“The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially adopted as the ... Gaye’s 1983 NBA All-Star Game performance, Jimi Hendrix’s instrumental version at Woodstock in 1969, Whitney Houston’s ...

Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.