Song of the Day: Marvin Gaye's National Anthems--Yes, Plural

It's NBA Hoopla time again, and the 40th anniversary of Marvin's transforming "Star-Spangled Banner."

Feb 18, 2023

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books and now writer/director of award-winning films. He was also a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy.

The NBA All-Star Game is on tap again and some have noted that it’s now four decades since Marvin Gaye took a few liberties (including the use of version of a beat box) with the National Anthem, changing things forever, more or less, for future high-profile enactments. But not many mention that this was at least the fourth time he had sung the “Banner” at sporting events, from baseball to boxing. So I’ve collected all four below, and excerpts from a new, major article on the 1983 epic, at The Athletic. Plus the usual political cartoons. Enjoy, then subscribe, it’s still free.

Here’s the link to The Athletic piece, but since I’m not sure if it’s fully paywalled, here are a couple excerpts. Fun fact: Gaye was not the first choice for that job. That would be Lionel Ritchie.

“He didn’t show up at 11,” Rosen said. “He didn’t show up at 11:15. He didn’t show up at 11:30. He didn’t show up at 12. By then I’m like, ‘Holy crap, what do I do?’ There was an usherette that worked (at the Forum) that I actually went to high school with; that was my backup anthem singer during the regular season. She was ready to sing the anthem.”
Seemingly at the last minute, Gaye arrived, walking down the center aisle of the Forum, dressed to the nines, with a cassette tape in his hand. It was the drum track that had been laid down Saturday by Gaye and his longtime collaborator, guitarist Gordon Banks, at Gaye’s sister’s house in L.A. Rosen quickly got the tape upstairs to the building’s sound engineer.

Then:

By the end of the first line — which Gaye shortened to “Say, can you see,” omitting the opening “Oh” — the crowd began gasping and squealing.
“He gets to singing, and, I swear, I’ll never forget it,” Thomas said. “He’s singing, and without you even realizing what you’re doing, you’re swaying. You’re supposed to be standing at attention. But, you’re swaying. And I’m thinking ‘I’ve gotta stop swaying.’
“But then I look at the players on the other end, and they’re swaying, too. And you look at the audience, and they’re swaying, too.”

And:

“You wanted to clap,” Marques Johnson said. “But I knew I couldn’t do that. National TV, you can’t just start partying and boogying to the anthem. But then the crowd, they started clapping the last 30 seconds or so. They started clapping and really getting into it and grooving. It was a real special, iconic moment to be a part of.”
When Gaye finished, Rosen said, “He walked right out of the building, and I never saw him again.”
The immediate reaction, in some quarters, was not sanguine. Rosen thought he was going to be fired, after O’Brien, as Rosen recalled, “tore me a new (one)” when Gaye was finished. Phones rang with angry callers.

Now here we go: the hallowed 1983 event.