Hanoi, Hendrix and the National Anthem

In March of 1971, we were still in Vietnam.?Radio Hanoi sought to tweak US public opinion by having Hanoi Hannah play The Star Spangled Banner as performed by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Their hope of angering Amrerica backfired and Jimi’s version became a hit on?underground radio stations across the country including WKNR-FM. Down I-94 in Ann Arbor, WPAG-FM had just launched a nighttime progressive rock format to try and attract listeners to the stations struggling 3,000 watt monaural signal. The format itself was a bit of a stretch for conservative owner Ted Baughn and Program Director Charlie Bross thought he was definitely pushing the edge of the envelope when authorized a new sign-off, featuring the Hendrix version of the National Anthem.