Star Spangled Music Foundation

Mark Clague will be speaking about his recent book "O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'" at Sundance Books and Music in Reno on Thursday, July 6 at 6pm. Please help spread the word...

Mark Clague, O Say Can You Hear | Sundance Books and Music If you have difficulty accessing content on this website, please contact us at 775-786-1188 and we will be happy to assist you.

Tonight at 8PM EDT!!!

Mark Clague, Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor of Musicology, Arts Leadership, and American Culture at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he is also Associate Dean of Collaborations and Partnerships. His book O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was just published by W.W. Norton. Mark’s research focuses on the social power of music in American life.

Tune in via Facebook Live on Thursday, June 30 at 8pm ET | 5pm PT to hear from Mark at our next author talk.

Interview with author Mark Clague about his new book about ”The Star-Spangled Banner” airs this Sunday, June 26 at 8pm and 11pm.

Q&A with Mark Clague University of Michigan musicology and American culture professor Mark Clague talks about 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.

Insightful comments from Gerald Early on his personal relationship to the anthem and protest as a young baseball player.

Gerald Early on the National Anthem and Political Protests in Sports from Ken Burns' Baseball (1994)

New insights into the history of the anthem in American professional sports from one of our in-house historians, Mark Clague.

A brief history of the NFL, 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' the Super Bowl and their tangled saga of patriotism and dissent For the NFL, playing the national anthem started as a patriotic marketing ploy. It’s now played before every game alongside ‘Lift Every Voice,’ the Black national anthem, and ‘America the Beautiful.’

The comments from USA military veterans are especially powerful in this thoughtful article by Jerry Tipton on the recent anthem protests and subsequent controversy in Kentucky Basketball. SSMF board member musicologist Mark Clague is quoted.

UK’s protest an action that dates back to national anthem’s ‘very origins’ Author of book on national anthem says Francis Scott Key would be OK with players kneeling.