WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — Madonna, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee, and John Denver are some of the artists included in the latest collection of music to join the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry for 2023.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the addition of 25 new songs for the Recording Registry, which were selected for preservation based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.
“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Hayden said. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
The latest list of songs spans virtually the entire history of recorded music, from 1908 to 2012 and include the first recordings of mariachi music and early blues recordings to iconic hits from pop, rock, country, jazz, and rap artists.
Among those included this year include Queen Latifah, who is the first female rap artist to have music included in the National Registry. The 2023 list also includes “Synchronicity” by the Police, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Led Zeppelin’s iconic “Stairway to Heaven,” and “Imagine” by John Lennon among others.
National Recording Registry, 2023 Selections
(chronological order)
“The Very First Mariachi Recordings” — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
“St. Louis Blues” — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
“Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)
Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
“Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)
“Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)
“What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)
“Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)
“Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)
“Déjà Vu” — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
“Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)
“Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)
“Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)
“Flashdance…What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)
“Synchronicity” — The Police (1983)
“Like a Virgin” — Madonna (1984)
“Black Codes (From the Underground)” — Wynton Marsalis (1985)
Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1985)
“All Hail the Queen” — Queen Latifah (1989)
“All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)
“Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)
“Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)
“Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)
