Hendrix Plays the National Anthem at Woodstock

Jimi Hendrix · 1969

“An anthem rewritten as a war report at 9am on a Monday.”

Most of Woodstock had already left when Hendrix took the stage Monday morning. He played the Star Spangled Banner with feedback simulating bombs and screams. It's not anti-American. It's the most American performance ever recorded — the song held up to the country it represents. Nothing in rock has matched its specificity since.