Inauguration Day: Singing for America

Beyoncé gave a dazzling performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013. The superstar had previously performed at Obama's first inaugural ball in 2009, accompanying a dancing first couple to the classic tune "At Last." That year, it was legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin who sang on Capitol Hill.

Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves sang for former President Bill Clinton, a big fan, while he was in the White House. But the opera star also performed at the second inauguration of Republican George W. Bush in 2005, singing the "American Anthem." She is said to have asked Clinton, a Democrat, for his approval beforehand.

Another great US mezzo-soprano, opera star Marilyn Horne, sang the anthem at Clinton's 1993 swearing-in. Horne has performed at many of the world's great opera houses and is considered an outstanding interpreter of Rossini. For a gala performance later that evening, Fleetwood Mac reunited - Clinton had used the band's anthem "Don't Stop" as his campaign theme song.

At Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977, Jewish cantor and Holocaust survivor Isaac Goodfriend sang the national anthem, accompanied by the US Marine Band. Goodfriend was born in Poland and sent to a Nazi labor camp at the age of 16. He would go on to become a founding member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, who performed the national anthem for President Richard M. Nixon in 1969, will also sing for Trump when he takes the oath on Friday. The choir has been a popular choice: They performed at George H. W. Bush's inauguration in 1989, and sang "This Is My Country" at Lyndon B. Johnson's inauguration in 1965.

With her wavering contralto, Marian Anderson sang the national anthem for John F. Kennedy in 1961 - just as she had done four years earlier for Dwight D. Eisenhower. Anderson, who was born into poverty, began her singing career in 1925 when she received the first prize at a singing competition, chosen from among 300 competitors. She found success in Europe and came back to the US in 1935.

Evancho, 16, will follow in the footsteps of these great singers during Friday's swearing-in ceremony when she sings "The Star-Spangled Banner." The singer first found fame in 2010 when she starred in the American reality television series "America's Got Talent," where she came in second place.