March 30, 1991 – Whitney’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” had been released as a single shortly after the Super Bowl, and it peaked on this day at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became one of the fastest-selling singles in Arista Records’ history, with 750,000 copies sold in the first eight days. Whitney’s rendition later reached a new peak of #6 when it was re-released in 2001. To this day, Whitney’s version is often acknowledged as the greatest of all time.
All royalties and proceeds were donated to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund for the 1991 release. In its second release, all royalties and proceeds were donated to the New York Fraternal Order of Police and The New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund.