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[Mindlog]

José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican artist and at the time wasn't a widely known name. Many people still don't know who he is, but they recognize his voice. Ever heard, Feliz Navidad? That is him. This is the performance he gave when invited to sing the national anthem during the 1968 World Series.

1968 WS Gm5: Jose Feliciano performs natonal anthem. (sic, GJ MLB)

People lost their shit. Compared to some of the half-hour vanity driven modern renditions Feliciano's version may seem unremarkable. However, this was one of the first times an artist deviated from the rigid framework expected when performing the anthem. The uproar was widespread and instantly recognizable.

From the New York Times

Many ears in 1968 heard it differently.

Boos were heard from the stands, but the real blowup came afterward.

”It was a disgrace, an insult," a baseball fan, Arlene Raicevich of Detroit, told The Associated Press. ”I'm going to write my senator about it."

”It sounded like a hippie was singing it," said another Detroiter, Bernie Gray.

The players at the game were divided on the performance. ”I don't think it was the proper place for that kind of treatment," Roger Maris of the St. Louis Cardinals told The Boston Globe. ”Maybe I'm a conservative."

Pitcher Dick Hughes said: ”Thumbs down all the way. That's a conformist's song and should be sung the way it was written." (We should add, there is no official version.)

But their teammate Tim McCarver said: ”Why not that way? People go through a routine when they play the anthem. They stand up and yawn and almost fall asleep. This way, at least they listened."

The performance temporarily halted Feliciano's carreer. He had trouble keeping gigs and making records. Some claim the performance had a disruptive and influential role in the Tigers coming back to win the series from a 3-1 defecit. Through the turbulent times Feliciano would make good friends with Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell and he in turn introduced Feliciano to the 17 year old girl that would become his wife. That's another story. Feliciano would eventually be invited back to perform the national anthem again with much different results. What was once villified as unpatriotic filth had become a much more widely accepted practice. The man who was nearly booed into silence walked off to applause.

Tim McCarver had it right. There are some really great renditions of the anthem that clearly have more impact than a recorded playback of the same song would. That lesson rings as true today as it did 49 years ago.

Further reading.
A Polarizing Anthem Performance — by Jose Feliciano in 1968
The World Series National Anthem That Infuriated America
Jose Feliciano's Star-Spangled Controversy

 

[The Awesomest]

This is really cool, OP. Thanks for sharing. I actually really like his rendition of the anthem. On a side note, it's interesting to see the word 'conformist' used positively. I'd only ever heard it used as a pejorative.

 

[KAOS]

Thanks for this!

 

[cryptosporidium]

interesting, especially since Hendrix would get the same criticisms a year later

 

[The Awesomest]

I appreciate the authors making the connection between this event and all the contoversy surrounding the anthem today.

Also, I can't seem to open the third link in the OP.

 

[DogDude]

Only slightly better than Roseann

 

[yanipheonu]

In conclusion, people who spout outrage because "Tradition!" tend to not know their history very well.

 

[Sanjuro]

This man had no respect for our troops.

 

[Mindlog]

I appreciate the authors making the connection between this event and all the contoversy surrounding the anthem today.

Also, I can't seem to open the third link in the OP.

Fixed. It's an older blog I read several years ago, but I had to give it credit for having the Harwell interview which I had never heard before.