Racism and the National Anthem

Earlier this month I read a piece by musician Thomas Dolby about racism and the national anthem and am just now getting around to blogging about it. In the piece, Dolby recounts a rehearsal session with Stevie Wonder in preparation for the 1985 Grammy Awards. If what Stevie Wonder told Dolby is correct, Marvin Gaye was banned from television after his performance of the national anthem at the 1983 NBA All Star game. Here's the way Dolby tells it:

I eventually tracked Stevie down. He was all alone, in an attic-like room on the top floor of the building filled with old files and papers. He was on his knees, playing a beaten-up upright piano.

I announced my presence, and reminded him we had an anthem to record. He asked if I had any ideas for it. I said, what about a really slow sexy groove on a drum machine, and really spread it out? Stevie thought for a moment, then said 'uh-uh. Marvin tried that one time man. He sang it that way at an NBA all-star game, and you know what? he never got on TV again until the day he died. Because all the network executives couldn't handle a black man singing a sexy soul version of the National Anthem.'

Looking at the video of Marvin Gaye's performance (see below), it's hard to imagine a better version of the national anthem.