1

It had a different name

Image: Luke Michael

Originally, the lyrics came from a poem titled "Defence of Fort M’Henry," written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The sight of the American flag still flying after the battle inspired him.

The poem was printed in newspapers and set to music, but it wasn’t until more than a century later that it officially became the national anthem we know today.

2

It has four verses

Image: Serena Koi

Most of us only belt out the first one, but did you know "The Star-Spangled Banner" actually has four verses? The other three are rarely heard .

Francis Scott Key wrote additional verses exploring themes of resilience and freedom, but most people have never read those stanzas.

3

Key wasn’t a musician

Image: Steve Johnson

Contrary to what you might expect from the author of the nation’s most patriotic song, Francis Scott Key wasn’t a musician .

He was a lawyer and an amateur poet. He didn’t collaborate with a composer or choose a melody to set his lyrics to, either. He simply wrote the poem, which was later published nationally by The Analectic Magazine .

4

The tune was actually borrowed

Image: Ylanite Koppens

So how did the anthem get its music, then? A relative of Key realized that the lyrics of his poem fit perfectly with the tune of an already popular song, "To Anacreon in Heaven."

That song was actually a British drinking tune frequently sung in 18th-century gentlemen’s clubs. The melody was catchy, but its origins were anything but patriotic.

5

It was first sung in a Baltimore tavern

Image: andrew welch

One account claims that the anthem’s first public performance wasn’t at a grand concert or a government event, but in a Baltimore tavern in 1814.

According to the story, just weeks after Key wrote the lyrics, a local actor sang them to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven." The crowd loved it, and the song quickly spread.

6

It wasn’t the first choice

Image: Wesley Tingey

Believe it or not, "The Star-Spangled Banner" wasn’t America’s first choice for a national anthem. For over a century, songs like "Hail, Columbia" and "My Country, ’Tis of Thee" filled the role. It wasn’t until 1931 that Congress, under President Herbert Hoover, officially designated Key’s anthem as the nation’s song.

7

The tradition of singing it before sports

Image: Frankie Lopez

The tradition of singing the anthem at sporting events began during the 1918 World Series . The crowd’s emotional response was so powerful that more and more baseball games adopted the practice.

Today, it’s hard to imagine a baseball game without it. Many other sports—including American football, hockey, and basketball—have since followed suit.

8

Aretha Franklin’s rendition is the longest

Image: Stas Knop

Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Star-Spangled Banner" is the longest recorded performance of the national anthem, lasting an impressive 4 minutes and 55 seconds . In contrast, most renditions take under two minutes!

She performed it in 2016 at an NFL game, breaking the previous record set by Alicia Keys three years earlier, whose version lasted 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

9

An unsuspected first recording voice

Image: Sudhith Xavier

The first known recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was made in 1915 by Margaret Woodrow Wilson . Yes, the daughter of President Woodrow Wilson.

Her rendition, though not as polished as modern versions, marked the anthem’s entry into the world of recorded music. Who would have thought the president’s daughter would be a trailblazer?

10

Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock performance

Image: Xie lipton

Jimi Hendrix’s electric guitar rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969 remains one of the most famous—and controversial—performances of the anthem.

His distorted, soulful, and modern interpretation hypnotized the crowds and became a powerful cultural statement amid the turbulence of the 1960s. Some saw it as a protest; others, as a masterpiece. Either way, we still talk about it.

11

A song for all occasions

Image: frank mckenna

Originally, "The Star-Spangled Banner" wasn’t intended solely as a national anthem. It was a patriotic song for all occasions —political rallies, public celebrations, and more. The anthem is as popular as it is versatile, and so it has been played in endless scenarios—and in countless versions!

1

Roswell Incident

In June 1947, a rancher in Roswell, New Mexico, found strange metallic debris in a field. Soon after, military personnel from a neighboring air base gathered all the evidence and announced they had recovered a flying disc . The following day, however, they retracted their statement, claiming instead that the debris was part of a weather balloon — and suspicions of a conspiracy were born

Years later, government officials stated that the balloon story had been a cover, but there are still disputes about what actually happened. Military sources have since said the balloon was part of a program to detect Soviet nuclear weapons , but the contradicting stories have led many to believe that we don’t know the whole truth about the incident.

2

Washington, D.C. UFO Incident

In July 1952, a series of UFO sightings in Washington, D.C., was reported over two consecutive weekends near the White House and the Capitol. These objects were seen visually by pilots and air traffic controllers, and they were also tracked by radar.

Though the air force deployed jets to intercept the UFOs, the pilots reported that these objects had incredible speed and that they were easily outmaneuvered. The incident sparked attention from the media, which led President Truman to create the Robertson Panel, a scientific committee dedicated to investigating UFO sighting reports.

3

Cash–Landrum incident

In December 1980, Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum, alongside Landrum’s grandson, spotted what they initially thought was an airplane near Dayton, Texas, but was actually a diamond-shaped object, emitting a bright light and hovering near the ground . After getting out of their vehicle to inspect the object, they returned to the car to find it was extremely hot to the touch.

After the alleged UFO left, Cash and Landrum claimed to have seen a military aircraft following it. The three of them experienced burns, nausea, and other symptoms similar to those of radiation sickness , and Cash spent a month hospitalized. The government denied any involvement in the situation, but many investigators and researchers believe this could have been a secret military experiment.

4

The Westchester Boomerang

From 1983 to 1984, residents of Hudson Valley in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut reported the appearance of large objects that emitted bright lights , flying in a circle or V-shaped formation.

The police later claimed that these were actually a group of Cessna 152s from a neighboring town , and the alleged pilots expressed their amusement at the confusion. However, witnesses claimed that the flying objects could not have been small aircraft, as they made no sound and were able to hover in one spot for extended periods of time.

5

Travis Walton incident

On November 5, 1975, Travis Walton, a logger working in Heber, Arizona, was reported missing by his crew. They claimed that, returning from work, they had stopped because they saw an unusual light. Walton had walked into the forest following it and had been struck by a beam . Afraid that he had died, his companions fled and alerted the police, but Walton was not found despite intense searches.

Five days later, Walton appeared in Heber, confused and disoriented. He claimed to have been abducted by humanoid aliens, who kept them in their aircraft . He and other witnesses passed the lie detector test, but many people believed the incident was an elaborate hoax.

6

Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting

In June 1947, Kenneth Arnold, a pilot flying near Mount Rainier in Washington State, reported sighting of several flying objects, which he believed were experimental military aircraft. After an investigation by military officials, they found several witnesses who reported sightings at a similar time and location to Arnold.

Arnold described these aircraft as round objects that moved as a "saucer would if you skipped it across the water". The popularity of the story, the first UFO sighting after World War II, first popularized the term "flying saucer."

7

Stephenville, Texas sighting

Residents of Stephenville, Texas, reported in January 2008 that they had seen a massive flying object, moving at high speed and emitting lights. The witnesses, including a pilot and a police officer, claimed the object was up to a mile long and made no sound.

Though the U.S. Air Force initially denied having planes in the area , they later explained that training maneuvers for 10 F-16 jets had been conducted; this contradiction sparked rumors of a classified military aircraft.

8

Marfa Lights, Texas

One of the oldest alleged sightings in America, the first record of the Marfa lights dates back to 1883. These light orbs appear sporadically on the horizon, and their color varies between blue, red, and white. Appearing around 30 times a year, the Marfa lights can still be seen to this day.

Scientists have tried to explain these appearances as an atmospheric phenomenon similar to a mirage, or the reflection of car lights from a highway, but they have failed to reach a definite conclusion. Marfa has become a popular destination for UFO aficionados , which has led the Texas Department of Transportation to build a dedicated viewing area.

9

Japan Airlines Cargo Flight 1628

On November 17, 1986, the crew of a Japanese cargo plane claimed to have been followed by three flying objects —one massive and two smaller ones— as they flew over Anchorage, Alaska. Media outlets reported that these objects had been captured on a military radar, but government officials later discredited the claims.

After landing in Anchorage, the crew was interviewed by the FBI and the CIA, who allegedly confirmed a radar sighting. However, the agencies have since denied that the meeting ever took place.

10

USS Nimitz "Tic Tac" incident

In November 2004, jet pilots from the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier reported encountering a ‘tic tac-shaped’ object with remarkable flying capabilities. Besides the eyewitnesses, the object was captured by the jets’ cameras and tracked by the radar of another aircraft carrier for two weeks.

The videos were classified until 2020, when they were released by the Pentagon after a series of reports by the New York Times . Though several theories have been postulated, there is no official explanation for this incident.

1

Dolly Parton – "Jolene," Glastonbury 2014

It’s hard to pick one iconic Dolly Parton live performance, as the Queen of Country knew exactly how to win over an audience with her extraordinary voice and charisma. But her unforgettable 2014 "Jolene" performance at Glastonbury Festival in England certainly has a special place in our hearts.

Playing in front of more than 180,000 people on the Pyramid Stage, she turned her 1973 classic song into a full-on spectacle, moving around the stage and joking as she and the audience belted out the chorus together. Only Dolly Parton could turn a British rock festival into a joyful country singalong.

2

Queen – Live Aid, 1985

Queen needed only 20 minutes at 1985 Live Aid to deliver one of the most memorable live performances in history. The band played "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Radio Ga Ga," "Hammer to Fall," and "We Are the Champions" at the massive charity concert, with 72,000 people filling every corner of Wembley Stadium in London.

Frontman Freddie Mercury delivered a spectacular musical performance, masterfully commanding the crowd and making them part of the show.

3

Elvis Presley – ’68 Comeback Special, 1968

After seven years away from the stage, the King of Rock and Roll made a legendary comeback on December 3, 1968, when NBC aired Elvis Presley’s television special. Wearing a black leather outfit in an intimate sit-down session, Elvis marked his return to live music after years of focusing on Hollywood movies.

He performed some of his most popular songs, including "That’s Alright," and closed the show with "If I Can Dream," a song inspired partly by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. earlier that year.

4

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison, 1968

The "Man in Black" had long been fascinated by prison life, and on January 13, 1968, he performed two concerts inside Folsom State Prison in California — and the inmates were animated throughout the show, especially when Cash performed "Cocaine Blues" and "Folsom Prison Blues."

Beyond the unusual location, the Folsom Prison concert, recorded for a legendary album, epitomized Cash’s iconoclastic stance as he entertained fellow outlaws and outsiders.

5

Whitney Houston – Super Bowl XXV, 1991

Whitney Houston's exceptional voice was already legendary, and she was one of the most famous and successful singers on the planet in 1991. But she stunned everyone when she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Tampa Stadium in Florida, during the ongoing Gulf War.

The patriotic performance was a soulful showcase of Houston's vocal range and power in front of 73,000 people plus hundreds of millions more watching from home. The song reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and all the revenues went to the Gulf Crisis Fund.

6

Tina Turner – "Proud Mary," Amsterdam Arena in 1996

Tina Turner's explosive performances of "Proud Mary" had long been a signature number in her live shows, a song where she showed off everything that made her such a fantastic performer. But her performance of "Proud Mary" at Amsterdam Arena in 1996 was something else.

Her nonstop dancing and roaring voice at the peak of her solo superstardom tore the roof off the place and drove the audience crazy.

7

The Beatles – Shea Stadium, 1965

In front of roughly 55,600 fans in New York City at the peak of Beatlemania , John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr performed one of the first major stadium rock concerts in history.

The audience got so loud during the show that The Beatles later reported they had trouble hearing themselves, as the band’s regular amplifiers weren’t enough for that crowd.

8

Madonna – Blond Ambition Tour, 1990

Madonna’s remarkable 1990 Blond Ambition Tour had it all: singing, choreography, costumes, and provocative themes and imagery that ruffled some feathers. She was at the peak of her global fame, and her hypersexual performance of "Like a Virgin" raised some eyebrows, especially the choreography involving an iconic cone bra design by Jean Paul Gaultier.

The Blond Ambition Tour was a theatrical full-scale visual production that influenced generations of performers who followed.

9

Goo Goo Dolls – "Iris" in the rain, 2004

Although the Goo Goo Dolls are technically not one-hit wonders, the ballad "Iris" is by far the band’s most iconic song. And if anything could make it even more memorable, that was the epic 2004 performance in the rain in Buffalo, New York.

Just as the band began to play "Iris," a massive thunderstorm rolled in, pouring rain onto the stage ; but instead of stopping, lead singer John Rzeznik simply embraced the weather and used it to his advantage to deliver a cinematic performance in which the rain actually enhanced the song’s emotional climax.

10

Beyoncé – Coachella, 2018

On April 14, 2018, during a nearly two-hour concert packed with dancers, musicians, and even a marching band, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella . She played songs from throughout her career, including "Crazy in Love," "Formation," "Drunk in Love," and, of course, "Single Ladies."

The performance was so famous that fans even renamed it " Beychella " and turned it into a celebration of Black American musical tradition.