Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of the late composer Burt Bacharach. This is the first collection acquired from a recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Bacharach and his longtime lyricist Hal David received the Gershwin Prize in 2012.
Bacharach won six Grammys, three Oscars and a Primetime Emmy in a career that spanned six decades and produced countless hit songs. He and David were voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Prize, in 1996. They also received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1997, while Bacharach separately received a lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2008. Bacharach died in 2023 at age 94.
The Burt Bacharach Papers came to the Library as a gift from his wife, Jane Bacharach. The collection includes thousands of musical scores and parts, such as Bacharach’s arrangement for “The Look of Love,” and dozens of musical sketches, including for “Alfie” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” The collection also includes 180 photographs, letters and telegrams, passports and more. It will be available for researchers beginning in early summer 2025.
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“Burt Bacharach’s timeless songs are legendary and are championed by artists across genres and generations,” Librarian of Congress’ Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The Library is proud to be entrusted with ensuring Bacharach’s music and legacy will remain accessible for future generations, in hopes of inspiring them with his creativity and distinctly American musical genius.”
“On behalf of the Bacharach family, we are grateful that Burt’s collection of music has a home in the Library of Congress,” said Jane Bacharach. “Out of all of his awards and accolades, Burt was most proud of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which was presented to him by President Obama. In this regard, it seems even more appropriate that his archive belongs here. Burt poured his heart and soul into his music, and we are so proud that the Library will give others the opportunity to visit and enjoy his legacy.”
In Burt Bacharach’s 2013 memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life in Music, he wrote about receiving the Gershwin Prize from the Library and how meaningful it was to him. “This award was for all my work, and so for me it was the best of all awards possible, and I meant that with all my heart,” Bacharach wrote.
Bacharach collaborated with many lyricists over the years including not only David but also Carole Bayer Sager and Elvis Costello. His songs are most associated with Dionne Warwick, who was able to effortlessly navigate Bacharach’s most difficult and demanding compositions, like, say “Promises, Promises” from the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name.
The Burt Bacharach Papers join dozens of other songwriter collections in the Library’s Music Division. These collections include the manuscripts and papers of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Billy Strayhorn, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Leslie Bricusse, Harry Chapin and Judy Collins.
04/16/2024
Lily Tomlin’s This Is a Recording joins the list this year. As her character Ernestine would say, ‘One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy.’
04/16/2024
Albums by The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks and Green Day are among the 2024 inductees to the National Recording Registry, which is administered by the Library of Congress. The 25 newly-added recordings bring the number of titles on the Registry to 650.
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Several of the inducted recordings capture important scenes in popular music. Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, which spawned the hits “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” captures 1967’s Summer of Love; The Cars’ The Cars and Blondie’s Parallel Lines tapped into the new wave scene of the late ’70s; Héctor Lavoe’s “El Cantante” was part the late ’70s salsa boom in New York City.
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Other inductees include Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats’ “Rocket ‘88” (1951), produced by Sam Phillips, often called the first rock’n’roll recording; Lily Tomlin’s This Is a Recording, the first comedy album by a woman to be inducted; and Gene Autry’s 1949 smash “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 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 Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry [NRR],” Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, said in a statement.
The inductees cover a wide range of genres, including jazz, bluegrass, pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.
Several of the inductees achieved historic firsts. Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” became the first a cappella recording to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. It was also the first recording produced by a woman (Linda Goldstein) to win a Grammy for record of the year. Perry Como’s “Catch a Falling Star” (1958) was the first single to be officially certified gold by the RIAA.
Several debut or first major-label recordings were inducted — Biggie’s debut album, Ready to Die; the debut single (“Ain’t No Sunshine”) from Bill Withers’ debut album Just As I Am (1971); and the first major-label albums by Green Day (1994’s Dookie) and The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks, 1998’s Wide Open Spaces).
In addition to McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” which topped the Hot 100 in 1988, the list includes four songs that reached No. 1 on pop charts that appeared in Billboard prior to the introduction in 1958 of the Hot 100: Autry’s “Rudolph,” Como’s “Star,” Patti Page’s pop and country smash “The Tennessee Waltz” (1950) and Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” (1957). (The NRR lists the latter smash along with its hit B side, “Magic Moments,” one of the first hits by songwriting titans Burt Bacharach & Hal David.)
Two of the inducted albums spawned No. 1 hits on the Hot 100. ABBA’s Arrival (1976) included their signature smash “Dancing Queen.” Blondie’s Parallel Lines (1978) included their dance/disco hit “Heart of Glass,” their first of four No. 1 hits in a two-year blitz.
Two hip-hop recordings were saluted – Biggie’s Ready to Die and Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “La-Di-Da-Di,” which originated as the B side of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew’s 1985 single “The Show.” The A side was a top five hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Two Latin recordings were honored. Lavoe’s “El Cantante” (1978) is among the most famous recordings by the late Puerto Rican salsa singer; it was written by Rubén Blades and produced by Willie Colón. Likewise, Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” (1990) is one of the late Mexican singer/songwriter’s signature songs. “It’s a great honor for my dad,” Juan Gabriel’s son Ivan Gabriel Aguilera told the Library in Spanish. “… He would always say that ‘as long as the public, people, keep singing my music, Juan Gabriel will never die,’ and it’s nice to see that happening here.”
Benny Goodman was acknowledged for a second time, a relatively rarity in the NRR. “Rose Room,” a 1939 recording by the Goodman Sextet with guitarist Charlie Christian, follows Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert into the Registry. That landmark album was inducted in 2003.
Booker T. Jones, who produced Withers’ sublime “Ain’t No Sunshine,” was previously inducted as an artist with Booker T. & the M.G.’s’ 1967 album Green Onions.
Some albums are seen as crucial building blocks, even though they didn’t make the Billboard 200. An eponymous album by J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975) was important in reviving interest in bluegrass. Crowe’s musicians included Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Jerry Douglas.
The oldest recording honored this year is “Clarinet Marmalade,” a 1919 recording by Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th US. Infantry Band. The all-Black band was comprised of soldiers who served in France during World War I.
The most recent release on this year’s list is The Chicks’ RIAA Diamond-certified 1998 breakthrough album Wide Open Spaces.
Remarkably, three of the honored artists were killed. Lt. James Reese Europe died in May 1919 – just three months after returning home from service in World War I, after being stabbed in the neck by one his drummers. Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, whose 1964 album The Sidewinder was inducted, was shot to death in 1972. The Notorious B.I.G. was shot to death in 1997.
Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. That board is chaired by Robbin Ahrold, president and CEO of Century Media Partners LLC in Washington D.C. and a former executive with BMI, the RCA Music Group and HBO.
A record 2,899 nominations were made by the general public this year. The public can submit nominations throughout the year on the Library’s web site. Nominations for next year’s Registry will be accepted through Oct. 1.
Here’s a complete list of the recordings selected for the 2024 National Recording Registry.
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)
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry on Wednesday (April 12), and the icon celebrated the honor on social media.
“I’m honored beyond belief!” she wrote on both Twitter and Instagram about the special news. “I definitely did not even imagine this would happen when writing and recording this song! Thank you so much Ms. Hayden and the @librarycongress.”
Carey also shared a snippet of an interview she did with the Library of Congress, telling chief communications officer Roswell Encina, “This is major and this is so gratifying to me as an artist, as a songwriter, of course. You know, you can’t, like, come up with this. I wasn’t sitting there writing lyrics like, ‘I’m going to be in all these places and my song’s gonna mean something to people every Christmas.’ I had no idea, I just wrote from my heart what I wanted. So thank you for including me in this incredible company and the whole situation, thank you.”
The perennial holiday classic indeed finds itself in good company, with the National Recording Registry also inducting the likes of Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” the Super Mario Bros. theme, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Queen Latifah’s All Hail the Queen and more.
According to the Library of Congress, the 25 recordings were selected for induction “based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
Check out Mariah’s ecstatic reaction to her latest honor below.
Recordings by Madonna, Daddy Yankee, Mariah Carey, John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, The Police and Queen Latifah are among 25 being added to the National Recording Registry, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday (April 12).
The inductions include some history-makers. Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” is the first reggaeton recording to be inducted; the Super Mario Bros. theme (composed by Koji Kondo) is the first theme from a video game to join the registry; Lennon’s “Imagine” is the first recording by a former Beatle to be honored. The Beatles’ landmark 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was inducted in 2003.
This year’s inductions include three albums that topped the Billboard 200 – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s Déjà vu (1970), The Police’s Synchronicity (1983) and Madonna’s Like a Virgin (a 1984 release that topped the chart in 1985). Synchronicity was The Police’s only No. 1 album, Déjà vu was the first of three for CSNY, Like a Virgin was the first of nine for Madonna that made her the queen of pop.
This year’s inductions include five songs that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – The Four Seasons’ “Sherry” (1962), Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967), Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feeling” (1983), Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1983), and Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (a 1994 release that first topped the Hot 100 in 2019 and has returned to No. 1 every year since).
Four newly-inducted recordings reached the top 10 on the Hot 100, though they fell short of the top spot – Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (No. 7 in 1965), John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (No. 2 in 1971), Lennon’s “Imagine” (No. 3 in 1971) and Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” (No. 8 in 1977).
These 25 recordings were deemed worthy of preservation “based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the Library of Congress. This brings the number of titles on the registry to 625. The latest selections were released between 1908 and 2012.
Several of these inductions are linked to creative figures who have recently died. Cara died on Nov. 25, followed by David Crosby of CSNY on Jan. 18; Burt Bacharach, the composer of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” on Feb. 8; and Seymour Stein, who signed Madonna to his Sire Records imprint, on April 2. (Bacharach and lyricist Hal David received the Library’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song award in 2012.)
The induction of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” is the third major accolade for Eurythmics in the past year. In June 2022, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This year, they are scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The induction of the Super Mario Bros. theme is the latest sign of increased respect for video game music. The Recording Academy added a new category, best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media, at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which were presented on Feb. 5.
Four of these entries received Grammy nominations in marquee categories. Déjà vu and Synchronicity both vied for album of the year; “Ode to Billie Joe” for record and song of the year; Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feelin’” for record of the year. The latter smash also won an Oscar for best original song.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” joins a short list of holiday perennials in the Registry. Others include Associated Glee Clubs of America’s 1925 recording of “Adeste Fideles,” Bing Crosby’s 1942 classic “White Christmas,” Eugene Ormandy’s 1959 album Messiah, Nat King Cole’s 1961 re-recording of The King Cole Trio’s 1946 classic “The Christmas Song,” The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s 1965 TV soundtrack, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Latifah’s All Hail the Queen is just the second album by a female rapper to join the Registry, following Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which straddles the line between hip-hop and R&B.
All Hail the Queen was Latifah’s debut album. Déjà vu was the first CSNY album. At the other extreme, Synchronicity was the final studio album by The Police before Sting left for a successful solo career.
Koko Taylor’s 1966 hit “Wang Dang Doodle” is the fifth recording by a female blues artist to be saluted, following Memphis Minnie’s “Me and My Chauffeur Blues,” Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” Bessie Smith’s “Down-Hearted Blues,” and Gertrude “Ma” Rainey’s “See See Rider Blues.”
Led Zeppelin’s 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” became as famous as most No. 1 hits even though it was never released as a single. It was one of the first tracks to show the power of the album-oriented rock (AOR) format.
Déjà vu showed the influence of Joni Mitchell, this year’s recipient of the Library’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Mitchell wrote “Woodstock,” which was the first and biggest hit from the album. Graham Nash, her live-in partner at the time, wrote “Our House,” a diary-like account of an average day at their home in California. Both songs became top 30 hits on the Hot 100.
“Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” recorded by Northwest Chamber Orchestra, was released on CD in 2012, making it the most recently-released recording to make the Registry. The classical recording captures the shifting moods of Sept. 11, 2001, from the hustle and bustle of a normal working day in New York City to the violence, anger and sorrow that followed. WNYC’s radio broadcast for that historic day was inducted last year.
“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound andreflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian ofCongress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titleseach year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10years old. For more information about the registry, including a complete list of previous inductions and directions on how to nominate a recording, go here.
Here’s a complete list of the 2023 selections for the National Recording Registry. They are listed in chronological order by release date.
The Very First Mariachi Recordings — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
“St. Louis Blues” — [W.C.] Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
“Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)
Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
“Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)
“Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)
“What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)
“Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)
“Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)
Déjà Vu — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)
“Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)
“Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)
“Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)
“Flashdance…What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)
Synchronicity — The Police (1983)
Like a Virgin — Madonna (1984)
Black Codes (From the Underground) — Wynton Marsalis (1985)
Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1986)
All Hail the Queen — Queen Latifah (1989)
“All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)
“Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)
“Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)
“Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)
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