It was taught to 500 school children in Jacksonville, Florida, who sang it at the birthday celebrations. a b Originally adopted by Czechoslovakia as a part of its hymn in 1918 (together with Slovak "Nad Tatrou sa blýska"), and latter in 1993 by the Czech Republic (already without the Slovak part). But thanks to a few spectacular viral performances by singers including Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera, the song has found more worldwide fame than other national anthems. Marvin Gaye gave a soul-influenced performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game and Whitney Houston gave a soulful rendition before Super Bowl XXV in 1991, which was released as a single that charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001 (along with José Feliciano, the only times the national anthem has been on the Billboard Hot 100).

Sisters Erica Campbell and Trecina ‘Tina’ Atkins-Campbell are best known for their hit single ‘Shackles (Praise You)’ from the 2000 album Thankful, which earned them their first of five Grammy awards to date.The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Others suggest that "Key may have intended the phrase as a reference to the Royal Navy's practice of impressment which had been a major factor in the outbreak of the war, or as a semi-metaphorical slap at the British invading force as a whole (which included a large number of mercenaries). Steven Tyler also caused some controversy in 2001 (at the Indianapolis 500, to which he later issued a public apology) and again in 2012 (at the AFC Championship Game) with a cappella renditions of the song with changed lyrics.

Texas contains a multitude of musical cities: 'Austin', Blake Shelton's 2001 country No 1; 'Houston', a hit for Dean Martin in 1965; 'Galveston' by Glen Campbell, one of four Jim Webb songs here; and 'Abilene' by George Hamilton IV, a Top 20 hit in 1963, a town in central Texas named after Abilene, Kansas. Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform. Despite the controversy, Feliciano's performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the "Star-Spangled Banner" heard in the years since. The tradition of singing the national anthem at the start of major sporting events introduced numerous diverse and memorable renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” including José Feliciano’s version accompanied by an acoustic guitar at the World Series in 1968 and Whitney Houston’s version backed by a full orchestra at the 1991 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida.In 2016, Aretha Franklin performed a rendition before the nationally-televised Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game lasting more than four minutes and featuring a host of improvisations.