Daily Dirt: Springsteen, Greenwood or Cash? Take patriotic your pick; all three are awesome
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Daily Dirt for Sunday, July 3, 2022
How many times will we hear Bruce Springsteen sing “Born In The U.S.A.” by the time Monday night rolls around? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 328 of The Daily Dirt.
1. Best songs to play on this marvelous July 4 weekend:
- Gold medal: “Born In The U.S.A,” by Bruce Springsteen, which, ironically, was intended to be a song about the hardships endured by Vietnam veterans after they returned home. Instead, it almost immediately took on its own life as a 1970s patriotic anthem. The 1984 classic is 4 minutes, 38 seconds of The Boss at his guitar-pounding, blue jean-wearin’ best.
- Silver medal: “God Bless the U.S.A.,” by Lee Greenwood. This always will be one of those songs that brings concert-goers to their feet, applauding Greenwood’s patriotism and honoring their country.
- Bronze medal: “Ragged Old Flag,” by Johnny Cash, a song about the evolution of our country and one of Cash’s best.
2. Best celebrity performance playing the president in the movies:
- Daily Dirt Academy Award: Harrison Ford as President James Marshall in “Air Force One.” He helped take down a plane full of Russian terrorists.
- Daily Dirt Academy Award Runner-up: Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shephard in “The American President.” His relationship with lobbyist Annette Bening was the stuff of legends.
- Daily Dirt Academy Award Nice Try: Morgan Freeman as President Tom Beck in “Deep Impact.” He and a handful of brave Americans attempted to save humanity from a comet heading directly for Earth.
3. Best patriotic song performed by a rock star:
- Daily Dirt Platinum Record: Whitney Houston, national anthem, 1991 Super Bowl. This will always be No. 1. Always.
- Daily Dirt Gold Record: Jennifer Hudson’s performance of the anthem at the 2009 Super Bowl was a close, close second.
- Daily Dirt Standing Ovation: Jimi Hendrix, guitar version of the national anthem, originally performed at Woodstock in 1969. “All I did was play it,” Hendrix said. “I’m American, so I played it … it’s not unorthodox. I thought it was beautiful.” It was.
Steve Thought O’ The Day
Steve has always wondered why July 4 has traditionally represented the halfway mark of the summer, even though summer officially began little more than a week ago.
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