The Star Spangled Banner Billboard History...

As the Star Spangled Banner re-enters the Hot100 this week, a decade after first charting, here is a reminder of some of the Billboard facts and stats about the song's previous chart performance.

The song debuted on the chart week of 9 March 1991 - the same week 'All The Man That I Need' dropped from No.1 to No.3 after two weeks at the top and registering as Whitney's 9th US Hot100 No.1 single.

'The Star Spangled Banner''s eleven week Hot100 chart trajectory was:

32 - 25 - 21 - 20 - 22 - 32 - 33 - 61 - 83 - 87 - 98

A Hot Shot Debut was awarded in it's opening week and the following week it earned the Power Pick/Sales award.  It was certified Gold in it's 8th week (Billboard rules state releases cannot be certified immediately).

The Billboard Hot100 Singles Spotlight (9 March 1991) written by Michael Ellis had this to say:

[Sales reports] play a major role in each of the three highest debuts on the chart.  (Normally, sales begin to build only after several weeks of radio airplay).  Whitney Houston's rendition of 'The Star Spangled Banner'  (Arista) explodes in sales for an amazing debut at No.32.  Ninety-five percent of its points come from sales, with only a handful of radio stations listing the record on their playlists.  A similar situation occurs with 'Give Peace A Chance' by the all-star Peace Choir (Virgin): The single debuts at No.54, with 95% of it's points coming from sales.  The latter is approaching 400,000 units according to it's label while the former is reportedly over 750,000.  Gold and/or Platinum certifications should be forthcoming.

Billboard published a 'review' in their Singles Review of the song in their issue dated 23 February 1991:

Whitney Houston
The Star Spangled Banner (2:15)
Producer: Not Listed
Writer: F. Scott Key
Publisher: Not Listed
Arista 2207 (cassette single)

Pop diva's stirring rendition of the national anthem, as performed at this year's Super Bowl has been issued to help raise money for the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund, which benefits U.S. military families.  The B side includes a gospel-flavored reading of 'America The Beautiful' with backing harmonies provided by Perri.

NEWSFILE: 20 SEPTEMBER 2001