Most controversies centering on “The Star-Spangled Banner” in recent years have resulted from criticisms of its author’s role as a slaveholder, references to slaves in the third stanza, and from the actions of individuals who sat or took a knee during the rendition of the national anthem in silent protest against police brutality, racism, or other issues. It seems unlikely that current interpretations of expressive conduct under the First Amendment would allow any government to mandate the performing of a single orthodox version. Numerous musicians, including José Feliciano, Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, and René Marie, have subsequently added their own embellishments to the song, sometimes invoking admiration, and sometimes generating scorn. 26, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Musicians continue to embellish 'Star-Spangled Banner' in performance Ashanti performs The Star-Spangled Banner before the start of an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors, Friday, Oct. Although beautiful in its own right, his arrangement made it difficult for the audience to sing along with the orchestra. Stravinsky was not arrested because he complied with the request to conduct the song in its more traditional fashionįar from attempting to mock the anthem, Stravinsky, who was extremely patriotic, had attempted to convert the song, which often serves during times of war as a call to arms, into a hymn (Clague 2022, 232). The audience had found it difficult to sing with the orchestra on its second performance leading to negative reviews that associated the rendition by an immigrant with anti-Americanism.Ī picture that purported to be a mug shot of Stravinsky at his arrest later turned out to be a photo from his visa application four years previously. 15, 1944, to prevent Igor Stravinksy, an immigrant from Russia, from conducting the Boston Symphony in a personalized rendition of the national anthem, which he had performed twice before. The Massachusetts law, which appears to have been largely moribund, was invoked on Jan. Massachusetts law invoked against composer Igor Stravinsky The city of Baltimore had adopted an ordinance in 1916 prohibiting musical desecration of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as Michigan would later do in 1931 (Vile 2021, 247). Whoever plays, sings or renders the “Star Spangled Banner” in any public place, theatre, motion picture hall, restaurant or café, or at any public entertainment, other than as a whole and separate composition of number, without embellishment or addition in the way of national or other melodies, or whoever plays, sings or renders the “Star Spangled Banner”, or any part thereof, as dance music, as an exit march or as a part of a medley of any kind, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
National anthem free#
Supreme Court had applied the free speech provision of the First Amendment to the states, Massachusetts adopted a law to protect the anthem. entered World War I and at a time before the U.S. flag against desecration, so too, in 1917, the year that the U.S. Just as laws (later declared to be unconstitutional) developed to protect the U.S.
Two states prohibit musical desecration of national anthem Long before Congress declared Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” to be the national anthem in 1931, its rendition had become a common way of celebrating patriotism. Today, embellishments to a performance of the national anthem would be considered protected as free expression and such laws, such as the Massachusetts law, would be unconstitutional violation of First Amendment rights (AP Photo) A Massachusetts law had been invoked that restricted any changes to the anthem when performed or sung. 12, 1944 photo, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky looks over the score of his own harmonization of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Stravinsky said he retained the familiar melody of the national anthem but changed the harmony and went back to the music of Puritan times for a choral-like treatment.
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