Song of the Day: Whitney Houston, “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Song of the Day 1 Minute

Pop chanteuse Whitney Houston was born on this day in 1963. In her brief career, she won two Emmy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, 14 World Music Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards. One of her more famous performances was singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Florida on January 27, 1991, ten days after the US entered the Gulf War. She actually lip-synced with a recording that she had made earlier, because, according to Wikipedia, "her musical director warn[ed] her that it [might] not sound as well because of distractions such as fans, teams, jets, etc." The recording of that performance was released on Arista Records on February 12 and reached #20 on the Hot 100. The song was re-released on September 26, 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, and reached #6 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

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9 thoughts on “Song of the Day: Whitney Houston, “The Star-Spangled Banner””

  1. Pingback: The Assumption Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. Hi John – she certainly had a wonderful voice – and that song rings out true and clear. Cheers – Hilary

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    1. I appreciate that she kept the amount of “performing” out of it. “The Star-Spangled Banner,” like “God Save The Queen” or “O Canada,” is more than a song: it expresses a love and respect for a person’s nation. She showed she understood that…

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    1. Few people have the range or control it takes to hit all the notes. People have bandied about the notion of changing the National Anthem for that reason, but it’s a great song and a good anthem.

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  4. Yup, A lot of Pomp in that circumstance but it shows how powerful Whitney’s voiuce was even though she is not my favourite. Many singers struggle with the patriotic song but she just sings it like it was a breeze…well, lip syncs it.

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