On August 18<sup>th</sup>, 1969 at the Woodstock music festival in Bethel, New York, Jimi Hendrix performed his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The performance lasted roughly 4 minutes and was performed on a stage in front of an audience of thousands on the final day of the festival, Monday, since the weather postponed many shows. There were mixed reaction to his rendition of the national anthem. Some thought that he was purposely performing the anthem badly to send an anti-America message, but Hendrix would later describe the performance as necessary since he was an American in a positive sense. His use of guitar feedback and amplifier effects were received positively and negatively both by those attending the performance and those who caught the show via the documentary movie released shortly afterward. Hendrix's use of feedback to emulate sounds of bombs, guns, and screams also represent the progression of art into post-modernism, where music and other arts became increasingly abstracted for the sake of a more inherent meaning. Jimi Hendrix's performance of the Star-Spangled Banner should be preserved because of his innovative use of musical effects to portray real sounds to convey a message.

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One of the most important historical event that occurred during Hendrix's time was the war between Vietnam and the United States. This is the war that many critics believe the performance is tied to as protest material. This war is tied to the United States' policy of containment of the spread of Soviet “communism” throughout southeast Asia from China. In China at this time, the cultural revolution was in full effect under Mao's command and influence of his political practice was spreading south, hence the war in Vietnam. The counterculture movement in America fueled Woodstock and was wrought with anti-war sentiments and other ideologies attached to Hendrix and his performance, but not politicians nor spectators would arrive at Hendrix's true intentions for the work.

Music of the 20<sup>th</sup> century is often analyzed in a different way than music of earlier centuries, stark differences and progressions of various music styles and techniques can be traces to decades during which certain genres and motifs in music were more popular than others. In the '50s, rock and roll is said to have begun, in the '60s, rock and roll was taken to a psychedelic direction and electrical instruments and effects were added in experimental fashion by musicians such as the Beatles, with punks bringing the new “punk rock” to the underground music scene. Hendrix's work was as popular as it was in it's creation because of his guitar work and his innovations of the psychedelic side of guitars and drums. He was a talented guitar player and a creative engine for his band “the Experience” and it showed in his live improvisations and recorded content that reached the top of the Billboard 200 for weeks at a time. The fact that he uses a guitar is typical, but what he does with it is certainly not.

Jimi Hendrix was one of few who began the rocker's archetype of guitar abuse on stage and live guitar solo improvisations. He stood out naturally as well, being one of few of early rock's left-handed guitarists and having guitars custom made for his unique playing style. On stage, Jimi stood out as well often improvising his use of feedback to enhance the song's message and sound, as he did for the Star-Spangled Banner. He is also well known for his eccentric presence; in one performance he was sexually touching an amplifier, lighting his guitar on fire, and smashing it to pieces on the stage to a mixed reaction from the crowd. This is in stark contrast to the clean-dressed innovators of '60s rock The Beatles, who were generally crowd pleasing performers with a style that had mass appeal.

Before the performance, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, his self-titled band, had excellent reception in the UK with their first release <i>Are You Experienced?</i> reaching #2 at its peak. The Woodstock performance had mixed reactions. People in the crowd were said to be “pulling their hair out” in amazement and others were silent with confusion. Fellow artist Bob Dylan reflected on the work positively, describing it as unifying and powerful in the message Hendrix was conveying. Critics saw the performance as an anti-American piece extending from the popular disapproval of the Vietnam War by many of the attendants of the Woodstock festival. Hendrix disagrees with this interpretation, stating that to even play the piece live is to do what any American musician would do in a patriotic sense. However, his experience in the Army fostered an anti-war mentality that was more accurate to his message and unified those who appreciated their country but not their country's actions.

Today, Hendrix's Star-Spangled Banner is still revered and honored, the performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for rock tracks in 2009. This award given retrospectively shows just how impacting his rendition was and still continues to be today. Despite the disapproval of his work by those outside the 1960's-'70s American counterculture, Hendrix's performance has today garnered mainstream praise. There are still many who revere Hendrix's work in general as well as his performances at Woodstock, with Rolling Stone honoring his work in the list of greatest albums and the man himself in their list of greatest artists. With the national anthem being performed at major sporting events in America constantly, it is rare that one performance is regarded as highly as this one was and continues to be.

Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the national anthem struck me as bizarre because of how far Hendrix pushed his equipment to produce the sounds he wanted. He was very daring with his guitar use and audio play, but I feel he was more open to do this given his setting. The Woodstock festival was notorious for its audience, who was largely made up of “hippies” experimenting with freedom in terms of sex, drugs, and societal critique. If Hendrix were playing for politicians at the White House, or any more formal setting, an average person in his position would formalize his or her own performance to fit the occasion, but given his style, some may argue that he would retain his message and play the same anthem he did at Woodstock. I thought his performance was incredible and his mastery of sound created from a single guitar flourishes in this piece.

Another contemporary group in Hendrix's time, the Beatles, achieved great acclaim during their time and are often regarded with Jimi Hendrix and other artists of the time as pioneers of rock's second generation. There is no known performance of the national anthem by the Beatles, but their work as a whole can easily be compared and contrasted to Hendrix's work as a whole considering both artist/artist group's guitar use and popular acclaim. Guitars were used by both as a prevailing source of rhythm and as the pivoting point of both artists. Hendrix emphasized during his career the prevalence of the “power trio”, taking on the rhythm duties and guitar solos during performances and on their records. Hendrix's band “the Experience” and later “Band of Gypsies” often had following members that aided to fill out their sound on tour, whereas the Beatles generally kept to their quartet with each member trading vocal duties, with John and Paul taking the lead, and one rhythm guitar and one lead guitar.

Popularity came on both artists quickly as Hendrix's band's first album fell 2<sup>nd</sup> only to the Beatles' White Album on the UK charts. Both artists also came with their fair share of controversies, the Beatles' John Lennon made a statement in the height of their success that they were “more popular than Jesus” which didn't sit well with the generally conservative countries where the Beatles were popular. Hendrix shocked spectators on a crowd-by-crowd basis with his on-stage antics that birthed many archetypes of rock music. After a performance of “Wild Thing” caught on video, Hendrix, as mentioned earlier, sets his guitar on fire and destroys it on stage just before walking off, finishing the set. The Beatles never destroyed their equipment on stage, or elicited mixed responses from their audiences as frequently as Hendrix, but, as human beings, they had blunders that are often overlooked in current reflections on their influence on music today.

Hendrix's Star-Spangled Banner should be preserved as a piece of art in all respects. He communicates a message that is clear to those who understood him and his ideas and from his subjective perspective as an American that had a passion for rock music. He created what no body had before him, taking a medium that was previously viewed as undesirable and reforming it into a representation of sounds that moved people and sent a message. Future generations should know that this piece sends a message from an individual, one that is specific to his time and place which he knows and can comment on through his work. His piece of time is played though this performance and should be preserved both for the man's skill and the message he sends.

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<p align="CENTER">Work Cited</p>
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DeCurtis, Anthony. "Beyond The Jimi Hendrix Experience." (Feb 28, 2010), p. AR.21.(n.d.): Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

-Gave insights on Hendrix's band's story and experiences before and after the performance.
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Pareles, Jon. "POP VIEW; Caution: Now Entering The War Zone." (Feb 24, 1991), p. A.25.(n.d.): Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

-Allowed insights on war themes in music during the 20th century.

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><span style="font-size: medium">Ventre, Michael. N.p.. Web. 25 Nov 2013. &lt;http://www.today.com/id/32175232</span></span></span>

-Detailed  description of reactions to the performance and a good source for today's opinions on the work.

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<p align="LEFT">Wadleigh, Michael. "Land Of The Free. (Cover Story)."Newsweek133.26 (1999): 60. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.</p>
<p align="LEFT">-Looks at anthem performances and controversies surrounding performances throughout the 20th century and American responses to them.</p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><span style="font-size: medium">Wenner, Jann S., . N.p.. Web. 25 Nov 2013. &lt;http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531&gt;.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT">-The list of greatest albums offered a modern perspective on both Hendrix and the Beatles in their greater works of which multiple of both are on the list.</p>