9/15/11: The Star-Spangled Banner

KUER 90.1 | By Matthew LaPlante

Published September 15, 2011 at 12:28 PM MDT

The “Star-Spangled Banner” is a song about war and resolve that began life as a drinking tune. We sing it all the time, but often struggle to sing it correctly. Even professional musicians sometimes butcher our anthem. In a time of uncertainty about national unity, the anthem is one of the few things that can get thousands of Americans to stand up as one. Guest host Matthew LaPlante looks at the song's complicated history and how it stacks up against other national anthems.

Guests from Today's RadioWest:

Joe Price, National Anthem for the National Pastime
David Hildebrand, 1812 Music
Michael Huff, Utah Voices

Curiosities

Matthew LaPlante

Matthew LaPlante is journalist, blogger and assistant professor of journalism at Utah State University. As national security reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune from 2005 to 2011, he covered military operations in Iraq, Kuwait, Germany and throughout the United States. Before arriving in Utah in 2004, LaPlante worked for The McMinnville News-Register in Oregon’s wine country, where he covered the local court system and sports. A native of California, LaPlante lives in Salt Lake City with his wife Heidi, a public school teacher, and their daughter, to whom he writes regular letters of love, advice and anxiety at DearSpike.com.

See stories by Matthew LaPlante