Paul Natkin/Getty ImagesClassic recordings by Cyndi Lauper, Neil Diamond, Jay-Z, Earth, Wind & Fire, rock pioneer Richie Valens and country music legend Lefty Frizzell are among this year’s 25 additions to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, the collection of recorded works noted for their historical, cultural or aesthetic significance.
Lauper’s 1983 debut solo album She’s So Unusual made the cut, as did rapper Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint. The 1978 hit “September” is the Earth, Wind & Fire entry, while Neil Diamond’s anthemic 1969 song “Sweet Caroline” is on the list. So is “La Bamba,” the 1958 single by Valens, and “Long Black Veil,” the country music standard released the following year by Frizzell.
Also added to the Registry are Sam & Dave‘s 1967 hit “Soul Man,” Curtis Mayfield‘s 1972 soundtrack album to the film Superfly, and the 1978 disco hit “You Make me Feel (Mighty Real),” by Sylvester.
Non-musical entries include the 1961 Stan Freberg comedy album Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Vol. 1: The Early Years, a 1952 episode of the then-radio drama Gunsmoke, Robert F. Kennedy‘s April 4, 1968 Speech on the Death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1996 Schoolhouse Rock! box set.
Here are all 25 National Recording Registry additions:
Yiddish Cylinders from the Standard Phonograph Company of New York and the Thomas Lambert Company (c. 1901-1905)
“Memphis Blues” (single), Victor Military Band (1914)
Melville Jacobs Collection of Native Americans of the American Northwest (1929-1939)
“Minnie the Moocher” (single), Cab Calloway (1931)
Bach Six Cello Suites (album), Pablo Casals (c. 1939)
“They Look Like Men of War” (single), Deep River Boys (1941)
Gunsmoke — Episode: “The Cabin” (Dec. 27, 1952)
Ruth Draper: Complete recorded monologues, Ruth Draper (1954-1956)
“La Bamba” (single), Ritchie Valens (1958)
“Long Black Veil” (single), Lefty Frizzell (1959)
Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Vol. 1: The Early Years (album), Stan Freberg (1961)
GO (album), Dexter Gordon (1962)
War Requiem (album), Benjamin Britten (1963)
“Mississippi Goddam” (single), Nina Simone (1964)
“Soul Man” (single), Sam & Dave (1967)
Hair (original Broadway cast recording) (1968)
Speech on the Death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy (April 4, 1968)
“Sweet Caroline” (single), Neil Diamond (1969)
Superfly (album), Curtis Mayfield (1972)
Ola Belle Reed (album), Ola Belle Reed (1973)
“September” (single), Earth, Wind & Fire (1978)
“You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (single), Sylvester (1978)
She’s So Unusual (album), Cyndi Lauper (1983)
Schoolhouse Rock!: The Box Set (1996)
The Blueprint (album), Jay-Z (2001)
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