Worst performance of The Star Spangled Banner

[Maestro]

As for the worst, the school I teach at in 2005 at a Volleyball playoff game. My band barfed their way through it. My punishment of them is currently considered "legendary," and the kids today have no urge to endure the punishment of legend themselves.

You've piqued my curiosity. Can you elaborate?

What do you think we did all rehearsal? 30 minutes in, and we hadn't gotten past the first strain.

 

[Pingfah]

I'm still somewhat confused,

 

[trampledamage]

I'm guessing he made them play it over and over again - rehearsing each phrase of the music in excruciating detail.

 

[Maestro]

It took me fifteen minutes just to rehearse the first three notes. If you shout, "Nope, do it again!" at any one of my kids from that nightmare, they will break out in a cold sweat.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImCWjbAOXKo

Heh, Maya Rudolph is great. The funny thing is, she has the chops to probably pull off a decent anthem herself. Her mom was singer Minnie Riperton (see below), her dad was a composer and music producer, and her godmother was singer Teena Marie, so she has quite the musical background.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE0pwJ5PMDg[/yt]

 

[Deckerd]

I'll never be able to listen to "Loving you" in the same way since Generation Kill.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I'll never be able to listen to "Loving you" in the same way since Generation Kill.

It changed my perspective on all the classics; 'Teenage Dirtbag' and 'Sk8er Boi', for instance.

 

[B.J.]

It took me fifteen minutes just to rehearse the first three notes. If you shout, "Nope, do it again!" at any one of my kids from that nightmare, they will break out in a cold sweat.

Heh. I think I've been through a couple of rehearsals like that. For me personally, it usually resulted in a long nap since the problem was usually in the woodwinds.

 

[Jadzia]

But was it the worse? I vote no.

I made one when I was younger that was deliberately bad. I called it "The Star Strangled Badger". It wasn't even the right tune

I'm not sure what tune it was now. I have it somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find it.

 

[Trekker4747]

It took me fifteen minutes just to rehearse the first three notes. If you shout, "Nope, do it again!" at any one of my kids from that nightmare, they will break out in a cold sweat.

Why can I picture is you as like Lex Luthor just hovering over a student listening to them singing and then they slip up a tiny bit and you just go "WRONG!!!!"

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I'm thinking more John McLaughlin, actually.

 

[Maestro]

Thanks, but it's more like Alan Rickman's Severus Snape or Benedict Cumberbach's Sherlock Holmes. "Wrong!" Indeed.

"No. Do it again."

 

[Char Aznable]

The winner.

The stars were still there

 

[Zulu Romeo]

It took me fifteen minutes just to rehearse the first three notes. If you shout, "Nope, do it again!" at any one of my kids from that nightmare, they will break out in a cold sweat.

Why can I picture is you as like Lex Luthor just hovering over a student listening to them singing and then they slip up a tiny bit and you just go "WRONG!!!!"

^ I'm thinking more John McLaughlin, actually.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1YY54RI5YY[/yt]

 

[Muad Dib]

I didn't like it at all. The vocal gymnastics were over the top. It's not a rock or pop song; it's the National Anthem.

 

[B.J.]

Anyway, here's one video compilation of the ten worst national anthem performances (also includes a couple of Canadian ones).

I finally got around to watching this one. Holy crap, #7 is Cab Calloway!

I would like to say in light of all these lousy performances that my city tends to get it right. I'm part of a community band that gets called to all sorts of public events, but we rarely get to play the National Anthem. Normally I'd be put out by being preempted for a soloist, but I will always yield the stage to the people we usually get to perform. I'd say 95% of the time the person singing (or rather, leading) the National Anthem at our events is a person serving in the military. And not a single one of those has sung it any other way except the way it's supposed to be performed.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

My opinion..the worst ever recorded..

Yeah, i agree. What i would really like to know is, why on earth did she ever get asked to sing it?

 

[Franklin]

My opinion..the worst ever recorded..

Yeah, i agree. What i would really like to know is, why on earth did she ever get asked to sing it?

Well, she was a big star at the time, and maybe she had a reputation for being able to sing a little bit.
What probably happened is she ambushed the Padres PR people. She never intended to sing it straight. It wasn't that she was trying to sing and couldn't, she wasn't even trying. She deliberately mangling the song, trying to play it for laughs. Obviously, it backfired on her.