From Marvin Gaye to Whitney Houston, and Beyoncé to Lady Gaga, many of music`s most indelible vocalists have lovingly taken on our national anthem. Which is partly why Jimi Hendrix`s seething, scorching and cacophonous rendition from Woodstock `69 stands out – and why 50 years after his tragic death on Sept. 18, 1970, it`s still as haunting as ever. `That was probably the most significant rendition of `The Star-Spangled Banner` ever, in how it represented the spirit of the 1960s and where it was performed, the music festival most associated with that era,` says Tacuma Roeback, a journalist who`s written about Hendrix for Smithsonian magazine. `The sound of his guitar, the event,...
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