Rene Rancourt is a professional singer. He has sung the U.S. and Canadian

O Canada

It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...

 national anthems

National anthem

A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...

 at Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 home hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

 games for 35 years. Rancourt is such a part of the Bruins' establishment that he is the only person mentioned by name in the Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....

' song: "Time to Go". He does not have a contract with the Bruins. According to Rancourt, "I’ve never had a contract; I’ve always just shown up and I’ve become associated with the Bruins."

Rancourt was born in 1939 in Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...

. He first began singing the anthem in Boston at Fenway Park

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

. He took part in an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 singing audition on the radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and was heard by John Kiley

John Kiley

John Frederick Kiley was a Major League Baseball outfielder and pitcher, born in Dedham, Massachusetts, who played parts of two seasons in the majors. In , he played 14 games in the outfield for the Washington Nationals of the American Association...

, long-time organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 at both Fenway and the Boston Garden. Rancourt sang before Game Six of the World Series

1975 World Series

The 1975 World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds . It has been ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played...

 in 1975 when singer Kate Smith

Kate Smith

Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...

 cancelled her appearance. Rancourt's ambition was to become an opera singer. The strength of his trained voice overcame the acoustic shortcomings of the old Boston Garden

Boston Garden

The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...

. In 1976, he began singing regularly for Bruins games.

Rancourt's signature fist-pump at the end of the anthem was modeled after the Stump Pump of former Bruin, Randy Burridge

Randy Burridge

Randall "Stump" Burridge is a retired professional ice hockey player.He played 706 games played in the National Hockey League, scoring 199 goals and notching 251 assists for a total of 450 points, and accumulating 458 penalty minutes....

, whom Rancourt admired. Rancourt also salutes at the end of the anthem. The salute is for an elderly woman who used to watch the Bruins only to see Rene sing the anthem then turn off the TV.

Rancourt still performs the anthem before Bruins games, as well as singing at auto races, charity events, and nursing homes in and around New England.

Rancourt is married to Maria and is a resident of Natick, Massachusetts

Natick, Massachusetts

Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...

.