How Whitney Houston set the standard for the national anthem

Greatness recognizes greatness.

And by singing what is widely considered the greatest rendition of everyone’s national anthem – at the Super Bowl 30 years ago on January 27, 1991 – Whitney Houston was inspired by another music legend.

“She said, ‘You know, Marvin Gaye did it at the [1983 NBA] All-Star Game, and I absolutely loved the way he was able to take his time. Can we do something like this, where we let the words linger? Houston’s longtime music director Rickey Minor told the Post. “So we added a rhythm to each bar. It was only sacrilege to change the national anthem!

Although Minor, now 61, “was almost fired” by NFL officials for rocking “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Houston’s dazzling rendition at Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Fla – the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay will face the Kansas City Chiefs there. for the championship on February 7 – a game-changer.

“We wanted it to sound like Whitney,” said Minor, who was also the music director for the special “Celebrating America” opening night last week. “So the orchestrator, John Clayton, made an arrangement [where] we added gospel chords and jazz chords. So now we’re not just changing the time, but we’re changing the harmonic structure of the song, which is a huge risk. I wanted to make sure that musically that gives him places to go.

Minor went to Tampa to work on the arrangement with the Florida Orchestra. Then he sent the music to Houston before meeting her in Los Angeles to prepare the pre-recorded Super Bowl “safety” track for her.

“When she got to the studio, I ran outside to meet her at the car like, ‘What do you think? Minor said. “And she said, ‘I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. I just did a screen test for this movie with Kevin Costner called “The Bodyguard”. I think it went well. And so here she’s so relaxed about it.

“I played it for her, she listened to it once, then she said, ‘OK, I got it!’ And she walked into the booth, and I’d say 90% of what you heard was that first take, ”said Minor, who only had her do one more take.

When it comes to singing the national anthem at the big game, however, “it’s up to the artist if he wants to sing live or sing on the track or however he wants to,” Minor said.

In the end – due to the cold and wet conditions and technical issues – they opted for the pre-recorded track. “She sang live on the pitch, but I used the voice she sang in the studio,” Minor explained. “I just didn’t turn the mic on, so when you see her veins moving she was singing.

In the midst of the Persian Gulf War, Houston’s “Star-Spangled” moment struck a chord both at Tampa Stadium and across the country. “Everyone was just excited to hear the national anthem,” Minor said, noting that Houston also recorded a version of “America the Beautiful” which was played at the stadium but was not shown on television. .

Regarding the iconic white red and blue striped tracksuit – plus a matching headband – that Houston wore, Minor said, “She was like, ‘I want to be able to go to my seat and just enjoy the game.’ And she said, ‘My giants are going to win too, just so you know! ” ”(Indeed, the New York Giants squeaked a victory over the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.)

Two weeks later, Houston’s instant classic performance was dropped as a charity single, and on its re-release in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, it reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“I don’t think anyone was ready for the impact,” said Minor, who has served as musical director for other singers in the Super Bowl National Anthem, including Faith Hill (2000), the Backstreet Boys (2001). ) and, more recently, Gladys Chevalier (2019). “The stars have to align for such things to happen.”

But, he added, “I have to be honest that when Whitney opened her mouth I was expecting some magic.”