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"The Star Spangled Banner" is a charity single recorded by American singer Whitney Houston to raise funds for soldiers and families of those involved in the Persian Gulf War. Having perused this website, you know that the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key and is the national anthem of the United States. Houston's recording was produced by Narada Michael Walden.



Traditionally performed at sports games in the U.S., "The Star Spangled Banner" was performed by Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, using a pre-recorded version of the song. Her recording was released as a single as the Gulf War was drawing to a close, to raise funds for the soldiers of the war and their families. It debuted at number thirty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (Houston's highest debut at that time) and peaked at number twenty, but remained in the top forty for only seven weeks. Houston has such a unique voice that really suits the song. It was not released outside the U.S. The single's video is compiled of footage from the recording of Houston's performance at the Super Bowl in 1991.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Arista Records arranged a re-release of Houston's version of "The Star Spangled Banner", with all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. It peaked at number six on the Hot 100, but remained in the top forty for just four weeks. However, it sold strongly enough to eventually be certified platinum by the RIAA. This marked the first time that the American anthem was certified as a platinum record.