Oh, say, can you sing it properly?

Girls' Life, Oct-Nov, 2004

Most girls are probably too young to remember Roseanne Barr's 1990 spit-and-grab version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," but Rosie is not the only one who has ad-libbed to the national anthem. Aerosmith, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Henddx and others have put their own spins on our country's theme song, despite sometimes uproarious criticism.

Well, America's music teachers feel it's high time U.S. citizens sing the song correctly. The Music Educators National Conference is launching the National Anthem Project next spring to set the record straight. MENC gave a demo during the Sept. 10 New York Yankees-Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards, where 100 kids led a traditional rendition of the anthem. Seems the crowd needed the lead since surveys show 61 percent of Americans don't even know the second verse!