Marvin Gaye, The Prince of Motown brought attention to the NBA and helped boost its image. Gaye pioneered singing the national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, in own rendition during the 1983 NBA All-Star game.
According to Basketball Mecca, Marvin even had a shoot around, then changed into a suit and sang his own rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Before his performance, national anthems were sung according to their original intent and purpose. Singing your own renditions of the Star Spangled Banner was unheard of, and Marvin Gaye paved the way for a more personal and artistic approach to singing the national anthem. Of course, the musician met some backlash at that time from purists, but nevertheless, Marvin started a trend and changed the sports and music industries forever.
Marvin Gaye- American National Anthem
