Joelle James

Oh say can you sing?
The Californian-North County Times, February 15, 2007
By John Hunneman

Sung right, the national anthem stirs the soul, palpitates the heart, stiffens the spine and dampens the eyes.

Sung wrong, "The Star-Spangled Banner" curls the toes, sours the stomach, spasms the colon and punctures the eardrums.

Chances are, you'll hear a little of both on Saturday if you attend the Lake Elsinore Storm's open-mic tryouts at The Diamond.

As they do every year, the Storm is holding auditions for local folks to warble the "oh say can you sees" prior to home games this coming season.

The anthem is as much a part of going to baseball games as hot dogs and human-growth hormones.

The generally accepted story is that, even though it wasn't officially declared the national anthem until the 1930s, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first played at a sporting event during the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and the Red Sox. With World War I in progress, a band at a game in Chicago struck up the song during the seventh-inning stretch.

When the music started, both teams turned and faced the flagpole in centerfield and the crowd began to sing. It was a big hit and the performance was repeated at the next two games.

When the series moved to Boston, the Red Sox owner hired a band and had them play the song at the start of each game.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was played thereafter at the start of baseball games, but usually only on special occasions such as Opening Day, the Fourth of July and during the World Series.

It wasn't until World War II that the national anthem was played at the beginning of each professional baseball contest.

Of course, it's been sung by local performers both good and, well, not so good, at The Diamond since the Storm began play there in 1994.

Some of the tryouts have been more memorable than others, said Tracy Kessman, the club's assistant general manager.

"I'll never forget the audition my first year here in 2001," Tracy told me. "The youngest person was a girl about 10 years. We didn't know what to expect. Sometimes the young kids struggle."

"Oh say" was barely past the youngster's lips when Tracy knew the team had found their Opening Day singer.

"She nailed it the first time," Tracy said. "She blew us away."

The little girl with the big voice was Murrieta's Joelle James. Now 16 years old, James has since sung the national anthem before major sporting events at stadiums all over Southern California.

Oh, and you may have noticed her this week on "American Idol."

James still sings at The Diamond several times a year.

"She's always the first person I call," Tracy said.

Open tryouts to sing the anthem at Storm games begin at 1 p.m. Saturday. No appointment is necessary.

If you are unable to make the Saturday audition, call the Storm office at 245-4487 to make other arrangements.

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