{"id":13686,"date":"2017-11-02T10:05:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T10:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/11\/02\/a-different-national-anthem-before-the-nation-was-ready-for-it\/"},"modified":"2017-11-02T10:05:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T10:05:04","slug":"a-different-national-anthem-before-the-nation-was-ready-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/a-different-national-anthem-before-the-nation-was-ready-for-it\/","title":{"rendered":"A Different National Anthem, Before The Nation Was Ready For It"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Karen Grigsby Bates<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Back in 1968, a rising Puerto Rican pop star, Jos\u00e9 Feliciano, was asked to sing at Game 5 of the World Series.<\/p>\n

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The NFL continues to wrangle with its issue of players taking a knee during the national anthem, but this isn’t the first time The Star Spangled Banner<\/em> has collided with politics, race and a major sporting event.<\/p>\n

In 1968, a rising Puerto Rican pop star, Jos\u00e9 Feliciano, was asked to sing the anthem before Game 5 of the World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals were playing the Detroit Tigers in Tiger Stadium.<\/p>\n

At that time, Feliciano’s had a hit single<\/a> with his cover of The Doors’ Light My Fire<\/em>. The world seemed to be changing very quickly; there was a lot of focus on what media was calling the Youth Movement. It was a good time to showcase new talent.<\/p>\n

A Star-Mangled Banner?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Vintage tape<\/a> shows a young guy in sunglasses (Feliciano was born blind) seated on a stool, playing his acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n

Back then, the anthem was generally performed by popular musicians of stage and screen, or talented first-responders and members of the military, always in a very straightforward way.<\/p>\n

Feliciano’s gentle, Latin jazz-infused version puzzled some people. And it outraged others.<\/p>\n