I believe many of our readers will concur that nothing is nearly as stirring as the National Anthem.
The fact that the song may be played and sung in so many various ways is undoubtedly its strongest feature.
When performing it before a sporting event, artists frequently try to put their own unique twist
on it; choosing which ‘version’ best suits the lyrics and tone is a task for bolder men than I.
Having said that, I am aware of the difference between a song’s offering and a poor one. And believe me
when I say that the item you’re reading falls squarely into the first category in terms of performance.
I can recommend searching ‘Harmonica Pete’ on YouTube if you’ve never heard of him. He was a physician for the American Army stationed in England during World War II and was born Peter B. DuPré.
He is 96 years old now, and he recently caused a buzz on social media with a breathtaking performance of The Star-Spangled Banner.
Before a women’s soccer match between the US and Mexico teams over the Memorial Day weekend in 2019, Pete had the privilege of being requested to sing the US National Anthem.
WWII Peter wore a US soccer jersey and a hat that read ‘World War II Veteran” and was embellished with pins and medals.
We now feel the need to mention that this performance was not your typical one. How is it possible?
A 26,000-person audience was listening to ‘Harmonica Pete’ perform! The veteran, however, rose to the challenge and quickly filled the stadium with exquisitely sweet notes.
Peter continues to be exceedingly modest despite being a clearly talented harmonica player.
I play the harmonica, he declared. ‘I don’t know a thing about music, but I can make a harmonica talk,’ said the speaker.
Peter’s performance, which was undoubtedly memorable, rapidly went viral online and had about nine million views on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Regarding his heroics on the harmonica, Peter maintained his usual stoicism. He explained, ‘This was just the simple ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ played the way it was meant to be played.’