Hendrix and The Star Spangled Banner

While there was no single song that summed up its central values, both the social and political dominations of youth protest shared a common belief that rock could articulate its concerns.[1]

Shelia Whiteley writes an interesting chapter in the text ‘Remembering Woodstock’ in which she considers the music played at Woodstock and its reception by the audience. She notes in particular the communication process that takes place in live concerts and the position of the audience in receiving the music. The combination of the civil rights movement and anti-Vietnam sentiments were paramount issues to be communicated through music by the artists at this event.

Whiteley focuses Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ by discussing the civil rights and Vietnam war as the context in which he gave this performance. She writes:

Hendrix was certainly aware of the problems confronting black service-men in Vietnam. He, himself, had earlier been conscripted to the 101st Airborne Division... which had been assigned to Vietnam in 1965. By this time Hendrix had been honourably discharged following a training injury in the autumn of 1962, but he certainly knew the score as far as the position of black GIs were concerned: they represented 2 per cent of the officers and were assigned 28 per cent of the combat duties.[2]

Whiteley then goes on to consider the way in which Hendrix illustrated his lack of respect for the American authorities and the sense of injustice and cynicism he held for those in power:

So, what did the music mean, and did the crowd understand? While it is obviously impossible to say that those listening to Hendrix shared my interpretation, it is nevertheless suggested that the majority would have engaged with his performance, recognizing his style and possibly making some assumptions as to his personal philosophy and feelings, about the civil rights movement and those engaged in the Vietnam War. Clearly, the melody itself is still recognizable, but the sheer volume of noise, the distortion, the blue note bends and swerves, sustain and feedback aurally attack the original three-four metre, the neatly balanced phrases, the uplift of the melodic line and, as such, the connotations of heroism associated with ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ are undercut by a mood of devastation. I would also add that this was no spontaneous improvisation. Rather, it was a thought-through personal statement with all the trademarks of Hendrix’s performance style...[3]

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[1] Sheila Whiteley, ‘1,2,3 What are we fighting 4? Music, meaning and ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 20
[2] Sheila Whiteley, ‘1,2,3 What are we fighting 4? Music, meaning and ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 25
[3] Sheila Whiteley, ‘1,2,3 What are we fighting 4? Music, meaning and ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ in Ed. Andy Bennett, ‘Remembering Woodstock’ (Ashgate 2004) 26