on You’ and ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.’ The gregarious singer did not shy away from talking about the National Anthem controversy at the MLB All-Star Game earlier in the week, either. He wrote words on his hands to ensure that he wouldn’t flub his performance like so many musicians before him have. He was subsequently beaten up a bit for doing so.

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Kellie Pickler was in the stands watching Luke Bryan sing the National Anthem on Tuesday night, but she wasn’t aware of the ‘Drunk on You’ singer’s use of “key words” which helped him get through the song. She says she understands what Bryan was going through at the All-Star Game, and the anxiety that comes with singing in front of millions of television viewers, and can’t understand the criticism. 

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Luke Bryan and Kellie Pickler did country music proud last night, singing the National Anthem and ‘God Bless America’ at the MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City, Mo. It’s difficult to argue each singer’s performances were anything but spectacular, but some are wondering if the ‘Drunk on You’ singer might have had some help. What do you think Bryan was peeking at while he sang? 

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