ABBA, Blondie, The Cars, The Chicks, Juan Gabriel, Green Day, The Notorious B.I.G., Jefferson Airplane, Perry Como, Kronos Quartet, Johnny Mathis, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Withers ….
No, it’s not the dream lineup for the most awesome hypothetical summer music festival to ever exist: These are but a handful of the recording artists whose work was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress on April 16.
The Library of Congress adds to the registry audio treasures worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage. The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998 and include iconic recordings—both songs and albums—from jazz, bluegrass, pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin, and classical music.
“The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said. “We have selected audio treasures worthy of preservation with our partners this year, including a wide range of music from the past 100 years, as well as comedy. We were thrilled to receive a record number of public nominations, and we welcome the public’s input on what we should preserve next.”
The 2024 inductees include several firsts and notable entries, including the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I; “Rocket ’88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, often called the first rock’n’roll recording; and Lily Tomlin’s “This Is a Recording,” the first comedy album by a woman to be inducted. Gene Autry’s “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is the third Christmas song to be inducted, following Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
The newly added recordings bring the total number of titles on the registry to 650, representing a small portion of the library’s recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items.
Here’s the full list of 2024 inductees:
- Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band, “Clarinet Marmalade” (1919)
- Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl, “Kauhavan Polkka” (1928)
- Various Artists, Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)
- Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian, “Rose Room” (1939)
- Gene Autry, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)
- Patti Page, “The Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
- Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, “Rocket ‘88’” (1951)
- Johnny Mathis, “Chances Are” (1957)
- Perry Como, “Catch a Falling Star” / “Magic Moments” (1957)
- Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder (1964)
- Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
- Lily Tomlin, This Is a Recording (1971)
- Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971)
- J.D. Crowe & the New South, J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)
- ABBA, Arrival (1976)
- Héctor Lavoe, “El Cantante” (1978)
- The Cars, The Cars (1978)
- Blondie, Parallel Lines (1978)
- Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D), “La-Di-Da-Di” (1985)
- Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (1988)
- Juan Gabriel, “Amor Eterno” (1990)
- Kronos Quartet, Pieces of Africa (1992)
- Green Day, Dookie (1994)
- The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die (1994)
- The Chicks, Wide Open Spaces (1998)
A record 2,899 nominations were made by the public this year for recordings to consider adding to the registry. The public can submit nominations throughout the year on the Library of Congress’s web site. Nominations for next year will be accepted until October 1, 2024. The public may nominate recordings for the registry here. No recording is eligible for inclusion until 10 years after its creation.
To learn more about preservation efforts—including how to get started on your own projects—check out some of the resources available from the American Library Association’s CORE: Leadership, Infrastructure, Future.
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