Jazz singer opts to sing Black National Anthem

A Jazz singer stirred up controversy and emotions when she opted to sing the words to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — aka the Black National Anthem, at the annual Denver, CO State of the City address.

From MyFoxColorado.com:

The city asked local jazz singer Rene Marie to sing the Star Spangled Banner before Tuesday’s speech.

But she performed a different version of the national anthem. She took the music from the Star Spangled Banner and sang lyrics from the Black National Anthem instead.

“If anyone has a right to be angry it is probably me,” says Mayor John Hickenlooper. “I guess what I feel most is deeply disappointed.” (Source)

The mayor said only Marie, her husband and a musical adviser knew what version of the anthem she was going to sing. He said Marie later apologized to him. “What she said was that she was very sorry, she did not mean any disrespect, that she was trying to make a creative expression for her love of the country.”

But other residents felt angry and disappointed. City Councilman Charlie Brown – who is white – said, “I was mad, I almost walked off the stage.”

http://www.myspace.com/hune916 HunE916

Hell, we used to sing that in pre-school and elementary instead of the “traditional” version. When I hear it now, it stirs up so much emotion; it’s a very powerful song! It depicts the struggle of Black people in America.

…F*CK THEM! I wouldn’t have apologized! Tell them to have Dolly Pardon or one of the Partridges sing next time!

[…but she may need to apologize for those BANGS!…:o]
pointhimout

she can always say she forgot the words to the other one. miss me with that ish. who cares.
NYCUTIE

LMAO!! When is it appropriate to exercise our right to freedom of speech? *Napoleon Dynamite voice* Frigging idiots!
http://www.myspace.com/amax79 AKAtastrophy1908

She gonna mess around and keep Obama from getting elected. (smirk) They should have known something was goin down when they say her hair…
mjoylaw

I’m curious if anyone knows the reason she changed the song..this seems really off the wall to me, the sudden randomness of it all seems a bit strange. She must have had a reason for this..anyone?
ThatCarmen

^^^ time and place for everything…she got it wrong on both. As much as I love the song, it just wasnt the appropriate audience… surely she could not have expected them to appreciate it. She was asked to sing something in particular and agreed to it….she should have asked permission to change it. …it was disrespectful for the situation she was in. If we ask someone to come on here and sing an old Negro Spiritual and they instead sing some old Confederate Southern “keep em in chains” song…there would be a riot. JMO.
http://www.myspace.com/spiceandmusicqueen08 pyt_504

Is it really that damn serious??? I mean really???
MistaO

“They” may say and feel how they want to, but on the one, I saw her sing this and she SANG it foreal!

And yes, hearing this does stir something deep down inside for most “real” Black people. Kudo’s to her and other folks, White included, who see no harm in this version being shared.
MAJAHINEVERYWAY

You go girl!! That took balls. There is a pride in the air with African-Americans currently. However, the business and proper decorum side of me wishes she would have iformed the mayor prior about what she wanted to sing and why. But, whatever!
shunda

First of all she was in Denver. How many black people are in Denver? check out dude giving her the side eye. I like the song but I don’t think that was the place. We sing it in church
goat76

City Councilman Charlie Brown – who is white – said, “I was mad, I almost walked off the stage.”

Can anybody guess which person in the pic is City Councilman Charlie Brown is…….I going with the angry lookin white man with the full beard…..
mjoylaw

sorry all, but I agree with ThatCarmen, this lady was totally out of line. It has nothing to do with race or how well she sang, she made an AGREEMENT to do one thing, and then capriciously CAUSE SHE FELT LIKE IT? did something else completely different that was inappropriate! Let’s be for real that was totally unprofessional of her! She is a professional entertainer for hire, what a lack of judgment! And she’ll probably be blackballed for it, at least for a while..pls don’t slay me, it’s JMO
ThatCarmen

^^^^ thanks and I wasnt trying to down the song at all….or how much it means to us as a culture. We use to sing it in elementary school in choir since we were the majority and I dont mean just in February either…it uplifted us from what we were going home to ..It is a passionate song….but, because she did a behind the back move, she was out of line. again, JMO
mjoylaw

I absolutely adore the song, so that is not the issue..it’s simply that we have to be accountable when we make agreements as people of character and as professionals, and this lady’s decision to secretly change such an important component of the program for no apparent reason JUST CAUSE SHE WANTED TO? was just wrong on all levels…JMO
http://www.myspace.com/millyly milly

LMAO!
The Divine Ms. K

There is a time and place for everything and this was not the time or place to remix the Star-Spangled Banner. And a lot of people – servicemen, for example – take the words and song very seriously and you just don’t mess with it.

Just looking at the audience, she should have known her version would not be well-received.
Sharonda

Does the Star Spangled Banner mean anything these days?This patriotism stuff is really irkin my nerves.Maybe she was told to sing something other than that, guess nobody heard about that…
iyonah

Lol @ HunE916 in ref to those bangs.

I to agree that is he agreed to one thing she should have stuck to it. But at the same time, its not something that needs to get blown out of proportion. She apologized to those whom she felt needed to be and that’s that. NEXT!
http://www.myspace.com/hune916 HunE916

Sounds like they asked her to sing the National Anthem. And she did! So, I don’t know if there’s an argument that she didn’t fulfill the “contractual request”. Although it a slick-side move, it WAS the [Black] National Anthem, right?
http://www.myspace.com/themdivasinc Mimi Renee

I know she got some serious side eyes (shout to Fresh!) that day when she sang that song.

And she was in Denver too? lawdddddy
sdsthomas

I understand her willing to sing Lift Every Voice and Sing but as the Divine says, there is a time and place for everything. It’s a privilege to be asked to sing the National Anthem and what she did was dishonest. When can exercise our freedom of speech without being dishonest. If she felt strongly about singing the Lift Every Voice, she should have told them that when they asked her. I’m tripping on all of you saying Go Girl! If anything, she made a mockery of herself in the political arena.
Detroit48205

ThatCarmen Says:

time and place for everything…she got it wrong on both. As much as I love the song, it just wasnt the appropriate audience… surely she could not have expected them to appreciate it. She was asked to sing something in particular and agreed to it….she should have asked permission to change it. …it was disrespectful for the situation she was in.
********************************
2 Snaps…you hit the nail on the head…
http://www.myspace.com/hune916 HunE916

sdsthomas Says:

If anything, she made a mockery of herself in the political arena.

________________________________________________________

{rolls eyes} She’s a JAZZ SINGER! She ain’t running for President!

pyt_504 Says:

Is it really that damn serious??? I mean really???

iyonah Says:

But at the same time, its not something that needs to get blown out of proportion…NEXT!
http://www.myspace.com/spiceandmusicqueen08 pyt_504

THANKS YOU HUNE!!!
kalvonel

I’d pay real money to see the looks on all the faces in that room! The only thing that makes it serious is the fact that she agreed to sing one song and did not honor her agreement. That’s just bad business. Any artist, performer or public speaker knows the rule: “Know your audience” and by that rule alone, she was wrong. Lift Every Voice and Sing is a powerful song, but not even 1/2 of her audience could understand, much less truly appreciate the lyrics. Just all around bad busisness, but at the end of the day…I’m LMFAO!
http://myspace.com/mullatos SnootyPooty1

@ThatCarmen…. I agree with what you said there is a time and place for everything. Your word is all you have and if you say you are going to do something then follow through and keep your word. JMO
Paris Hilton’s Valtrex

AKAtastrophy1908 Says:

(smirk) They should have known something was goin down when they saw her hair…
——————————————-

::rolls over into grave::
free

can we save the antics until AFTER obama is in office????
Vegas Dice

Why the hell did she do that?!

She wasn’t at a MLK parade..

Her decision to exercise her “Black Power” at that time was idiotic at it’s finest.

Wrong move, sista!
http://musicisourhigh.blogspot.com musicisourhigh

Very talented lady but very unprofessional and dishonest
missdisrection

I am black but she was wrong; period! She should have sang what she was asked to sing. Let that have been the other way around where someone sang “Dixie” and we would be holloring RACISM and demanding they lose their job!

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