Looking back at Whitney Houston's 1991 national anthem

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2021

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Happy New Year's Eve, y'all! Before we officially end 2021, we're revisiting on one of our favorite episodes of the year — our deep dive into Whitney Houston's 1991 national anthem. Sam chats with Danyel Smith, host of Black Girl Songbook, about how Whitney Houston captivated the entire nation with her rendition of the national anthem that year and why it still matters more than 30 years later.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all, you're listening to It's Been A Minute from NPR.
0:05.8	I'm Sam Sanders and Happy New Year's Eve to everyone.
0:10.0	This is officially our last It's Been A Minute episode of 2021.
0:13.6	Can you believe it?
0:15.2	So before the year ends, I want to return to a conversation you may have missed in this
0:20.2	podcast feed.
0:21.2	It's from right before the Super Bowl.
0:23.6	And if I'm being honest, I only remember at this point who won the game this year.
0:27.9	But I do remember the conversation I had that week that really stuck with me.
0:31.6	It was all about Super Bowl 1991.
0:34.8	That was the year Whitney Houston sang the National Anthem before the game began.
0:39.2	I talked with Danielle Smith.
0:40.7	She's the host of Black Girl's Songbook.
0:43.2	And we discussed how Whitney Houston captivated the entire nation with her rendition of the
0:47.9	National Anthem that year.
0:49.8	And why it still matters a lot today.
0:52.7	I love this conversation and I cannot think of a better way to close out this year on
0:56.6	this show.
0:57.6	All right, enjoy.
1:00.9	What was a national mood then?
1:02.7	I mean, to be honest, the national mood was everybody was kind of shook.
1:08.7	That is Danielle Smith.
	...

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