Patriotic Music: Surprising Secrets About Those Flag-Waving

Whether played by a marching band, an orchestra, or a rock group, there are patriotic tunes that everyone in America finds familiar, exciting and uplifting. But how much do you know about how these songs were created? And what do you know about the people who wrote them?

There are some surprising facts behind all of this glorious music.

So, fire up the barbecue grill, look up at the fireworks, and strike up the band as we reveal the secrets behind the most influential nationalistic musical moments of all time.

"Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key, 1814.
Schoolchildren in America all learn how Key watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and so admired the courage of the beleaguered American forces that he wrote four stanzas of "The Star Spangled Banner" (only the first is usually performed). Key based the melody on an English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven." The song has only been the national anthem since 1931, and there was a strong movement to replace it with one of the other songs on this list.

"America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)," Samuel F. Smith, 1832.
The music was composed in the 1700s, sometimes attributed to Henry Cary. First popular in Great Britain as "God Save the King (Queen)," the song became bi-continental in 1832. Modern audiences have been greatly moved by the R&B version by Ray Charles, a truly wonderful blending of emotion with what musicians call "the groove."

"Rally 'Round the Flag," George F. Root, 1862.
Written for the Union army and its supporters during the Civil War, the song was hugely popular in the North. This didn't prevent Confederate troops from writing their own lyrics and singing the song throughout the South.

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home," Louis Lambert, c. 1863.
Lambert was a pseudonym for Union Army Bandmaster Patrick S. Gilmore. His lyrics, set to an old Irish folk song, were popular through the whole Reconstruction Era (1865-1896). It appears in an extended instrumental version on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick's film "Dr. Strangelove."

"Battle Hymn of the Republic," Julia W. Howe, 1861.
Howe is another lyricist who succeeded by utilizing a pre-existing piece of music, in this case a camp meeting tune of the 19th century (which also became "John Brown's Body"). The profound power of the words combined with the compelling melody cannot be denied, and it was sung at the funerals of Winston Churchill, Robert Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

"Overture: 1812," Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880.
Patriotic music doesn