The National Anthem, Then And Now

Former major leaguer Bernie Williams played a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem on guitar over the weekend in Phoenix for the minor league Futures Game. The first time an American artist played a personal version of the Star-Spangled Banner, before Hendrix or Gaye or anyone, it was also at a baseball game. At the 1966 World Series in Detroit, Joes Feliciano turned out a gorgeous, touching take on the song–and his career was nearly ruined.

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Jose Feliciano has no idea at the time that his reading of the National Anthem will cause a furor in Vietnam-era America:

The full version of Feliciano’s soulful 1968 song:

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