Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced on January 27 the first 50 recordings to be entered in the National Recording Registry. Created by Congress through the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the registry is dedicated to preserving classic American recordings of music, speeches, and readings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
“Congress created the registry to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio legacy and to underscore our responsibility to assure the long-term preservation of that legacy so that it may be appreciated and studied by generations to come,” Billington said.
The National Recording Preservation Board, comprised of 20 leaders in the music and preservation fields, will accept nominations from the public and make recommendations of their own. Recordings must be 10 years old to be considered for selection. LC will retain a digital copy of all recordings selected for the registry, which is modeled after the library’s National Film Registry.
Among this year’s selections are: Thomas Edison’s exhibition cylinders from 1888–1889, which represent the birth of commercial sound recording; John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897); DeWolf Hopper’s 1915 recitation of “Casey at the Bat”; George Gershwin’s 1924 performance of Rhapsody in Blue with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra; President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats from the 1930s and 1940s; Abbott and Costello’s first radio broadcast in 1938 of “Who’s on First”; the entirety of Elvis Presley’s Sun Records sessions from 1954–1955; Tito Puente’s 1958 album Dance Mania; Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” (1967); and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s 1982 hit song “The Message.”
Posted February 3, 2003.