Recordings by ABBA, Blondie, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick are among the 25 selected as "audio treasures worthy of preservations for all time" by the Library of Congress. This year's picks to join the National Recording Registry, announced Tuesday (April 16), feature a diverse mix of genres, including polka, jazz, easy listening, psychedelia, pop, new wave, Latin, hip-hop, punk and more.
The list, including albums and singles, spans from a 1919 recording by early jazz legend Lieutenant James Reese Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry Band -- a Black ensemble also known as the "Harlem Hellfighters" -- to The Chicks' 1998 album Wide Open Spaces.
The Chicks aren't the only contemporary act on the list. Also inducted are pop-punk favorites Green Day with their 1994 major label debut Dookie, while hip-hop gets its due with Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's classic 1985 single "La-Di-Da-Di" and The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 effort Ready to Die.
Ethnic music is also included with Juan Gabrial's 1990 single "Amor Eterno," Hector Lavoe's 1979 song "El Cantante" and the Kauhavan Polkka" by Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl, dating all the way back to 1928.
New Wave-era entries include The Cars self-title 1978 debut as well as Blondie's breakthrough Parallel Lines from that same year.
'70s hitmakers on the list include ABBA's 1976 album Arrival, which includes the hits "Dancing Queen" and "Money, Money, Money," as well as Bill Withers, with his 1971 classic "Ain't No Sunshine."
The psychedelic era is represented with Jefferson Airplane's 1976 classic LP Surrealistic Pillow, while easy-listening crooners Johnny Mathis and Perry Como both made the list with their 1957 singles "Chances Are" and "Catch a Falling Star"/ "Magic Moments," respectively.
The complete list of the 25 recordings chosen for the 2024 National Recording Registry, listed in chronological order, follows:
- "Clarinet Marmalade" - Lt. James Reese Europe's 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)
- "Kauhavan Polkka" - Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)
- Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)
- "Rose Room" - Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)
- "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Gene Autry (1949)
- "Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page (1950)
- "Rocket '88'" - Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)
- "Catch a Falling Star" / "Magic Moments" - Perry Como (1957)
- "Chances Are" - Johnny Mathis (1957)
- The Sidewinder - Lee Morgan (1964)
- Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane (1967)
- "Ain't No Sunshine" - Bill Withers (1971)
- This is a Recording - Lily Tomlin (1971)
- J.D. Crowe & the New South - J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)
- Arrival - ABBA (1976)
- "El Cantante" - Héctor Lavoe (1978)
- The Cars - The Cars (1978)
- Parallel Lines - Blondie (1978)
- "La-Di-Da-Di" - Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)
- "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin (1988)
- "Amor Eterno" - Juan Gabriel (1990)
- Pieces of Africa - Kronos Quartet (1992)
- Dookie - Green Day (1994)
- Ready to Die - The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
- Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks (1998)
