To Anacreon in Heaven | English drinking song | Britannica (original) (raw)

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origin of “The Star Spangled Banner” melody

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  In The Star-Spangled Banner: Origin of the melody
  …taken from the song “To Anacreon in Heaven,” which first surfaced about 1776 as a club anthem of the Anacreontic Society, an amateur mens’ music club in London. Written by British composer John Stafford Smith—whose identity was discovered only in the 1970s by a librarian in the music division…
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  In The Star-Spangled Banner: Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner
  …to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The title was changed to “The Star-Spangled Banner” when it appeared in sheet music form later the same year.
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