In the 70’s and 80’s you couldn’t have the radio on (Rock stations, at least) for an hour without hearing ‘Stairway to Heaven’. It was constantly played. So much so that you were sick of it after a while.
But then when I got older I started to realize it’s greatness all over again.
Led Zeppelin is, for me and many others, the greatest rock band of all time. And ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is their most recognizable song. So I am so thrilled to hear it will go into the National Recording Registry and be recognized for eternity.
On Wednesday, Librarian Of Congress Carla Hayden named 25 recordings to the list “as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Hayden said. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
National Recording Registry 2023 Selections (chronological order):
* “The Very First Mariachi Recordings” – Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
* “St. Louis Blues” – Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
* “Sugar Foot Stomp” – Fletcher Henderson (1926)
* Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
* “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” – The Fairfield Four (1947)
* “Sherry” – The Four Seasons (1962)
* “What the World Needs Now is Love” – Jackie DeShannon (1965)
* “Wang Dang Doodle” – Koko Taylor (1966)
* “Ode to Billie Joe” – Bobbie Gentry (1967)
* “Déjà Vu” – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
* “Imagine” – John Lennon (1971)
* “Stairway to Heaven” – Led Zeppelin (1971)
* “Take Me Home, Country Roads” – John Denver (1971)
* “Margaritaville” – Jimmy Buffett (1977)
* “Flashdance…What a Feeling” – Irene Cara (1983)
* “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics (1983)
* “Synchronicity” – The Police (1983)
* “Like a Virgin” – Madonna (1984)
* “Black Codes (From the Underground)” – Wynton Marsalis (1985)
* Super Mario Bros. theme – Koji Kondo, composer (1985)
* “All Hail the Queen” – Queen Latifah (1989)
* “All I Want for Christmas is You” – Mariah Carey (1994)
* “Pale Blue Dot” – Carl Sagan (1994)
* “Gasolina” – Daddy Yankee (2004)
* “Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” – Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)