The best and worst renditions of the national anthem

The Motown legend was in the midst of his “Sexual Healing”-fueled comeback when he took to the court of The (Fabulous) Forum in Inglewood, California, to croon a knockout version of the anthem that was both sexy and soulful. Backed by a prerecorded track, this audacious effort could’ve been a disaster, but Gaye’s relaxed vibes got everyone into a sensually patriotic mood. It’s hard to think of another time spectators spontaneously clapped to the beat of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Who knows what the San Diego Padres organization was thinking when it invited the ever-unpredictable Roseanne Barr to sing the national anthem before a regular-season game in 1990. Perhaps it thought the star of the top-rated sitcom on television would turn in a delightfully spirited rendition. Instead, she caterwauled through the song (due, per Barr, to the stadium’s faulty PA system) and concluded by grabbing her crotch and spitting (per Barr again, a reference to ballplayers’ uncouth behavior during games). It still ranks among Barr’s most infamous PR disasters, and that’s saying something.

The 1960s counterculture movement got its version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” when Jimi Hendrix took the stage at Woodstock on Aug. 18, 1969. The influential rock guitarist electrified the festival’s 400,000 attendees with a furious, distortion-heavy riff on the anthem that was interpreted as a protest of the ongoing Vietnam War, but, according to Hendrix, it was simply reflecting “the way the air is in America today.”

The early 1990s Chicago Bulls were a touring highlight reel, but Nets fans who shelled out money to see Jordan and Co. hoop it up on a January at the Brendan Byrne Arena were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime feat by an athlete who had nothing to do with the game of basketball. It was track-and-field legend Carl Lewis mangling the national anthem in a tone-deaf manner that made Roseanne’s performance sound like Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl. When Lewis’ voice cracks near the end, he has to stop and promise the audience that he’s going to make it up to them with a strong finish. He does not.

The Gulf War was a mere 10 days old when Whitney Houston performed her bold, 4/4-time take on the anthem before Super Bowl XXV in 1991. What felt thrillingly nontraditional in the moment (especially for an NFL game) wound up becoming the gold standard for big-game anthem renditions. The performance got massive radio airplay and was released as a single (reaching No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100).

A multi-platinum recording artist both with The Black Eyed Peas and as a solo artist, it must be noted that Fergie earned her legion of fans via vocal dexterity. She’s passable as a singer but not the kind of person you hire to sing the national anthem — which the NBA learned at the 2018 All-Star Game. Perhaps to mask her vocal shortcomings, Fergie rearranged the anthem as a torch song: If Marvin Gaye could get people in the mood during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” why not her? Alas, her rendition was awkward and pitchy, drawing snickers from the players right from the start.

The soulful master of the mood-setting jam jazzed up the anthem in 1997 and delivered a respectfully laid-back performance that’s about as close as the ultra-conservative NFL will ever allow anyone to come to Gaye’s NBA All-Star Game rendition. It’s classic Luther, which means it’s impeccably performed. That man could sing.

It’s not Enrico Pallazzo, but it’s probably the closest we’ve ever come to Police Squad’s Lt. Frank Drebin destroying the national anthem in real life. Introduced as “The Polish Prince” by announcer Jack Buck, the “Blue Velvet” crooner struggled to stay on key from the start, providing a moment of levity for the Cincinnati Reds and Vinton's hometown Pittsburgh Pirates before Game 4 of the 1990 NLCS. Despite screwing up lyrics and losing his way completely in the final stanza, the crowd cheered its approval, prompting Buck to note, “When you’re Polish and live in Pittsburgh, you can do anything you want with the words.” Buck came home to a footprint on his hotel bed pillow that evening and death threats thereafter.

Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson brought her pipes to Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 and damn near matched Whitney Houston’s vocal fireworks from two decades prior. There’s nothing new or unusual about the arrangement of the anthem; it’s just a hellaciously talented singer unleashing vocal fury before the biggest game of the year. It’s a stunner.

Before Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor could square off for the middleweight title on July 16, 2005, they had to endure R. Kelly’s pathetic attempt to replicate Marvin Gaye’s NBA All-Star Game anthem. Singing behind a prerecorded track like his hero did, Kelly wasn’t warm or smooth like Gaye; he attacks the song, and, perhaps realizing he’s losing the crowd, demands that they clap to the beat rather than allow it to happen organically.

Backed by a drum corps and an angelic-sounding choir, the inaugural "American Idol" winner reminded viewers why they fell in love with her in the first place with this straightforward, yet passionate performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 2012. Veteran NBC announcer Al Michaels, who’s not afraid to call a dud a dud, was clearly moved by Clarkson’s rendition, calling it “rousing” as the broadcast cut to commercial.

Bolton’s no stranger to singing the national anthem before sporting events, but he blew it before Game 4 of the 2003 ALCS in Fenway Park. He’s in good voice early on, but it appears that a slight audio delay in the PA system throws him for a moment, causing him to momentarily forget the lyrics. Fortunately, he’d scribbled them on the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, he makes too big of a show consulting them. Red Sox fans notice, and the boos rain down for the duration of his performance.

Super Bowl XXXVIII was the first since the United States' 2003 invasion of Iraq, so there was a ton of pressure on Beyoncé to deliver a rendition that would properly honor the troops scouring the desert for WMDs. Never the most forceful of singers, Queen Bey dug deep and nailed every note, building to a dazzling finish that may among her most impressive moments ever on a microphone.

The Bronx-born diva earned the national anthem honors before a 2008 "Monday Night Football" game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, and, all told, she does fine for the most part. But the then 20-year-old slathers way too much mustard on her vocal runs during “land of the free” and “home of the brave” and pays for her pitchy bravado with a cascade of boos from the Dallas spectators.

As the drumbeat of war grew louder by the day in 2003, the Dixie Chicks took the field at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and gave America a gorgeously harmonized performance that was at turns hopeful and slightly somber. Natalie Maines would famously dis President George W. Bush a couple of months later, which may explain that trace of sorrow in this rendition.

As with Michael Bolton, Aguilera knows her way around the national anthem and then some. So it’s weird to see her struggle so mightily through her Super Bowl XLV performance, which features an alarming degree of oversinging, a couple of bizarre lyrics flubs (the highlight being “gave proof through the night that a plane was still there”) and an ear-piercing vocal blowout during the finale. Anyone can have an off night. Aguilera’s just happened to come before the most-watched sporting event of the year.

Hendrix’s revolutionary take on the anthem gets all the attention, but the Puerto Rican recording star caused a far bigger stir the previous year when he kicked off Game 5 of the 1968 World Series in Detroit with his acoustic guitar-backed performance. Announcer Tony Kubek, knowing a young man performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in such a manner would be viewed as a protest (even though it wasn’t), told Feliciano to expect blowback. He was half-right. There were angry calls to NBC. But the rendition also charted for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

A cappella singing clearly isn’t country music star Dierks Bentley’s thing, but the “longtime Predators season ticket holder” (according to the arena’s PA announcer) gave it his best before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Nashville. Bentley was ridiculed on social media following this performance, but, as with Fergie, he’s just not the right type of singer for this gig. To his credit, he doesn’t try to do anything special with it. He’s on and off the ice in a mercifully speedy manner.

Tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis and pianist Bruce Hornsby wowed viewers of the 1991 NBA All-Star Game with this moving instrumental performance of the anthem. The arrangement is respectfully lush and strikes just the right tone of national pride without toppling over into bombast or sentimentality. It was so beloved that the duo was brought back to play it four years later before Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking 2,131^st MLB game.

There isn’t a band on the face of the planet more eager to sell its music to the highest advertising bidder than Aerosmith, and this profitable (for them) ubiquity has cheapened the group's music to the point where many people would be happy to never hear from the Boston rockers ever again. In a world where you hear from Steven Tyler less frequently, maybe his screeching “Star-Spangled Banner” performance (replete with ear-splitting harmonica prelude) would be enjoyable as kitsch. Instead, it’s just one more paycheck for a singer who doesn’t miss a single one if he can help it.