America Celebrated in Song per State
The Fourth of July is nearly here! With rainbows lighting up the White House last weekend and fireworks filling our skies this weekend, the mood at MAM is feeling pretty darn festive and patriotic toward our renewed independent mindset in America.
We all know Independence Day is about more than colorful explosions; we gather together to celebrate our local traditions with barbecues, parades, picnics, and backyard parties.
And let's not forget the most important ingredient: music!
We have a long and colorful tradition of celebrating our passion for the Stars and Stripes through song. From Jay Z to Francis Scott Key, America has inspired countless composers since her very beginning.
Most of us have a favorite ‘Merica! song, of course. Diving deep into this idea, Spotify and The Echo Nest teamed up this year to create a map of each state’s preferred patriotic song. Top tunes were determined by which song each state listened to the most on July 4th versus of any other day of the year.
The results were as much a melting pot as America itself. Patriotic picks ranged from traditional songs like 'The Star Spangled Banner' (top versions sung by Whitney Houston, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Lee Greenwood) and 'America the Beautiful' (sung by Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton), to more recent hits like Miley Cyrus's 'Party in the U.S.A.' and the "Team America" theme 'America (Fuck Yeah!)'.
Our nation’s overwhelming love for Lee Greenwood claimed nearly half the states with his ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ as their fireworks anthem of choice. In the Northeast, Greenwood’s fans thin out, leaving room for classics by Bruce Springsteen (‘Born in the U.S.A.’), David Bowie (‘Young Americans’) and Chuck Berry (‘Back in the U.S.A.’). Miley’s ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ is the bee’s knees for Maine and New Hampshire. Alaska’s top jamof Macklemore’s ‘American’ stands alone (they understand it’s a parody, right?), while,true to form, Hawaii can’t get enough of ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’.
Happy Independence Day, MAM Family! We look forward to seeing what our next 239 years will bring, and what our local musical traditions will look by then. Even with so much change afoot over this past week and a half, one thing’s certain: we’ll still be celebrating America’s birthday with song in 2254!