Readers add to the canon:

Controversy around the National Anthem and baseball dates back to 1968 and Jose Feliciano's glorious rendition at the World Series that got him blacklisted from radio. And would anyone really consider Marvin Gaye's now legendary 1983 NBA All-Star Game version as triumphant? Certainly not traditional, but inspiring in its own unique way. This is what artists do: re-imagine us into thinking about the world in a new and different way. What has always made our nation so great are the grounds of freedom that have made these new visions possible.

Another on Gaye's version:

It's like a love song.  And there's a great back story too.

Another writes: