Diana Ross Started An NFL Tradition Today In 1982

** In honor of Superbowl Sunday**

It's hard to imagine kicking off an NFL Championship game without a popular recording artist showing off their vocal ability in a rendition of the National Anthem. Even those who aren't tuned into the sports world can't escape the following day's public dissection of each year's performance. It's a cultural touchstone in and of itself. But before the year 1982, the NFL had yet to discover the impact this tradition would go on to have.


Today - January 24th - in 1982, the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals went head-to-head. But not before Diana Ross walked onto the freezing field at Michigan's Pontiac Silverdome and became the first pop artist to perform the National Anthem at a Championship game.


It's worth mentioning that in 1980 Charlie's Angels actress Cheryl Ladd sang the anthem at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. This is technically the start of inviting professional recording artists to sing at sporting events. Ladd gave a beautiful performance but it just didn't have the same impact as Ross' performance had two years later. Partly because the camera spends most of the time on the crowd and players and partly because Ladd is accompanied by the Los Angeles City High School Choir.


Clad in a patriotic, glittery tracksuit Diana Ross invited the crowd to sing along as she delivered a pitch perfect a capella rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."


Before Ross, the NFL typically invited marching bands, choirs, and the occasional professional singer to commence championship games. Never before had a star of such caliber been asked to perform at the event. The 16th Championship game also happened to be one of the most watched broadcasts in American television history. More than 85 million viewers watched Diana Ross sing that day and it set a standard for both the future of the Championship game and pop singers. Stars like Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow went on to sing the U.S. anthem. It added to the game's cultural appeal and became a make-or-break gig for popular artists.



From the star players, the highly coveted 30-second ads, the Half-time Show, and now the National Anthem, the Championship game is an all-consuming pop cultural event. So, when you tune in to see Demi Lovato take on "The Star Spangled Banner," you can thank Diana Ross for that.

<span style="color: rgb[[39, 41, 45); font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGAk...ture=emb_title

posted by Rebekah Gonzalez

https://80sradio.iheart.com/content/...today-in-1982/

Fascinating - I did not know or remember this.

Her voice sounds wonderfully pristine here. Clear and emotional. What a huge shame this quality was absent from her first two rca albums.

This would be a wonderful feather to adorn Ross's career achievements cap were it true.

But she was not the first star to sing the national anthem at the Superbowl, nor did she establish a precedent when she did so.
The year after her appearance, the SSB was sung by Leslie Easterbrook [[ exactly: who?? )... and two years later it was performed by an assemblage of children's choruses [[after Barry Manilow had a turn)

And the first person to sing The STAR SPANGELED BANNER at the Superbowl to me couldn't be a bigger surprise ; it was by a country music artist! ... and this was not to be repeated again until 19 years later by Garth Brooks...
... in 1974 the first person to sing the National Anthem at the Superbowl was
.....well I won't name them .....:rolleyes:...let's see if anyone can guess [[ no cheating!!) who that might've been....1974.....:confused:

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Originally Posted by Boogiedown

This would be a wonderful feather to adorn Ross's career achievements cap were it true.

But she was not the first star to sing the national anthem at the Superbowl, nor did she establish a precedent when she did so.
The year after her appearance, the SSB was sung by Leslie Easterbrook [[ exactly: who?? )... and two years later it was performed by an assemblage of children's choruses [[after Barry Manilow had a turn)

And the first person to sing The STAR SPANGELED BANNER at the Superbowl to me couldn't be a bigger surprise ; it was by a country music artist! ... and this was not to be repeated again until 19 years later by Garth Brooks...
... in 1974 the first person to sing the National Anthem at the Superbowl was
.....well I won't name them .....:rolleyes:...let's see if anyone can guess [[ no cheating!!) who that might've been....1974.....:confused:

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She wasn’t the first star but, Diana Ross was the first pop star to sing the National Anthem. And was the first female singer to headline halftime at the Super Bowl.

wow..forgot this.. after 9/11 happened high profile people stayed out of
view, riddled with fear, especially show biz people..then an old fashioned
baseball game took place, and one high profile person fearlessly stepped
into the ring,.... it was quite a night //www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxA6QkcBfwk&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2eXOM qMjEZ9qVQLMjGWcYZXS0674C9worSdkVzwFsrky1YLoCjE6uc2 zs

I'd rather much hear her sing "God Bless America" or "America the Beautiful" than that crap song. Stupid tradition.

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

..... And was the first female singer to headline halftime at the Super Bowl.

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that is a noteworthy milestone vgalindo!

Answer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipKvdDmbeZI

This story/thread makes me laugh. There was no frozen field at the Pontiac Silverdome. I've been to games there and was a covered stadium! LOL!

The very first real, chart-certified pop star to sing the anthem at the Super Bowl was Diana Ross, in 1982. Prior to that, the anthem was performed by marching bands, instrumentalists, choirs, country star Charley Pride and a bunch of middle-of-the-road female singers and actresses, including former "Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl Ladd. The first male pop singer to do the honors was Barry Manilow in 1984.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews...%3fid=36749733

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Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia

wow..forgot this.. after 9/11 happened high profile people stayed out of
view, riddled with fear, especially show biz people..then an old fashioned
baseball game took place, and one high profile person fearlessly stepped
into the ring,.... it was quite a night //www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxA6QkcBfwk&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2eXOM qMjEZ9qVQLMjGWcYZXS0674C9worSdkVzwFsrky1YLoCjE6uc2 zs

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Fascinating. I had not known this. Thanks so much for posting

I suppose part of the reason Diana Ross was chosen was because this was the first [[and only )time the Super Bowl was played in Detroit.
In the same way ,sort of , that Gladys Knight [[midnight train to Georgia) was chosen for Atlanta's game last year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Boogiedown

I suppose part of the reason Diana Ross was chosen was because this was the first [[and only )time the Super Bowl was played in Detroit.
In the same way ,sort of , that Gladys Knight [[midnight train to Georgia) was chosen for Atlanta's game last year.

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That is exactly why they chose her. Atlanta is Gladys's hometown. The reason they had an all Latin Superbowl Halftime show this year is because the game was in Miami.

“It was Steeg’s idea to hire a pop star for Super Bowl XVI. “The game was in Detroit, and I told Pete, ’There’s only one person who can sing the national anthem in Detroit.’ He said, ’Go ahead, kid -- go do it.’ So we got Diana Ross, and she represented a change in everything we were doing. All of a sudden, you had star power.”

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/sto...nce#!undefined

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

She wasn’t the first star but, Diana Ross was the first pop star to sing the National Anthem. And was the first female singer to headline halftime at the Super Bowl.

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Yet, the album/CD she was promoting at the time, flopped big in America. How can that happen when you have the largest television audience practically of the entire year watching the Super Bowl? Amazing!

I almost wished Marvin Gaye had sung at the 1973 Super Bowl lol [[I mean he was there haha)

In terms of who did the best SSB at the SB, I don't think Diana would even appear in my top 5. Let's face it, after WHITNEY showed out in 91, no one was thinking of Diana's performance. Let's just keep it real lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by midnightman

I almost wished Marvin Gaye had sung at the 1973 Super Bowl lol [[I mean he was there haha)

In terms of who did the best SSB at the SB, I don't think Diana would even appear in my top 5. Let's face it, after WHITNEY showed out in 91, no one was thinking of Diana's performance. Let's just keep it real lol

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Whitney shut it down for all time! Her rendition even charted and was played on WCBS in New York City every day at 12 noon for years.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lCmBvYMRs

******GLASTONBURY!********....and a NEW ALBUM!!!

oh.....and a ****WORLD TOUR!***

Quote:

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Originally Posted by midnightman

I almost wished Marvin Gaye had sung at the 1973 Super Bowl lol [[I mean he was there haha)

In terms of who did the best SSB at the SB, I don't think Diana would even appear in my top 5. Let's face it, after WHITNEY showed out in 91, no one was thinking of Diana's performance. Let's just keep it real lol

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But this wasn't a thread about who did it best. It was about giving credit where it's due: Diana Ross was the start of the mega star lineup for Super Bowls.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia

******GLASTONBURY!********....and a NEW ALBUM!!!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia

oh.....and a ****WORLD TOUR!***

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Okkaaayyyy...that was random.:confused:

Gladys Knight also did a really great job even in the midst of controversy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTuoq6TllaU

Helen O'Connell beat Diana Ross by one year! She sang the Star-Spangled Banner for Super Bowl 15 in January 1981. She was from Toledo, OH [[very close to Detroit LOL!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ItsdrZQufQ

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Originally Posted by marv2

Helen O'Connell beat Diana Ross by one year! She sang the Star-Spangled Banner for Super Bowl 15 in January 1981. She was from Toledo, OH [[very close to Detroit LOL!)

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Who? I just had to look up who this person was and she was not a megastar. The following is from the ESPN article that Khan quotes from earlier in the thread. It gives context into how different a choice Diana Ross was from those who were brought on before, and includes a reference to Helen O'Connell as well:

For the first, um, XV years of the Super Bowl, the performance of the national anthem was mostly something of a community effort, left to marching bands and local choirs, a beauty pageant winner and the kind of jazz trumpet players who are beloved by squares. The national anthem wasn’t played at Super Bowl XI, and even after the NFL hired Jim Steeg to fashion the Super Bowl into a spectacle commensurate with the nation’s-- and the league’s -- sense of exceptionalism, the bookings could be casually arranged. Why did Cheryl Ladd, the replacement Charlie’s Angel, sing the anthem for Super Bowl XIV? “Pete Rozelle ran into her at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel -- that’s how she was booked,” Steeg says. Why did grandmotherly Helen O’Connell warble the anthem a year later? Rozelle’s second-in-command “was in love with Helen O’Connell from the big-band era in the ‘40s.”

It was Steeg’s idea to hire a pop star for Super Bowl XVI. “The game was in Detroit, and I told Pete, ’There’s only one person who can sing the national anthem in Detroit.’ He said, ’Go ahead, kid -- go do it.’ So we got Diana Ross, and she represented a change in everything we were doing. All of a sudden, you had star power.”


Ross sang it a cappella in front of 81,000 people at the Silverdome. She never had a big voice, and as the first icon who had to figure out how to strike a balance with all that iconography, she was the last Super Bowl performer to ask the crowd for help-- to say “Sing with me!” And they did; the players did, the coaches did, the fans in the nosebleed seats did, and their gathered voices, when you listen to them today on YouTube, sound not just like a rough chorus accompanying Diana Ross but like the echo of another age.

End of quote. I love when the people involved talk about this kind of stuff. If he says Diana was the first, anything being said to the contrary is a lie.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RanRan79

Who? I just had to look up who this person was and she was not a megastar. The following is from the ESPN article that Khan quotes from earlier in the thread. It gives context into how different a choice Diana Ross was from those who were brought on before, and includes a reference to Helen O'Connell as well:

For the first, um, XV years of the Super Bowl, the performance of the national anthem was mostly something of a community effort, left to marching bands and local choirs, a beauty pageant winner and the kind of jazz trumpet players who are beloved by squares. The national anthem wasn’t played at Super Bowl XI, and even after the NFL hired Jim Steeg to fashion the Super Bowl into a spectacle commensurate with the nation’s-- and the league’s -- sense of exceptionalism, the bookings could be casually arranged. Why did Cheryl Ladd, the replacement Charlie’s Angel, sing the anthem for Super Bowl XIV? “Pete Rozelle ran into her at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel -- that’s how she was booked,” Steeg says. Why did grandmotherly Helen O’Connell warble the anthem a year later? Rozelle’s second-in-command “was in love with Helen O’Connell from the big-band era in the ‘40s.”

It was Steeg’s idea to hire a pop star for Super Bowl XVI. “The game was in Detroit, and I told Pete, ’There’s only one person who can sing the national anthem in Detroit.’ He said, ’Go ahead, kid -- go do it.’ So we got Diana Ross, and she represented a change in everything we were doing. All of a sudden, you had star power.”


Ross sang it a cappella in front of 81,000 people at the Silverdome. She never had a big voice, and as the first icon who had to figure out how to strike a balance with all that iconography, she was the last Super Bowl performer to ask the crowd for help-- to say “Sing with me!” And they did; the players did, the coaches did, the fans in the nosebleed seats did, and their gathered voices, when you listen to them today on YouTube, sound not just like a rough chorus accompanying Diana Ross but like the echo of another age.

End of quote. I love when the people involved talk about this kind of stuff. If he says Diana was the first, anything being said to the contrary is a lie.

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He didn't say megastar in the first post of this thread. He said, Pop artist. Helen O'Connell was more relevant in 1981 than Diana Ross is now! Your reaction to Helen is the same reaction 90% of those under age 50 have regarding Diana Ross. It is "Diana who?"

Here's some fun trivia, Helen O'Connell was married to Frank De Vol who co-wrote "The Happening" for the Supremes! LOL!

Never heard of Helen O’Connel! What are some of her biggest pop hits? I just graduated high school in 1981 and still never heard of her! Lol.

I looked her up. A star from the 1940s big bands. Oh please Marv you are embarrassing yourself!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

Never heard of Helen O’Connel! What are some of her biggest pop hits? I just graduated high school in 1981 and still never heard of her! Lol.

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She was famous enough to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl....BEFORE Diana Ross got a chance. So she was quite famous.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

Never heard of Helen O’Connel! What are some of her biggest pop hits? I just graduated high school in 1981 and still never heard of her! Lol.

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I was in college when I watched Super Bowl 15 in 1981. Now, I'll ask you, show me a college student today that has ever heard of Diana Ross and knows even one of her songs! LOL!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

I looked her up. A star from the 1940s big bands. Oh please Marv you are embarrassing yourself!

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Like I said[[ if you knew how to read in English) that Helen O'Connell was about as relevant then as Diana Ross is today! It's been almost 40 years since Ross has been relevant or current in America. I am embarrassed for you that I have to keep explaining this to you like you're living in some type of time warp or just suffering from delusionism [[is that a word?)........LOL!!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marv2

I was college when I watched Super Bowl 15 in 1981. Now, I'll ask you, show me a college student today that has ever heard of Diana Ross and knows even one of her songs! LOL!!!!

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This is a ludicrous assertion. Diana is beloved all over the world and is constantly referenced as a musical inspiration and fashion icon, ESPECIALLY in the black community. Hell, she’s even one of the public figures we use as part of our Black History Month curriculum for AGES 5-13.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

I looked her up. A star from the 1940s big bands. Oh please Marv you are embarrassing yourself!

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You're acting like I selected Helen O'Connell to sing the Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl before Diana Ross. Are you serious or are you just mental? LOL!!!! I didn't have that kind of power in those days. I was just a college kid.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marv2

Like I said[[ if you knew how to read in English) that Helen O'Connell was about as relevant then as Diana Ross is today! It's been almost 40 years since Ross has been relevant or current in America. I am embarrassed for you that I have to keep explaining this to you like you're living in some type of time warp or just suffering from delusionism [[is that a word?)........LOL!!!!!

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Marv. Like I said stop embarrassing yourself! Everyone with half a brain knows that Diana Ross is a superstar of the highest caliber! Someone who is not relevant would not be selling out venues all over the United States and all over the world! Like I said stop embarrassing yourself! You can’t change history! Diana Ross was the first mega pop superstar to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Sorry if that kills you but you can’t change history!

My girl Helen O'Connell... the FIRST Pop singer to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbAlu3krd4w

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Originally Posted by marv2

My girl Helen O'Connell... the FIRST Pop singer to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbAlu3krd4w

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Lol!!! Stop embarrassing yourself!

Helen was a real babe in her younger days. Here she is a little older. I dedicate this one to Vgalindo for his learning. I hate for him to keep walking around dumb like that. hehehehehehehe....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoUCHUWtFsk

The very first chart-certified pop star to sing the anthem at the Super Bowl, though, was Diana Ross, in 1982. Prior to that, the anthem was performed by marching bands, instrumentalists, choirs, country star Charley Pride and middle-of-the-road female singers and actresses, including former Charlie's Angel star Cheryl Ladd. The first male pop singer to do the honors was Barry Manilow in 1984.

http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-...a-history.html

Ever the trailblazer, Kennedy Center honouree and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Diana Ross became the first big pop star to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl, in 1982. Before then, the NFL typically enlisted marching bands [[and the occasional singer) for ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ performances. Donning a sparkly tracksuit, Ross stepped up to the microphone at Michigan’s Pontiac Silverdome with no accompaniment, save for the crowd’s cheers, and performed the difficult number effortlessly. Following Ross’ performance, a Super Bowl tradition was born and a Who’s Who of stars have been enlisted to open nearly every game since then.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.udi...al-anthem/amp/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vgalindo

Marv. Like I said stop embarrassing yourself! Everyone with half a brain knows that Diana Ross is a superstar of the highest caliber! Someone who is not relevant would not be selling out venues all over the United States and all over the world! Like I said stop embarrassing yourself! You can’t change history! Diana Ross was the first mega pop superstar to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Sorry if that kills you but you can’t change history!

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Ignore ignore ignore. Hes sick and obsessed. Ignore ignore ignore.