Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia and Betsy Ross
Friday will soon be upon us and with it the Fourth of July. That wonderful holiday where we celebrate this country by grilling food and drinking enough alcohol to make our forefathers proud! But any Fourth of July cookout without the right music is doomed to failure. Lucky for you, FDRMX has looked into its Encyclopedia of Music and made a list of 5 patriotic songs to listen to this Friday. Wherever you celebrate the fourth, be sure to play all of these at least once.
5. God Bless the USA
Released at the onset of the Gulf War, Lee Greenwood’s patriotic hit has endured throughout the decades as one of the greatest patriotic songs. It has enough grandeur to stand against the classic American songs and unlike a lot of those songs, this one has an energetic and accessible tune that makes it perfect for a gathering.
4. Party in the U.S.A.
Country meets Pop as The South meets LA. The result has enough liveliness to get anyone in the cookout mood. It also does an interesting job emphasizing how in a country so vast there are so many different cultures and lifestyles in it, but we all love music.
3. Born in the U.S.A.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. This song isn’t actually a celebration of America but rather a criticism of the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam. But isn’t that what makes this Country great? The fact that we can criticize it while still having a sense of Patriotism and Respect? And besides, a playlist without any Bruce Springsteen is not one I’d like to listen to.
2. My President is Black
It’s good to have a bit of musical patriotism from every genre to emphasize the variety that makes this country so wonderful. For Rap you should turn to Young Jeezy’s “My President is Black”, A unique celebration of the U.S.A. with optimism of the country’s future despite its faults. It’s also the first song on this list not to have U.S.A. in the title.
1. The Star Spangled Banner
It’s not exactly the kind of tune one would expect at a cookout, but it should be a mandatory entry nevertheless (and not because the music is from a British Drinking Song). As much of fun as you will be having tomorrow it’s always important to remember (especially on the fourth) that all your enjoyment is because you live in a country as great as this one.
Happy Fourth of July from FDRMX!