At the World Series game on October 24, it was James Taylor who had the save of the night. The singer was there to lead the stadium in the national anthem, but instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner," he began singing "America the Beautiful." He's not the only star who's been caught in an awkward patriotic moment:
Comedian Roseanne Barr's disastrous rendition of the national anthem during a San Diego Padres game in July 1990 drew almost unanimous boos. In a 2012 interview, Barr told CNN's Piers Morgan it was "a huge regret that was hard to come back from."
But Whitney Houston hit the right notes at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991, stirring Americans' patriotic feelings during the Persian Gulf War. Her version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" reached the Billboard chart's Top 20 that year.
No stranger to performing the national anthem, Christina Aguilera nevertheless forgot some of the words when she did the song at Super Bowl XLV in February 2011. "I got so lost in the moment of the song that I lost my place," Aguilera told CNN.
Cyndi Lauper becomes another singer to flub the national anthem when she performs at the U.S. Open tennis tournament around the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. "The moon shone done on us and I tried to say a prayer at the same time.. I hope I didn't mess up too bad. I wanted it to be comforting," she tweeted afterward.
Beyoncé wows the nation with a rendition on Inauguration Day in January. The singer later told reporters "she decided to sing along with my prerecorded track," a decision she made in part because she didn't have time to rehearse with the U.S. Marine Band and had had "no proper sound check." But she wowed any doubters in her rehearsals and halftime show at the Super Bowl in February.
Marvin Gaye, pictured in 1984, sang a memorable but untraditional version during the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.
Luke Bryan was so nervous about becoming one of the stars famous for messing up the national anthem, he wrote a few lyrics on his palm before singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a baseball game in July 2012 -- and was swiftly called out for it. "I had a few key words written down to ensure myself that I wouldn't mess up," Bryan later explained. "I just wanted to do my best. I promise it was from the heart. If I offended anyone with my approach I sincerely apologize. Anytime I sing the anthem it is an honor and my heart beats out of my chest."
Canadian singer Alexis Normand made headlines when she forgot the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a hockey game in May. Normand, pictured perfoming at a later game, tweeted she was sorry.
- James Taylor messed up his national anthem performance
- He began singing "America the Beautiful" instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
- The singer quickly and smoothly recovered
(CNN) -- All future singers of the national anthem should pay close attention to James Taylor's performance at Game 2 of the World Series on October 24.
If you're going to make a mistake, this is the way to make it.
On Thursday, the musician was at Fenway Park in Boston to lead the stadium in a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." But when he opened his mouth to sing, the words of "America the Beautiful" started pouring out.
James Taylor talks World Series
Rather than "Oh, say can you see," Taylor kicked off the song with, "Oh, beautiful ..."
But the singer quickly -- and rather smoothly -- recovered, going straight into the correct lyrics without missing a beat.
While other singers have caught major flak for messing up the words to the national anthem at such events, Taylor did have an excuse: he was also performing "America the Beautiful" that same night during the seventh inning stretch.
He was joined by several survivos of April's Boston Marathon attack.
