Whitney Houston, the most award-winning female pop singer of all time, has passed away at the age of 48.

The performer was best known for her love ballads, but, in 1991, in Tampa Bay, Fla., the singer rocked all of America as she sang the national anthem before Super Bowl XXV.

The timing couldn't have been any more impeccable: Just after the onset of the Persian Gulf War, Americans were incredibly moved by the performance. It's long been regarded among music and television critics as one of the greatest performances of the national anthem of all time.

The song was released as a charity single in 1991 and was re-released after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City. Among all the great performances from the late singer, the Star Spangled Banner will be remembered as one of the greatest moments of televised history in the U.S. for decades to come:

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Whitney Houston belting it out for the National Anthem during the Super Bowl 1991. http://open.salon.com
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