Non-musical history for today: 1814 – Battle of Baltimore: The poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” was written by Francis Scott Key. The poem was later used, obviously,  as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.  Americans don’t really talk about the music’s composer. The poem was set to the music of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a social club in London. Smith’s song, “To Anacreon in Heaven” (or “The Anacreontic Song”), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. So, this “American” anthem was put to stolen British music, renamed, and used as if it were an original idea. And if you didn’t know, “America” (“My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”), one of the de facto anthems prior to the “Star-Spangled Banner,” was stolen from “God Save the Queen/King.”

Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 14.

Recorded in the Omniverus Podcast Studios at Liberty Plaza.

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