The sun is out, the grill is fired up, a cold beverage is in your hand.

But where are the tunes?

Before you fire up your Bluetooth speakers on America's 250th birthday, make sure one or more of these patriotic songs are on your Fourth of July playlist. From soul standards to hip-hop anthems, they celebrate America at its best and brightest, and its most hopeful.

Martha and the Vandellas, 'Dancing in the Street' (1964)

It's the immortal Motown sound, the excitement of youth and the feeling of freedom that powers this Detroit classic ("can't forget the Motor City!") and makes it the perfect summertime anthem, perfect for America's big birthday.

Jimi Hendrix, 'Star Spangled Banner' (1969)

Jimi Hendrix's fuzzy, distortion-laced version of the national anthem, as performed at Woodstock in 1969, came complete with the sounds of diving bombs and shooting rockets, and is alive with the spirit of Francis Scott Key's original words in a way few versions of the song ever have been, before or since.

Ray Charles, 'America the Beautiful' (1972)

The great Ray Charles infused soul and grace into America's anthem in his 1972 rendition, a song that still radiates with beauty, from sea to shining sea.

Lynyrd Skynyrd, 'Free Bird' (1974)

You've gotta play the whole thing, all nine minutes of it, because when it opens up at the halfway mark, guitars stacked on top of guitars in gloriously unhinged fashion, it's like a wide open American road trip set to music.

Tom Petty, 'American Girl' (1976)

It's so obvious it's almost a cheat, but Petty's classic — 50 years old this year — remains a standard because of its hope and idealism, and its embrace of the idea that there are big things out there if you're bold enough to reach for them.

2 Live Crew, 'Banned in the U.S.A.' (1990)

After their album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" was labeled obscene, Miami rap group 2 Live Crew fought back with a song that borrowed the chord progression from Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and made a powerful argument for the value of freedom of speech. Luke Campbell's monologue in the middle of the song, backed by the tune of "Yankee Doodle," is almost comically triumphant.

Kid Rock, 'All Summer Long' (2008)

Up North got its own theme song with this 2008 Kid Rock track, which borrows liberally from "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London," and will forever be blasted out of boats skipping along Michigan lakes, on the Fourth of July and beyond.

Miley Cyrus, 'Party in the U.S.A.' (2009)

She hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and her cardigan, and nothing was ever the same. Early in her career, Miley Cyrus gave America and the world a song that celebrates Jay-Z, Britney Spears, and moving your hips like yeah, and it's still a party in the USA every time it comes on.

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, 'Empire State of Mind' (2009)

It's a New York song, sure. But to a lot of the world, New York is America, and few songs celebrate the glory of the Big Apple better than Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' towering love letter to the city that never sleeps.

Katy Perry, 'Firework' (2010)

Boom, boom, boom, even brighter than the moon, moon, moon. Baby, you're a firework.

©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.