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Country singer Carrie Underwood put American vocals first when the background music for her rendition of “America the Beautiful” failed during President Donald Trump’s second Inauguration ceremony.
She stood ready to sing, and the music began to play but then quickly cut out. When it was apparent that the technical difficulties would not be resolved, she smiled and asked the crowd to help her out.
Underwood smiled and belted the timeless patriotic ballad first sung by American legend Kate Smith.
Instead of just delivering a powerful performance, Underwood led American leaders to sing the song a capella in the Capitol Rotunda, their voices mingling and echoing off of the historic walls.
“America the Beautiful” has a strong history in this nation. According to the Library of Congress, it began as a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893. It was first published by “The Congregationalist” in 1895 and was later revised in 1902. By 1913 she added her final revisions and the poem gained popularity as it was perfected.
The song had been sung to different melodies through the years, and the the National Federation of Music Clubs even held a contest to declare the official melody without finding a winner, but a song that composer Samuel Augustus Ward wrote before the poem’s conception in 1882 became the official melody.
Lee Greenwood & Carrie Underwood backstage at the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. @carrieunderwood pic.twitter.com/sbbdcz9Bbm
— Lee Greenwood (@TheLeeGreenwood) January 20, 2025
Kate Smith’s broadcast premiere was held in 1938, and immortalized the song for generations to come, per the Library of Congress, paving the way for Underwood and American leaders to join the nation in song under President Donald J. Trump.