The Star-Spangled Banner
Soul Music
BBC
4.7 • 831 Ratings
🗓️ 1 November 2016
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
America's national anthem was written by a lawyer, Francis Scott Key, after watching the British navy bombing Fort McHenry in 1814.
It was set to an English social men's club song and recognized as the national anthem in 1889. Notoriously difficult to sing, and traditionally played at public sports events and orchestral concerts, the anthem has inspired emotion and attracted controversy.
We hear from: Dr John Carlos who along with Dr Tommie Smith, raised their fists on the Olympic podium in the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 as the anthem was played.
Jose Feliciano who sang the anthem at the 1968 World series and provoked criticism.
Conrad Netting IV who discovered the truth about his fighter pilot father's history which led him to a cemetery in Normandy.
Writer Crista Cloutier who associated it with President Obama's election.
Members of the Coldstream Guards band who played the anthem at the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace the day after 9/11.
And Leon Hendrix, Jimi's brother, who was in the army at the time of Woodstock, and was put on 'potato peeling duty' because of the 'dishonourable' version his brother had played.
Producer: Sara Conkey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2016.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It was a November day in 2008. |
| 0:03.1 | I had just moved to France to live for a year from my home in America. |
| 0:09.3 | And I'd stayed up all night long watching the election results come in. |
| 0:15.9 | I fell asleep with my head against a laptop. |
| 0:18.1 | And when I woke up the next morning, I saw that Obama had won the election. |
| 0:22.6 | I don't know if you remember that day, but it was, it felt like the whole world was celebrating. |
| 0:29.6 | I was living in this 500-year-old farmhouse, and I was just dancing around, jumping up and down, so, so happy. But I had to go pick up a friend from the |
| 0:40.6 | airport, so I hopped in my car, I had a long drive ahead of me, turned on the radio to the |
| 0:48.5 | classical music station. And I remember I was so touched because the DJ of this tiny little classical music station was playing Stravinsky, conducting the Star Spangled Banner. |
| 1:02.7 | Music And then after that he played John Williams conducting the Star Spangled Banner. |
| 1:38.5 | And after that, someone else conducting the Star Spangled Banner. |
| 1:52.0 | Okay. someone else conducting the Star Spangled Banner. And he didn't stop there. And then someone else and someone else. |
| 1:58.0 | ...and star strangle someone else and someone else. |
| 2:08.8 | Tears were streaming down my face to listen to this tiny little French classical station |
| 2:12.9 | in the middle of nowhere |
| 2:14.1 | playing such a great homage to America. |
| 2:19.0 | And at the end, Jimmy Hendricks, doing the Star Spangled Banner. |
| 2:24.4 | Music And at that point, I lost it, had to pull the car over because I was sobbing so hard. |
| 2:56.4 | And as Hendricks took the last final licks of his guitar, |
| 2:58.1 | the DJ said, |
| 2:59.9 | Viva Obama. |
| 3:04.0 | Viva America. Viva America. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.