Marvin Gaye The Star-Spangled Banner Feburary 13, 1983

One of Marvin's final televised appearances came at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game in California, where he eschewed the typical arrangement and style of National Anthem singers past for easily the silkiest reading of Francis Scott Key's 1814 jam yet, performed over a slow-and-low taped drum loop. Performed at a time when the NBA was just starting to hit his stride as the most faaan-tas-tic sports league around, Marvin's version became rightly iconic, still appearing in Nike hoop commercials over a quarter-century later. There would never be another like it