Joseph R. Biden Jr. delivered his inaugural address today, after being installed as the 46th president of the United States. Toward the end of his speech, President Biden quoted the lyrics to Gene Scheer’s composition “American Anthem”, which he called his “favorite song”:
Written by Scheer in 1998, “American Anthem” was first performed by Denyce Graves that year at the Smithsonian Institution during an event to launch Bill and Hillary Clinton’s “Save America’s Treasures” initiative. Graves sang the song again for George W. Bush’s second tenure in 2005. Later, Norah Jones further popularized “American Anthem” by covering it for Ken Burns’ World War II documentary series. The war.
At the beginning of the inauguration ceremony, Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem while Jennifer Lopez sang a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful”.