25 audio recordings named to Library of Congress registry - WVTM-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Birmingham, AL

25 audio recordings named to Library of Congress registry

From Chubby Checker to Van Cliburn to bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez, the 2012 inductees to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress show the diverse creativity of the United States.

The Library of Congress today announced the selection of 25 sound recordings to the registry. The recordings are designated for preservation because of their cultural, artistic and historic importance to America's aural legacy.

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the Library's National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), annually selects 25 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2012 registry bring the total number of recordings to 375.

According to a news release today by the Library of Congress, the selections named to the registry feature a diverse array of spoken-word and musical recordings—representing nearly every musical category—spanning the years 1918-1980.

Among this year's selections are Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 album, "Sounds of Silence"; "The Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd, which received the highest number of public nominations among this year's picks; the soundtrack to the popular movie "Saturday Night Fever"; the 1918 trendsetting "After You've Gone" by Marion Harris; "Cheap Thrills," Janis Joplin's second release with Big Brother and the Holding Company; the radio broadcast featuring Will Rogers' 1931 folksy insights in support of Herbert Hoover's unemployment-relief campaign during the Great Depression; and Artie Shaw's breakthrough hit, "Begin the Beguine."

Additions to the registry feature notable performances by Leontyne Price, Ornette Coleman, The Ramones, The Bee Gees, Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, Philip Glass, Betty Carter, Junior Wells, Jimmie Davis, Frank Yankovic, The Blackwood Brothers and The Neville Brothers.

2012 National Recording Registry (Listing in Chronological Order)

1. "After You've Gone," Marion Harris (1918)
2. "Bacon, Beans and Limousines," Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
3. "Begin the Beguine," Artie Shaw (1938)
4. "You Are My Sunshine," Jimmie Davis (1940)
5. D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
6. "Just Because," Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
7. "South Pacific," Original Cast Album (1949)
8. "Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature," Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
9. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
10. President's Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
11. "A Program of Song," Leontyne Price (1959)
12. "The Shape of Jazz to Come," Ornette Coleman (1959)
13. "Crossing Chilly Jordan," The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
14. "The Twist," Chubby Checker (1960)
15. "Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's," Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
16. "Hoodoo Man Blues," Junior Wells (1965)
17. "Sounds of Silence," Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
18. "Cheap Thrills," Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
19. "The Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd (1973)
20. "Music Time in Africa," Leo Sarkisian, host (July 29, 1973)
21. "Wild Tchoupitoulas," The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
22. "Ramones," The Ramones (1976)
23. "Saturday Night Fever," The Bee Gees, et al (1977)
24. "Einstein on the Beach," Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
25. "The Audience with Betty Carter," Betty Carter (1980)