National Recording Registry Inducts 25 New Recordings That You Probably Know
Every year, the Library of Congress National Recording Registry names 25 recordings as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage. This year’s inductees include recordings from ABBA, Green Day, Blondie, Bill Withers, The Chicks, Bobby McFerrin, The Cars, and more.
The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998. They range from the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I, to defining sounds of jazz and bluegrass, and iconic recordings from pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.
Here are the 25 recordings in chronological order:
- “Clarinet Marmalade” – Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)
- “Kauhavan Polkka” – Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)
- Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)
- “Rose Room” – Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)
- “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Gene Autry (1949)
- “Tennessee Waltz” – Patti Page (1950)
- “Rocket ‘88’” – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)
- “Catch a Falling Star” / ”Magic Moments” – Perry Como (1957)
- “Chances Are” – Johnny Mathis (1957)
- “The Sidewinder” – Lee Morgan (1964)
- “Surrealistic Pillow” – Jefferson Airplane (1967)
- “Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers (1971)
- “This is a Recording” – Lily Tomlin (1971)
- “J.D. Crowe & the New South” – J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)
- “Arrival” – ABBA (1976)
- “El Cantante” – Héctor Lavoe (1978)
- “The Cars” – The Cars (1978)
- “Parallel Lines” – Blondie (1978)
- “La-Di-Da-Di” – Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)
- “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – Bobby McFerrin (1988)
- “Amor Eterno” – Juan Gabriel (1990)
- “Pieces of Africa” – Kronos Quartet (1992)
- “Dookie” – Green Day (1994)
- “Ready to Die” – The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
- “Wide Open Spaces” – The Chicks (1998)
It’s important to know that the inductees were chosen from a list of 2,899 nominations this year, so selection is not random or based on the tastes of the selectors.
The recordings selected for the National Recording Registry bring the number of titles on the registry to 650, representing a small portion of the national library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items.
Check out a sample of some of the songs in the official video below, and the Registry information page (which has some good snippets of artist interviews) here.
