Albums from Elton John, Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, Mary J. Blige and the cast of Hamilton are entering America’s audio canon, along with singles from Helen Reddy and Céline Dion and the music of Minecraft.
New inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include Davis’ groundbreaking 1970 merger of jazz and rock Bitches Brew, John’s loaded-with-hits Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from 1973, Chapman’s self-titled 1988 album that included Fast Car, Blige’s deeply introspective 1994 My Life, and the 2015 original Broadway cast album of Hamilton.
They were among the 25 recordings entering the archive in the class of 2025, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Wednesday. The recordings were chosen for their “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
“These are the sounds of America — our wide-ranging history and culture,” Hayden said in a statement. “The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist.”
Helen Reddy’s 1972 I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar and Céline Dion’s 1997 hit My Heart Will Go On from the film Titanic are among the singles entering the archive.
Superstar Céline Dion talks to The National’s Adrienne Arsenault in a Canadian English language exclusive about her years-long battle with stiff person syndrome, how it’s changed her life and her determination to return to performing.
Among the more unusual inclusions are the original music for the video game (and now monster hit movie) Minecraft from German producer Daniel Rosenfeld, as collected on the 2011 album, Minecraft: Volume Alpha, and the reboot sound for Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system, created by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician and producer Brian Eno.
Announcer Chuck Thompson’s radio broadcast of the 1960 World Series between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates — clinched with a Game 7 home run by the Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski — is also entering the registry.
The oldest recording in the class of 2025 is 1913’s Aloha ‘Oe by the Hawaiian Quintette. The most recent is the 2015 Hamilton album, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Other albums that won inclusion are 1968’s Hello Dummy from insult comic Don Rickles, 1969’s Chicago Transit Authority from the band Chicago, 1975’s I’ve Got the Music in Me from Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker, 1976’s Fly Like an Eagle from the Steve Miller Band, and 2006’s Back to Black from Amy Winehouse.
Career-defining singles from other canonical artists are joining those of Reddy and Dion, including 1952’s Happy Trails from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Freddy Fender’s 1975 Before the Next Teardrop Falls, and 1971’s Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’ from trailblazing Black country artist Charley Pride.
