Kenny Rogers & Gladys Knight "If I Knew Then What I Know Now"

While the halftime show gets all the attention tonight, don't forget about the voice behind our National Anthem. You may remember Whitney Houston turned her rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Superbowl into a #1 song on the radio at a time when the world waged war in the Persian Gulf. Tonight, Gladys Knight takes her turn at Superbowl LIII.

Bette Midler - "Wind Beneath My Wings"

According to my fuzzy math, approximately 35,482 high school choirs have performed "Wind Beneath My Wings" since 1989. Bette Midler recorded the song for the soundtrack to the movie Beaches, yet Lee Greenwood, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Lou Rawls also have performed their own versions of the tune long before Bette became synonymous with it.

Additionally, my fuzzy math also counts "Wind Beneath My Wings" as getting 18,932,436 plays during Casey Kasem's "Long Distance Request & Dedication" segment...give or take a few.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - "Midnight Train to Georgia"

PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES:
Gladys Knight's signature tune wasn't supposed to be about a midnight train.  Originally titled "Midnight Plane to Houston" and written for Cissy Houston, Gladys took the reworked song to #1 in 1973.  It parked there for two weeks before being bumped out of the top spot by Eddie Kendricks' "Keep on Truckin".

Dionne Warwick & Friends - "That's What Friends Are For"

Here is a short list of Dionne Warwick's friends: Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John.  That aside, when a throw-down happens among songs about Friends, I much prefer the theme song to The Golden Girls.