Top row (left to right): Valerie Simpson and Nikolas Ashford | James Pankow and Robert Lamm | Will Jennings
Bottom row (left to right): Elton John and Bernie Taupin | Maceo Pinkard | Steve Miller
Works by Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees and honorees once again highlighted the elite list of recordings selected by the Library of Congress for what has been called “America’s Playlist,” an exclusive catalog of recordings destined for special preservation and scholarship attention due to their "cultural, historic and aesthetic significance to American society and the nation's audio heritage." Known formally as the National Recording Registry, the new selections for the list were announced this week by Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden.
Heading this year’s list are contributions from SHOF inductees including a global megahit from the team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Steve Miller Band’s multi-platinum album Fly Like and Eagle, Will Jennings’ soaring pop standard “My Heart Will Go On,” and Chicago Transit Authority’s breakthrough debut album Chicago.
In all six albums and singles featuring the work of nine SHOF inductees were added to the National Recording Registry. In chronological order they are:
"Sweet Georgia Brown" – Brother Bones and His Shadows (1949)
Written by 1984 SHOF inductee Maceo Pinkard, along with Ben Bernie and Kenneth Casey in 1924, this tune became popular in an early recording by Ethel Waters in 1925. But it was the 1949 recording by Brother Bones and His Shadows with whistling and bone cracking that swept America when it was adopted as the theme song by the Harlem Globetrotters. The song has been heard and treasured by four generations of Americans via thousands of the Globetrotters’ live performances and broadcasts on radio and television.
Composer Pinkard is a giant of early 20th Century song, and one of the greatest composers of the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote "Them There Eyes," "Gimme a Little Kiss," "Will Ya huh?," "My Old Man" and dozens more.
Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago (1968)
Written by 2017 SHOF inductees Robert Lamm and James Pankow, founding members of innovative rock ensemble Chicago, their debut album Chicago Transit Authority is a double album, a rarity for a band's initial studio release. The album had sold over one million copies by 1970. The album included a number of chart topping songs including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “I’m a Man.” The recording garnered the group a nomination as Best New Artists at the 1969 GRAMMYs. The landmark album received more public nominations to the Library of Congress than any other album out of the more than 2,600 nominations for the Registry this year.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (1973)
Every track on this landmark album was written by the legendary team of Elton John (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics), who were inducted into the SHOF in 1992 and were further honored with the SHOF’s highest award, the Johnny Mercer Award in 2013. A double album featuring 17 tracks including the indelible hits “Candle in the Wind,” "Bennie and the Jets", “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” as well as the title track, it is widely regarded as John’s magnum opus. It took residency at the number one position on the Billboard’s Top LPs and Tape chart, and was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2003.
Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (1976)
Written by 2022 SHOF inductee Steve Miller, the album features chart-toppers “Take the Money and Run,” “Rock’n Me,” and the title track, which were all released as singles. The singles have remained in constant rotation on classic rock and pop radio in the United States and worldwide. The album went multi-platinum, and is widely regarded as one of Miller's best works, blending elements of rock, blues, pop, and electronic music with spacey synths.
Interestingly, the one track not written by Miller, the unforgettable “You Send Me,” was penned by another SHOF inductee, Sam Cooke (inducted 1987).
"My Heart Will Go On" – Celine Dion (1997)
With lyrics by2006 SHOF inductee Will Jennings along with James Horner’s music, it was written as the title song for James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic, and became a worldwide smash and Dion’s signature song. The song topped the charts in 25 countries and was the best-selling single of 1998, with world wide sales of more than 18 million. It went on to win 4 GRAMMYs including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Jennings, who sadly passed away last September, described as "the most erudite of lyricists", wrote “Up Where We Belong,” “Higher Love’ (with Steve Winwood) and “Tears in Heaven’ (with Eric Clapton). His work has won three GRAMMYs and two Oscars.
"Back to Black" – Amy Winehouse (2006)
Amy Winehouse’s second and most successful album was her homage to the great soul girl groups of the 1960s, a sound particularly suited to her textured vocal delivery. Not surprising then, that the album contains “Tears Don’t Dry on Their Own”, a collaboration with the music of soul masters Nikolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who were inducted into the SHOF in 2002. On the track, the music behind Winehouse’s voice is an interpolation of the Ashford and Simpson classic “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” originally made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
SHOF President and CEO Linda Moran said: “This year’s selections for the National Recording Registry feature creative contributions from SHOF inductees spanning almost a century, and some of the most iconic pop songs of our times, from the most talented songwriters and lyricists of our age. Their ability to deliver this kind of global success reminds us all of the crucial role of the songwriter in the creative process.”
Moran serves as a member of the federally-chartered National Recording Preservation Board, which assists the Librarian in selecting the recordings each year. SHOF President's Advisory Council member Robbin Ahrold has chaired the National Recording Preservation Board for the past seven years. Current SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers has been twice honored as his work “We Are Family” recorded by Sister Sledge, was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2016, and Chic's inescapable disco hit “Le Freak,” was inducted in 2017.
Librarian of Congress Dr. Hayden added, “These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist,” Hayden said. “The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology.”
The Registry was established in 2002. The recordings selected for the newly announced “Class of 2025” bring the total number of titles on the registry to 675, a small part of the Library's vast recorded-sound collection of nearly 3 million items. Each year, the National Recording Preservation Board recommends works to be added to the collection, and the Librarian of Congress makes a final selection of 25 works. The Board also advises on significant strategies in preservation of rare and endangered recordings, in collaboration with the nation's leading academic institutions.
To see a short official video of the musical inductees, click here!
Listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service. The Digital Media Association, a member of the National Recording Preservation Board, compiled a list of some streaming services with National Recording Registry playlists, available here.
The full list of this year's Registry selections is available in the official Library of Congress newsroom at: newsroom.loc.gov
NPR’s “1A” will feature selections in the series, “The Sounds of America,” about this year’s National Recording Registry, including interviews with Hayden and several featured artists in the weeks ahead.
Follow the conversation about the registry on Instagram, Threads and X/Twitter @librarycongress and #NatRecRegistry.