Atlanta's Own Gladys Knight To Sing Super Bowl National Anthem
NEW YORK — Super Bowl LIII is shaping up to be quite the Atlanta-centric affair. On Thursday, the NFL announced that music legend Gladys Knight, a native of the city, will perform the national anthem at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 3. “I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta,” Knight said in a statement. “The NFL recently announced their new social justice platform Inspire Change, and I am honored to be a part of its inaugural year.”
Knight is a seven-time Grammy winning artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who is perhaps best known for her Billboard No. 1 singles, “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “That’s What Friends Are For,” and her 11 No. 1 R&B singles, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
Another Atlanta native, Big Boi, will perform along with Maroon5 and Travis Scott during the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Road closures are set to begin Monday for several downtown and midtown Atlanta streets, ahead of the game.
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31st August 1978: Gladys Knight And The Pips (left to right) Merald ‘Bubba’ Knight, Edward Patten and William Sweet. (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)