The 25 recordings selected this year for rescue by the US Library of Congress.
Madonna's 'Like A Virgin', Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina' and Mariah Carey's unrivaled Christmas classic 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' are among the releases selected for inclusion in the Library's National Recording Registry this year US Congress.
The full list includes pop hits, classic gems and even some unusual choices, like Carl Sagan's audiobook for "Pale Blue Dot" and Koji Kondo's original score for the video game "Super Mario Bros." – the first time a video game's music is added to the National Recording Registry.
Recordings selected for inclusion in the US National Recording Registry have been deemed "worthy of preservation in perpetuity based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance to the nation's recorded sound heritage."
While the majority of recordings selected this year consisted of singles, some albums were also honored, including Madonna's 'Like A Virgin', Queen Latifah's 1989 debut 'All Hail the Queen', 'Synchronicity' by the Police from 1983 and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's classic 'Déjà Vu' from 1970.
The earliest release entered this year for rescue in the National Recording Registry is also an album, "The Very First Mariachi Recordings 1908-1909," which includes recordings by four Mexican musicians from Jalisco made in Mexico City shortly after the change century. The album was reissued in 1998.
As for the songs on this year's list, there are some recordings that surprisingly haven't been added over the years, like John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 'Imagine' and Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'.
Also included were two iconic singles from 1983: Irene Cara's 'Flashdance... What a Feeling' and Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)'.
Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics said: “It's a mantra, almost like a Haiku poem, a coded message, a commentary on the human condition. You can use it as a birthday song or a celebration song… it could be anything. Looking back, I love the way people identified with him."
Another extremely interesting addition to the US National Recording Registry is the song that not only captured a lifestyle, but launched an entire hotel and commercial empire: Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" from 1977.
“You're lucky enough to have your thumb on the pulse of something that people can relate to at some point. It's an amazing and lucky thing to happen to you, and that's what happened with 'Margaritaville,'” commented Jimmy Buffett.
This year's list also includes Bobbie Gentry's still chilling ballad 'Ode to Billie Joe', the Four Seasons' 'Sherry', Burt Bacharach's rendition of 'What the World Needs Now' and Jackie DeShannon's Hal David and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
Finally, Koji Kondo's music for 'Super Mario Bros.' is perhaps the most interesting addition, as it helps expand the scope of the National Recording Registry to include video games for the first time.
Kondo, who still works for Nintendo, recalls pulling elements from "all kinds of genres" to match his music with "what was happening on the screen," he told the US Library of Congress.
"We had jingles to encourage players to try again after a 'game over', trumpets to congratulate them on achieving objectives, and tracks that sped up when time was running out," he commented.
“To have this music preserved along with so many other classics is a great honor. It's really a little hard to believe," he added.
The 25 recordings to be added to the Library of Congress this year
1. “The Very First Mariachi Recordings” – Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
2. “St. Louis Blues” – Handy's Memphis Blues Band (1922)
3. “Sugar Foot Stomp” – Fletcher Henderson (1926)
4. Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio
(Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
5. "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around" – The Fairfield Four (1947)
6. “Sherry” – The Four Seasons (1962)
7. “What the World Needs Now is Love” – Jackie DeShannon (1965)
8. “Wang Dang Doodle” – Koko Taylor (1966)
9. “Ode to Billie Joe” – Bobbie Gentry (1967)
10. “Déjà Vu” – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
11. "Imagine" - John Lennon (1971)
12. "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin (1971)
13. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - John Denver (1971)
14. "Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffett (1977) )
15. “Flashdance…What a Feeling” – Irene Cara (1983)
16. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics (1983)
17. “Synchronicity” – The Police (1983)
18. “Like a Virgin – Madonna (1984)
19. “Black Codes (From the Underground)” – Wynton Marsalis (1985)
20. Super Mario Bros. theme – Koji Kondo, composer (1986)
21. “All Hail the Queen” – Queen Latifah (1989)
22. “All I Want for Christmas is You” – Mariah Carey (1994)
23. “Pale Blue Dot” – Carl Sagan (1994)
24. “Gasolina” – Daddy Yankee (2004)
25. "Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra" – Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)
