Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Oh Say Can You Sing?

One of my favorite moments at any sporting event is the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner".  We don't have the opportunity to sing our National Anthem very often and as far as national anthems go, it totally rocks!  It's not an easy song to sing and we've seen and heard it butchered many a time.  But those who have done it right, they've given us goose bumps and we've never forgotten it. 1991.  Super Bowl XXV.  Whitney Houston.  Need I say more?

Game One of the 107th World Series is upon us.  Me, being a music person, I'm curious as to who our performers will be.  The Super Bowl has one performer.  The World Series has up to seven.  Here is my issue.  Over the past few years, as Fox has been broadcasting our biggest sporting events, singers from other Fox television programs (i.e. "American Idol" & "Glee") have cornered the performance market.  I don't like it.  Don't get me wrong, Carrie Underwood does a fantastic job.  Others not so much.  This year, I'm certain we'll see dude who won American Idol last season.  What's next, a dance interpretation from the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance"?

That's one of the things that I like so much about the two League Championship Series.  The singers/musicians who perform our National Anthem have a connection to the city, not the network.  How cool was it to see Aretha Franklin and the Four Tops singing in Detroit?  And the Silver Bullet Band's Alto Reed performing on the sax.  Stellar!  In Arlington we saw Fourtwelve and Jack Ingram.  Chuck Berry performed in St. Louis and Milwaukee called upon three un-famous but very talented local artists.  It came across so much more meaningful.

The World Series is a national event but it still has a very local vibe to it.  There is always a team connection to the person who is given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. It should be the same way for the musician(s) who perform our National Anthem.
 
And before y'all harass me, yes I know his name is Scotty McCreery and he is from North Carolina.

Your suggestions for performers?


8 comments:

  1. Love this post...as one who loves music & enjoys baseball. Suggestions? Some of my favorite singers can't necessarily handle the Nat'l Anthem, so I'm drawing a blank. (Note: I don't appreciate when singers add "runs" to it...it's our Anthem for Pete's sake, not Top 40). My two-cents worth, but I'll get back to you with someone when it comes to me :)

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  2. I totally agree with you on the "runs". Drives me nuts! They need to save the vocal gymnastics for their own songs.

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  3. Anonymous said...

    Courtney Fulton....

    https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150315949507682%3Cbr%3E

    bad sound quality on video, but still sounds terrific.

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  4. I think finding talented singers from our armed forces is the way to go... They should be local or have ties to the local team and if they are talented then that plays well for the "National" stage they are on.


    SA

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  5. SA, I agree and that's exactly what happened in St. Louis last night when Missouri-native Brian Owens sang "God Bless America"! Brian is a member of the USAF band Sidewinder and they have toured and performed for fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. Here's a great article about the band and what they are all about. I believe they are stationed at Scott AFB, just outside of St. Louis.
    http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-military-band-sidewinder-youtube-hit-homecoming-090311,0,6298468.story
    Brian gave me chills last night as he sang! It was pefect!!

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  6. Cactus Cuties can sing at any event I'm at. Wow

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  7. Craig was almost a hero two nights in a row. Kind of reminded me of our Brooks Conrad.

    SA

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  8. I always want Brooks at the plate when the game is on the line. He's so clutch! One of the many things I love about the post season is seeing the non-superstar players becoming heroes. Think back to Mark Lemke in the early 90's. He came through night after night. Wow, it is just like Fox's tag line, heroes are made in October!

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