Predators anthem singer unhappy about being upstaged by country acts

The Nashville Predators have struck a sour chord with their regular national anthem singer who they replaced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with big-name country music acts.

Dennis K. Morgan, who started singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Predators games when he moved to Nashville 17 years ago, said he has not been happy about being upstaged by Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum and others. 

"I'm not going to hide my disappointment and I told the Predators that I have been asked the same question over and over and it's just really getting old," Morgan said. "Everywhere I go — obviously at my day job (as a healthcare IT recruiting manager) and at (Bridgestone) arena as well as everywhere else I go to church, grocery stores, on the street, in meetings and in restaurants — people want to know how I feel."

Morgan, who also sings the Canadian anthem when appropriate, said he attended a retirement party last Saturday and unintentionally stole the spotlight because of the issue.

"I felt like more people were asking me about (not singing the national anthem) than they were honoring the retiree," Morgan said. "And that felt really, really bad."

Morgan had hoped the issue would die down and he would address it after the season. But that hasn't happened.

"The most important part of a Stanley Cup run is not what happens in pregame ceremonies, but rather what happens on the ice," he said. "I will address any disappointment I have with the Predators' decision hopefully after a Stanley Cup parade."

The Predators issued this statement on the matter:

“We have always valued Dennis K. Morgan’s performance of the national anthem at Predators’ home games. Our arrangement with him has always allowed for nationally and internationally renowned musical artists to perform when available to further enhance our game experience while paying respect to our country through their respective awe-inspiring renditions of the national anthem. The reaction from our fans in Bridgestone Arena as well as from around the country to seeing and hearing world class performers such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Vince Gill and his daughters, Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been overwhelmingly positive, bringing national and international exposure to our community while continuing to set our game experience and atmosphere apart from others in professional sports.”

Morgan had performed the national anthem about 185 total times before being told by the Predators prior to Game 3 of the playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks that Carrie Underwood had requested to sing it.

"They came to me and said the captain's (Mike Fisher) wife asked to sing the anthem that night," Morgan said. "It was presented to me as a one night only kind of thing and I agreed to it. Then they continued to bring in these other singers and touted them as 'A-listers,' which kind of hurt me."

Morgan said he informed Predators senior director of broadcast and entertainment Bob Kohl that he planned to tell The Tennessean about his disappointment by the decision to replace him in the playoffs and was given a thumbs-up.

"The Predators said they understood my disappointment and that they had even been hearing the same thing," Morgan said.

"I don't blame Carrie Underwood or Luke Bryan or any of the other acts who have performed," Morgan said. "I've been as good-natured as I can be. With my closest friends, I've certainly shared my disappointment. But most of the time I'll toe the company line and say, 'Why am I not singing? Because I don't have seven Grammys, I'm not married to the captain, she's a whole lot prettier than me,' that kind of thing and try to leave it at that."

Morgan has retained his seat in section 104 for all home playoff games even when he hasn't performed.

Before he started singing at Predators games Morgan, a Louisiana native, sang the anthem for the Dallas Stars. He looked forward to celebrating 25 years of performing at NHL games in two years, but now is unsure whether that will happen.

"I'll have to do some soul-searching over the summer because it has been kind of insulting," he said. "When it first happened I said, 'Just don't write anything into the contract you don't intend to honor from now on.' That was my very off-the-cuff response to it before I had a lot of time to think about it. Now it's been six weeks and I've had a whole lot more time to think about it. I would love to make it two more seasons because that would be 25 in the NHL and that is kind of a dream of mine."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.