Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Cheap Trick at Budokan and Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis are among the Library of Congress’ 2020 inductees into the National Recording Registry.
Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” and Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” also featured on the diverse list of 25 recordings deemed “aural treasures worthy of preservation because of their cultural, historical and aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” the Library of Congress said Wednesday.
Other inductees include Tina Turner’s 1984 LP Private Dancer, Selena’s 1990 album Ven Conmigo, the original Broadway cast recording of Fiddler on the Roof, Allan Sherman’s “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” and Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’.
“The National Recording Registry is the evolving playlist of the American soundscape. It reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “We received over 800 nominations this year for culturally, historically or aesthetically significant recordings to add to the registry. As genres and formats continue to expand, the Library of Congress is committed to working with our many partners to preserve the sounds that have touched our hearts and shaped our culture.”
This year’s historical recordings include a radio broadcast of the 1951 National League tie-breaking baseball game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers (featuring “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”), an Arch Oboler radio play from 1939 and the Boston Symphony’s mid-performance announcement of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963.
This year’s inductees span nearly 90 years — from Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra’s 1920 single “Whispering” to Colin Currie’s Best Classical Contemporary Composition Grammy-winning Percussion Concerto from 2008.
Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen said of the induction of their 1978 live LP, one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time: “We are honored that our breakout album, Cheap Trick at Budokan, is being added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. We thank our loyal fans who nominated us, and our favorite Rockford school librarian who got the ball rolling!”
- “Whispering”, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
- “Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti,” Compagnia Columbia; “Sacco e Vanzetti,” Raoul Romito (1927)
- “La Chicharronera”, Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
- “Arch Oboler’s Plays” episode “The Bathysphere.” (Nov. 18, 1939)
- “Me and My Chauffeur Blues”, Memphis Minnie (1941)
- The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers — Russ Hodges, announcer (Oct. 3, 1951)
- Puccini’s “Tosca”, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli, Victor de Sabata (1953)
- “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, Allan Sherman (1963)
- WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
- Fiddler on the Roof, original Broadway cast (1964)
- “Make the World Go Away”, Eddy Arnold (1965)
- Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music (1966-67; 1971-73)
- “Wichita Lineman”, Glen Campbell (1968)
- Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield (1969)
- Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’, Fred Rogers (1973)
- Cheap Trick at Budokan, Cheap Trick (1978)
- Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G, Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
- “Y.M.C.A.” (single), Village People (1978)
- A Feather on the Breath of God, Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
- Private Dancer, Tina Turner (1984)
- Ven Conmigo, Selena (1990)
- The Chronic, Dr. Dre (1992)
- “I Will Always Love You”, Whitney Houston (1992)
- Concert in the Garden, Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
- Percussion Concerto, Colin Currie (2008)