Every year, the National Recording Registry selects a collection of records for inclusion into the Library Of Congress that are “worthy of preservation because of their cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance” to American culture. Today, the National Recording Registry announced that Dr. Dre’s classic debut album, The Chronic, was one of the albums included this year, along with Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis, Selena’s Ven Conmigo, Tina Turner’s Private Dancer, Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You,” and Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”
A press release calls The National Recording Registry “the evolving playlist of the American soundscape” and as such dubbed this year’s entries the Stay At Home Playlist as a nod to the “safer at home” and “shelter in place” measures undertaken recently to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The press release asserts that the playlist “reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time.”
See below for the full list.
01 Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra — “Whispering” (1920)
02 Raoul Romito — “Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti”; Compagnia Columbia – “Sacco e Vanzetti” (1927)
03 Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida — “La Chicharronera” (1936)
04 “Arch Oboler’s Plays” episode “The Bathysphere.” (1939)
05 Memphis Minnie — “Me And My Chauffeur Blues” (1941)
06 The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers — Russ Hodges, announcer (1951)
07 Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli, Victor de Sabata — Puccini’s “Tosca” (1953)
08 Allan Sherman — “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” (1963)
09 WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination (1963)
10 “Fiddler On The Roof” (Original Broadway cast) (1964)
11 Eddy Arnold — “Make the World Go Away” (1965)
12 Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music (1966-67; 1971-73)
13 Glen Campbell — “Wichita Lineman” (1968)
14 Dusty Springfield — Dusty in Memphis (1969)
15 Fred Rogers — Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (1973)
16 Cheap Trick — Cheap Trick At Budokan (1978)
17 Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds — Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music For The Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G (1978)
18 Village People — “Y.M.C.A.” (1978)
19 Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor — Hildegard von Bingen: A Feather On The Breath Of God (1982)
20 Tina Turner — Private Dancer (1984)
21 Selena — Ven Conmigo (1990)
22 Dr. Dre — The Chronic (1992)
23 Whitney Houston — “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
24 Maria Schneider Orchestra — Concert in the Garden (2004)
25 Colin Currie — Percussion Concerto (2008)
