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Officer Who Botched 'God Bless America' Hits A High Note

DETROIT (Talk Radio 1270) Who says there are no second acts in American life? Senior Master Sgt. Mark Kaufman proved that point when he visited the Charlie Langton Talk Radio 1270 show to revisit his cringe-inducing rendition of "God Bless America."

Kaufman hit a bad crackling high note during his Fourth of July performance at the Tigers game -- and it went viral.

"I was just as surprised as everybody else," Kaufman said. "I was in the back rehearsing over and over and I had been recovering from an upper respiratory infection."

Kaufman, an officer stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, explained that his focus was on nailing the national anthem earlier in the night, and it's just possible he was so nervous he practiced it too many times.

Keeping his sense of humor about it, Kaufman said he was glad it was just a "technical malfunction" and not something really problematic, like forgetting the words.

"You can control a technical malfunction as well as you can control a valve in your heart going out," Kaufman said.

He said he was just as surprised as Tigers fans when that note came out of his mouth. Coach Jim Leyland and several players were visibly startled.

"Actually, I couldn't believe that I missed that note because the second to the last note was strong," he said. "That's why I went for the upper note. It gave me no indication it was going to fold on me like a bad poker game."

He added: "My vocal chords told me back in the dressing room I did it one too many times."

Kaufman redeemed himself with a live version of the song that you can hear below.

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