Years ago I was a college DJ in central Missouri. We used to have a program where we would play comedy records. It was near the Fourth of July so I played Richard Pryor’s Bicentennial Nigger. Mind you, the show was airing at midnight and I did do a disclaimer beforehand warning the easily offended to turn off their radios.

One of the school’s leading lights heard it (apparently his kid was listening to my show when he walked into the room) and freaked out. The station had to cancel the comedy show. That was a bad thing since we had a sponsor for that show and no college radio station wants to lose sponsorship money.

That was really an Independence Day to remember.

Betty Dylan “The Star Spangled Banner”(Lyrics by Francis Scott Key)
This is a really hard song to sing, but it’s truly beautiful when it’s sung well. I was looking for the audio from Bobby McFerrin’s appearance on Saturday Night Live but I couldn’t find it anywhere. There’s not even any video of it on YouTube, so it must really not exist.

Richard Cheese “American Idiot” (Green Day)
Leave it to the Cheese Man to make this song part of a patriotic medley.

The Germs “You’re A Grand Old Flag” (George M. Cohan)
I think they need to brush up on the lyrics to this one.

Ray Charles “America The Beautiful” (Lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates)
This really should be our national anthem. It talks about America’s natural beauty and doesn’t get militaristic. And everybody can sing it. Brother Ray does a fantastic job.

Boxcar Willie “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (Traditional)
Remember those late-night commercials for the Best of Boxcar Willie album? He was an Air Force veteran and a big star in England. After he died in 1999 (in Branson MO, of course) they named an overpass in Texas after him.

They’re not covers, but here are two of my all time favorite patriotic songs.

The Tubes “Proud To Be An American”
Put American culture in a blender and hit “puree” and you’ll end up with the Tubes.

Alice Cooper “I Love America”
I don’t especially love Velveeta slapped on Wonder Bread, but it’s still a song full of great patriotic sentiment.