The Library of Congress on Wednesday announced new additions to its registry of significant recordings, including more than two dozen titles ranging from folk and funks songs, to the theme from “Footloose” and albums by Fleetwood Mac and Run-DMC.
A total of 25 selection were added Wednesday to the library’s National Recording Registry, a list of albums, singles and other recordings deemed to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” The latest additions brought the list to 500.
The latest inductees cover nearly a century of American music, ranging from a 1911 orchestral recording of Victor Herbert’s “Dream Melody Intermezzo,” to a 1996 Grammy-winning album by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Other new additions include a 1946 album by Merle Travis, “Folk Songs of the Hill”; the 1978 song “Le Freak” by Chic; “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins from the 1984 film of the same name; Fleetwood Mac’s top-selling “Rumours” album; and “Raising Hell,” the third album by rap group Run-DMC and one of the first records to successfully blend rock with hip-hop.
Non-musical additions among the class of 2017 include a recording of the meetings that spurred the creation of the United Nations, a 1965 episode of the “King Biscuit Time” radio show and Groucho Marx’s 1972 comedy album, “An Evening With Groucho.”
“This annual celebration of recorded sound reminds us of our varied and remarkable American experience,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement announcing the registry’s class of 2017 inductees. “The unique trinity of historic, cultural and aesthetic significance reflected in the National Recording Registry each year is an opportunity for reflection on landmark moments, diverse cultures and shared memories — all reflected in our recorded soundscape.”
The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 requires the librarian of Congress to nominate 25 songs annually based on advice from members of the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) and public nominations. Those selections are permanently archived to ensure they’re preserved for future generations among more than 7 million items stored on 90 miles of shelving within at a state-of-the-art facility in Culpeper, Virginia, according to the Library of Congress.
Other titles added to the registry Wednesday include recordings by George Herzog and Members of the Yanktoni Tribe, Canario y Su Grupo, Mississippi Sheiks, Artur Schnabel, The Ink Spots, Clara Ward and the Ward Singers, Bill Haley and His Comets, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, The Temptations, Arlo Guthrie, Steve Reich, Richard Maxfield, Pauline Oliveros, Kenny Rogers, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, as well as “The Sound of Music” soundtrack.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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