"They started clapping and really getting into it and grooving. It was a real special, iconic moment to be a part of.”

"The Star-Spangled Banner," performed by Marvin Gaye (1983)

Dear CSTers, don’t worry, this is not an email about the 2024 US Presidential election. It’s a video of a beautiful moment that brought people together. It’s American Treasure, Marvin Gaye, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game at the Forum, in Inglewood, Los Angeles. You don’t even have to read this post JUST WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW if you want a break from the news of the day.

It’s just a beautiful, unexpected moment, and the looks of surprise and delight on the faces of the players and audience are so sweet and real. It’s pure joy.

The quote in the title of this edition of the newsletter comes from a lovely retrospective on Gaye’s 1983 performance written by David Aldridge and Marcus Thompson II in 2023. In it, they provide some wonderful details about the event, such as:

• The producers originally wanted Lionel Richie, but someone in the NBA objected, and they never asked him

• Marvin Gaye initially wanted to do an extended 6-minute slow-jam of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but was denied (WHY GOD WHY)

• Gaye strolled into The Forum just a few minutes before the show, carrying a cassette tape on which he’d recorded a funky backing track at his sister’s house the night before. Gaye told the the sound engineer to play it as his accompaniment

As you can see in the video, the crowd is obviously surprised to see the Motown and Grammy-winning legend walk onto the court. But, “by the end of the first line — which Gaye shortened to ‘Say, can you see,” omitting the opening “Oh’ — the crowd began gasping and squealing,” write Aldridge and Thompson.

NBA legend and former Detroit Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas was playing that night. “I remember when he walked onto the floor, with his sunglasses on. We all loved Marvin Gaye. We knew how cool he was. But you’ve got to put yourself in our place as players. For the anthem, you stand straight, at full attention. Hands by your sides, or you put your hand over your heart.” But as Gaye kept singing, the crowd began to move. “You’re going, ‘What the hell?’” Thomas said. “‘This is the national anthem. Ain’t nobody supposed to be moving. And they’re really not supposed to be clapping. I’ve never been in a building since where everybody was moving and swaying and clapping.”

It’s also a lasting testament to the beauty of Marvin Gaye, the artist. As he said himself about the performance, “I felt that singing it with that kind of music in the background gave me an inspiration. And I asked God that when I sang it, that it move men’s souls.” Marvin Gaye was killed the following year at the age of 44. But his music is still moving our souls.

Sending all of you wonderful Continuous Small Treaters love. Be good to yourselves and each other, today and every day.

Love,

Buzzy xo

Marvin Gaye, ca. late 1970s