Martha Reeves, the Motown icon, certainly drew added attention to the kickoff of the new Women’s Professional Baseball League this weekend.
But perhaps not in the way she intended.
Reeves’ rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” before the opening pitch quickly went viral for reasons not favorable, with many online viewers labeling it among the worst national-anthem performances in recent memory.
the legendary Motown group Martha and the Vandellas. (Photo:
Signed Media screenshot / YouTube)
Online commenters soon criticized Reeves’ version of the national anthem, with some even asking how she earned the chance to sing.
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“That’s incredibly sad,” wrote X user @BrickTop06. “Martha is my number-one ’60s soul singer and one of my all-time favorites overall. She’s 85, and someone near her should have told her not to undertake this—it’s awful.”
Nevertheless, Reeves offered an explanation for why the performance went so awry on Saturday.
“Having just marked my 85th birthday, I’ve gained a great deal of experience over more than six decades of live performances,” Reeves told TMZ.
“It was a tremendous honor to be invited to sing at the WPBL’s inaugural event and to celebrate such a landmark moment for women in sports. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
“The field was damp and gusty, and without stage monitors I couldn’t hear myself the way I usually do,” Reeves explained. “While it wasn’t the performance I hoped for, I’m grateful to have been there to support these exceptional athletes and this pioneering league.”
A video capturing Reeves’s awkward rendition of the national anthem can be viewed below.
Reeves, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, gained notoriety in the ’60s as the lead singer for group “Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.”
Reeves was in attendance for the inaugural game of the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL), which has four teams (New York Heights, San Francisco Firebells, Los Angeles Queens and Boston Hunters). It was the first women’s professional game to take place in the United States in 70 years.
Philadelphia native Mo’ne Davis, whose celebrity grew in 2014 when she was one of two girls to compete in the Little League World Series, plays for the Los Angeles Queens. The first 1,000 fans in attendance received Davis bobbleheads.
Despite the shaky national anthem performance, it was overall a successful debut for the WPBL; the Queens defeated New York 10-8.
While they would likely never admit it publicly, the league owners are probably not mad that Reeves got everyone talking about their first game.
