"The Star Spangled Banner" officially becomes the national anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931

76 years ago today, March 3, The Star Spangled Banner officially became the national anthem of the United States of America.

The lyrics were written as a poem entitled Defence of Fort McHenry in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. He was a lawyer and an amateur poet. The poem was written in recollection of the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland by British ships during the war of 1812.

The lyrics were set to the tune of a popular British drinking song known as To Anacreon in Heaven to become the song we know as The Star Spangled Banner. The song was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, by the White House in 1916, and was made the official national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3rd of 1931.

The song has four stanzas but today only the first one is commonly sung.

It has of course been performed by countless vocalists & musicians. Here's a sampling:

Whitney Houston at Super Bowl 25 in 1991



Mariah Carey at Super Bowl 36 in 2002



And for a completely different take on the song: Jimi Hendrix at the Woodstock Festivial in 1969.



Billy Joel making use of the autotune at this year's Super Bowl:



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