Is there any song that gets scrutinized more than “The Star-Spangled Banner“? The U.S. national anthem is sung at the beginning of nearly every sports event in the country, and everyone has heard it countless times. That may be why viewers at home seem to be ready to pounce on any little discrepancy they find distasteful.
To be fair, too many performers have attempted to spice up the song with embellishments, leading to “transcriptions” like this:
At Super Bowl LX, Charlie Puth delivered a rendition to high praise. The Hollywood Reporter called it “stunning,” as it hit all the right notes as “joint Navy and Air Force aircraft flew atop Levi’s Stadium to close out the pre-game show.”
Puth, in turn, shared that his version was an homage to what many call the gold standard of the “Star Spangled Banner.” He thanked fans and his fellow performers in a post on X that explained his arrangement.
“Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. It was an honor to sing The National Anthem,” he said. “I wrote the arrangement in a very specific way to honor Whitney Houston– I hope that was heard. Thank you to the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, the Sainted Choir, the Color of Noize Orchestra, Steve Hackman, and Kenny G for joining me on stage. And thank you Adam Blackstone for writing such a beautiful choir part. I love music so much.”
He is, of course, referring to Whitney Houston’s benchmark performance from the 1991 Super Bowl:
Besides Houston’s deeply soulful singing, the arrangement featured unique elements that Puth retained. The vocal icon was tapped to sing the song last minute, her music director Rickey Minor explained to Yahoo Sports. He then tapped jazz bassist John Clayton to write the chart.
“Rickey knew that I was a jazz guy who also loved orchestras and had written for both,” Clayton shares. “He called me and said, ‘We got this opportunity. We want you to just do your thing. The only two requests we have are that it be 4/4 time. And No. 2, that it has some kind of a rhythmic groove to it.'”
“The Star Spangled Banner” is originally in 3/4 time, and putting it into 4/4 gives each phrase more time to breathe. It also emphasizes the lyrics in a different way, recontextualizing the meaning and re-engaging the listener to consider the words.
While Clayton used a full symphony orchestra to fill out his version, Puth stripped the layers back, beginning with just his voice and a keyboard. Kenny G’s sax punctuates the end of a stanza before strings and a choir join in. Eventually, it builds to a climax in texture and in pitch.
Another important aspect linking Puth’s arrangement to Houston’s is the social context. Her performance in 1991 took place ten days after Operation Desert Storm began. Similarly, social and political tensions around the world have been high this year. They both brought a balm to the masses, proving once again the healing power and unity of music.
It’s also what makes a version of “The Star Spangled Banner” we can all agree on.
Get the sheet music for “The Star Spangled Banner”:
