The Library of Congress announced a new round of 25 artists and songs that will soon be added to its famed collection.
Among the artists are Alicia Keys, Wu-Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest who will all have their debut albums preserved as a part of American history, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday (April 13). Alicia Keys’ 2001 Songs in A Minor , the legendary hip-hop group from Staten Island’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Tribe’s epic 1991 The Low End Theory, are set to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Pioneering Harlem Renaissance pianists James P. Johnson and Duke Ellington will also have their songs “Harlem Strut” and “Ellington at Newport” added to the Registry.
To make the list, songs and albums are considered “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
Others on to be added to the prestigious collection are Queen‘s 1975 “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Ricky Martin‘s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” among others. News broadcasts from September 11, 2001 and speeches from former President Franklin Roosevelt are also going to be preserved.
“The National Recording Registry reflects the diverse music and voices that have shaped our nation’s history and culture through recorded sound,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.
The Registry currently has 600 pieces of audio history which is just a fraction of the nation’s Library’s 4 million items in its recorded collection.
Click HERE to see the full list of recordings headed to the registry.
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