[Dixielandjazz] A new take on the Nat'l Anthem

[Bigbuttbnd@aol.com]

Okay... so count me in the goofy crowd...but I LOVE the National Anthem. I'm 
GLAD it's hard to sing! I'm PROUD it's hard to sing... only the best singers 
should sing it for a crowd... and they should sing the livin' snot out of 
it... and when they do I get chills. I'd rather concentrate on who does it 
WELL instead of who butchers it... because nearly everybody butchers it. It's 
not hard to find examples of THAT! But tell me some folks who really nail it 
to the wall!

I like Whitney's version but then Whitney has (or had) pipes like no one 
before her. My absolute favorite, however, was a version featuring the entire 
Osmond Family. Extended chords but reverent and majestic at the same time. 
They did themselves proud. Recently, at a Braves game in Atlanta I was in 
attendance when a 4-man group of guys really belted it out acapella and it 
froze me in place. I couldn't catch the group name 'cause everybody was 
screamin' their head off and clapping LOUD afterward because it was done so 
well.

Rocky Ball
Atlanta