Of all the songs President Joe Biden might have quoted during his inaugural address on Wednesday, a song that many people know as a Norah Jones track from a Ken Burns documentary might not have been the first guess.
The song, “American Anthem,” was written by songwriter Gene Scheer and was first sung by Denyce Graves in 1998 for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Smithsonian Institution during the launch of the “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. It was subsequently performed at other ceremonies, was covered by Patti Labelle and sung by Graves at George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration; its performance today may tie in with Biden’s unity theme.
Jones’ version dates from 2007 and was featured in “The War,” Burns’ documentary about World War II. Written by Gene Scheer,” it’s an outlier in Jones’ extensive catalog, featured on none of her albums and only available on the series’ soundtrack album.
The song, “American Anthem,” was written by songwriter Gene Scheer and was first sung by Denyce Graves in 1998 for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the Smithsonian Institution during the launch of the “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. It was subsequently performed at other ceremonies, was covered by Patti Labelle and sung by Graves at George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration; its performance today may tie in with Biden’s unity theme.
Jones’ version dates from 2007 and was featured in “The War,” Burns’ documentary about World War II. Written by Gene Scheer,” it’s an outlier in Jones’ extensive catalog, featured on none of her albums and only available on the series’ soundtrack album.
- 1/20/2021
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
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