Videos by American Songwriter
What makes a timeless song? The US Library of Congress has released an updated list of the top 25 most important songs and speeches. The following are to enter the National Recording Registry this week. And yes, Thriller made the cut.
What makes a timeless song? The US Library of Congress has released an updated list of the top 25 most important songs and speeches. The following are to enter the National Recording Registry this week. And yes Thriller made the cut.
1. The first trans-Atlantic broadcast (March 14, 1925)Lorraine,” Art Tatum (February 22, 1940)Jordan, Wings Over Jordan (1941)North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes,
Elizabeth Cotten (1959)
2. “Allons a Lafayette,” Joseph Falcon (1928)
3. “Casta Diva,” from Bellini’s “Norma”; Rosa Ponselle, accompanied by
the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Giulio Setti.(recorded December 31, 1928, and January 30, 1929)
4. “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again,” Thomas A. Dorsey (1934)
5. “Sweet
6. Fibber’s Closet Opens for the First Time, “Fibber McGee and Molly”
radio program (March 4, 1940)
7. Wings Over
8. Fiorello LaGuardia reading the comics (1945)
9. “Call it Stormy Monday but Tuesday is Just As Bad,” T-Bone Walker (1947)
10. Harry S. Truman speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention (July 15, 1948)
11. The Jazz Scene, various artists (1949)
12. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” Kitty Wells (May 30, 1952)
13. My Fair Lady, original cast recording (1956)
14. Navajo Shootingway Ceremony Field Recordings, recorded by David
McAllester (1957-1958)
15. “Freight Train,” and Other
16. Marine Band Concert Album to Help Benefit the National Cultural
Center (1963)
17. Oh, Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison (1964)
18. Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (1965)
19. You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song, Ella Jenkins (1966)
20. Music from the Morning of the World, various artists; recorded
by David Lewiston (1966)
21. For the Roses, Joni Mitchell (1972)
22. Headhunters, Herbie Hancock (1973)
23. Ronald Reagan Radio Broadcasts (1976-1979)
24. The Sounds of Earth, disc prepared for the Voyager spacecraft (1977)
25. Thriller, Michael Jackson (1982)
To read about each track head here.
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