Judy Garland, Richard Pryor, David Bowie, The Eagles, N.W.A and more added to National Recording Registry

Judy Garland, Richard Pryor and David Bowie are among the artists honored.

By
CHRISTOPHER WATSON
March 29, 2017, 12:51 PM ET
2 min read

— -- If there's one song you'd think would already be in the National Recording Registry, it's Judy Garland's classic take on "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz."

That song is one of 25 recordings the Library of Congress has added to its registry because of their "cultural, artistic and historical importance to American society and the nation’s audio heritage."

This year's list of recordings is as varied as ever, spanning more than a century; the oldest addition is an 1888 wax cylinder recording by a friend of inventor Thomas Edison; the latest, a 1997 album of operatic arias by soprano Renée Fleming.

The seminal 1988 rap album "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A is on the list, as is David Bowie's 1972 album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars." The first "Greatest Hits" album by The Eagles, the second-best-selling album of all time, and "Remain in Light" by the Talking Heads were also included.

Other individual songs added to the registry include Don Mclean's "American Pie," Sister Sledge's "We Are Family," "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett and Barbra Streisand's "People."

Country crooner Marty Robbins' 1959 classic "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" made the list -- the album's Grammy-winning outlaw ballad "Felina" was famously featured in the final episode of "Breaking Bad" -- as did the original cast recording of the 1975 Broadway musical "The Wiz," and comic Richard Pryor's 1978 recording "Wanted: Live in Concert."

Here's the complete roster of this year's National Recording Registry additions.

  • 1. The 1888 London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud (1888)
  • 2. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (singles), Manhattan Harmony Four (1923); Melba Moore and Friends (1990)
  • 3. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (single), Harry Richman (1929)
  • 4. “Over the Rainbow” (single), Judy Garland (1939)
  • 5. “I’ll Fly Away” (single), The Chuck Wagon Gang (1948)
  • 6. “Hound Dog” (single), Big Mama Thornton (1953)
  • 7. "Saxophone Colossus," Sonny Rollins (1956)
  • 8. "The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds," announced by Vin Scully (September 8, 1957)
  • 9. "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs," Marty Robbins (1959)
  • 10. "The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery," Wes Montgomery (1960)
  • 11. “People” (single), Barbra Streisand (1964)
  • 12. “In the Midnight Hour” (single), Wilson Pickett (1965)
  • 13. “Amazing Grace” (single), Judy Collins (1970)
  • 14. “American Pie” (single), Don McLean (1971)
  • 15. “All Things Considered,” first broadcast (May 3, 1971)
  • 16. "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," David Bowie (1972)
  • 17. "The Wiz," original cast album (1975)
  • 18. "Their Greatest Hits" (1971–1975), Eagles (1976)
  • 19. Scott Joplin’s "Treemonisha," Gunter Schuller, arr. (1976)
  • 20. "Wanted: Live in Concert," Richard Pryor (1978)
  • 21. “We Are Family” (single), Sister Sledge (1979)
  • 22. "Remain in Light," Talking Heads (1980)
  • 23. "Straight Outta Compton," N.W.A (1988)
  • 24. Rachmaninoff’s "Vespers (All-Night Vigil)," Robert Shaw Festival Singers (1990)
  • 25. "Signatures," Renée Fleming (1997)