Star Spangled Music

Learn the fascinating history of The Star-Spangled Banner as we celebrate the 200th birthday of the USA's anthem. Visit for more.

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Good luck @usmusicscholar! May the cymbals crash and the trumpets flourish! And, of course, your #Wolverines win! #GoBlue

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

BETTER THAN A DREAM! Dress rehearsal for my #nationalanthem #BigHouse conducting debut with the @umichband. The hardest part is climbing the ladder without freakin'. Thanks to Dr. John Pasquale for the tips & #GoBlue @UMichAthletics #UMichArts

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Full @aadl / @LiteratiBkstore #anthem event with host @RushOmari and soprano @jgoltzmusic will broadcast 4x per day on Sat. Aug. 20 and Sun. Aug. 28, then online on-demand. Thanks to @cspan and @cspanhistory. #UShistory #nationalanthem @wwnorton #UMichArts @spangledmusic

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

O Say Can You Hear? — the exciting new anthem history by @usmusicscholar — is GREAT for your #bookclub. Get started with our suggestions and questions at https://t.co/Lq7TcyIGua #nationalanthem @wwnorton #UShistory @umichsmtd #democracy

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Congrats to @NEHgov #NEHPublicScholar Mark Clague (@usmusicscholar) on his new @wwnorton book “O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’”! #USHistory #HappyFourthOfJuly #BirthdayUSA #patriotism

[National Endowment for the Humanities @NEHgov]

Learn the fascinating story of America’s national anthem and examine its powerful meaning today, with #NEHPublicScholar Mark Clague’s (@usmusicscholar) new book, “O Say Can You Hear?” https://t.co/sbR5SFd5ty

[CSPAN @cspan]

SUNDAY: Q&A with @usmusicscholar Mark Clague on the history of the Star-Spangled Banner, its widespread use at sporting events, and renditions of it by Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Roseanne Barr and others – 8pm ET on C-SPAN https://t.co/1PnG68ET0D

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Great to see the pioneering research of @usmusicscholar receiving so much positive attention #USHistory #Patriotism #July4th

[The Economist @TheEconomist]

Who performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” best? The author of a book about the song reckons it was Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl in 1991—but salutes Jimi Hendrix’s rendition at Woodstock https://t.co/GkO7O5zaOo

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

.@cspan author Q&A with @cspanSusan about my #anthembook airs Sunday 6/26 at 8pm and 11pm. See https://t.co/sPCzjimdU8 #UMichArts #USHistory

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Thanks to @StarTribune and historian Glenn Altschuler for the generous review of my new book 'O Say Can You Hear,' by Mark Clague https://t.co/umjT4Q4UOy

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Congrats to @usmusicscholar and @wwnorton for this new book on the United States national #anthem. So many stories, insights, and new ideas about a song that is such a deep part of American life, yesterday and today. Hooray for #USHistory!!!

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Happy #FlagDay! Today is the day my #anthem book is finally & OFFICIALLY released. I’ve updated my anthem history website with a new SSB lyrics database and there are #free musical examples for the book online. See https://t.co/o5XfuS77OJ #UMichArts

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Both a thrill & honor to meet @Kaepernick7 to give him a copy of my anthem history “O Say Can You Hear?” in thanks for inspiring me to dig deeper into the song, its lyric, and its author. For me, protest is not unAmerican, but the ultimate patriotic act of both hope and devotion.

[The Conversation U.S. @ConversationUS]

Why you hear the national anthem before every NFL football game, including the #SuperBowl

By @usmusicscholar of @UMich
https://t.co/eEnEF3h6Y9

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Excited for Sunday’s #SuperBowl anthem by @MickeyGuyton! See https://t.co/kbwFQKmyI3 @spangledmusic #USA #BlackLivesMatter #NFLanthem #football

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

In 1884, women raised their voices to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to demand the #RightToVote and to argue that equality itself was patriotic. #19thamendment #WomensVote100 #equalitywins

See https://t.co/7qkl9oU4vg

[Michigan News @UMichiganNews]

In this Q&A @usmusicscholar from @umichsmtd discusses the history and significance of the U.S. national anthem, the lesser-known abolitionist Banner version, and the songs’ place in the history of American music and protest. @umichARTS

https://t.co/A7hQVrb1AI

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

A new arrangement of the US #anthem for #FourthofJuly2020 by American pianist Tony Lee that addresses both crisis and hope by quoting “We Shall Overcome” under the Anacreontic melody. https://t.co/5kIFekg6n1

[Mark Clague @usmusicscholar]

Great conversation with my #umicharts colleagues Louise Toppin and Naomi André about two American anthems—“The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” @umichsmtd

https://t.co/1RE1YthoaJ

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Correcting a false Francis Scott Key quote https://t.co/p1qgHNa3Dn #ushistory #americanhistory #anthem

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

In solidarity with those decrying anti-black racism, the Star Spangled Music Foundation is making the 1921 edition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” available for free download at https://t.co/RxyUlxbdiN #ArtofDemocracy #FightRacism #BlackLivesMatter

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

The #nationalanthem returns as a TV signoff with patriotic imagery as a call for #nationalunity at a time of crisis. Thanks! @juliarebeccaj @usmusicscholar
https://t.co/klCQttbySO

[Star Spangled Music @spangledmusic]

Great that our recordings by @usmusicscholar are featured in @onthemedia interview w/ @seatedovation #anthemprotests https://t.co/fvWhJ2OmBR