where did the tune for the star spangled banner come from
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it soon became a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.