199th Anniversary Guest Post: Our National Anthems — Author John Shaw

Everybody knows “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It’s our national anthem. We hear it when an American wins a gold medal at the Olympics; we sing it before major league sporting events. It’s almost as familiar as the flag that it’s about. Yet like a lot of familiar things, it has a complicated history, a lot of…

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Star Spangled Music Launches Fund & Friend Building Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: SUSAN KEY (310.748-3773) info@starspangledmusic.org Celebrating the National Anthem’s 200th Birthday with the gift of new tools for teachers… Star Spangled Music Foundation has launched a funding campaign to release set of historical recordings and musical songbook in anticipation of the bicentennial of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — the national anthem of the…

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SSB — Happy 199 & Counting! (David Hildebrand Guest Post)

199 years ago yesterday Key was still aboard his American flag of truce vessel, waiting for Skinner to finish his work exchanging prisoners. Not until 199 years ago today (Sept. 16, 2013), in the evening would he arrive back on shore and it was the next morning when the “Defence of Fort M’Henry” broadsides were…

Why Sing, Study, Teach & Learn the Banner? It's Who We Are!

On the occasion of the 199th birthday of the US national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner,” I thought it’d be worth taking some time to reflect on the meaning of the song and specifically the question of why it’s important for K-12 education in the U.S.A. My students at the University of Michigan tease me a…

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