Blind Lemon Jefferson, Joan Baez, and Radiohead among Artists Added to National Recording Registry

In the thirteenth year of the National Recording Registry, Librarian of Congress James Billington has announced 25 sound recordings as the official entries for 2014, stating: "Congress understood the importance of protecting America’s aural patrimony when it passed the National Recording Preservation Act 15 years ago. By preserving these recordings, we safeguard the words, sounds and music that embody who we are as a people and a nation." Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

In chronological order, the selections for 2014 are as follows:

1. Vernacular Wax Cylinder Recordings at University of California, Santa Barbara Library (c.1890-1910)
2. The Benjamin Ives Gilman Collection, recorded at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago (1893)
3. "The Boys of the Lough"/"The Humours of Ennistymon" (single)—Michael Coleman (1922)
4. "Black Snake Moan" / "Match Box Blues"(single)—Blind Lemon Jefferson (1927)
5. "Sorry, Wrong Number" (episode of "Suspense" radio series, May 25, 1943)
6. "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (single)—Johnny Mercer (1944)
7. Radio Coverage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Funeral—Arthur Godfrey, et al. (April 14, 1945)
8. "Kiss Me, Kate" (original cast album) (1949)
9. "John Brown’s Body" (album)—Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson, and Raymond Massey; directed by Charles Laughton (1953)
10. "My Funny Valentine" (single)—The Gerry Mulligan Quartet featuring Chet Baker (1953)
11. "Sixteen Tons" (single)—Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955)
12. "Mary Don’t You Weep" (single)—The Swan Silvertones (1959)
13. "Joan Baez" (album)—Joan Baez (1960)
14. "Stand by Me" (single)—Ben E. King (1961)
15. "New Orleans’ Sweet Emma Barrett and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band" (album)—Sweet Emma and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (1964)
16. "You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’" (single)—The Righteous Brothers (1964)
17. "The Doors" (album)—The Doors (1967)
18. "Stand!" (album)—Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
19. "Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues" (album)—Lincoln Mayorga (1968)
20. "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (album)—Steve Martin (1978)
21. "Sesame Street: All-Time Platinum Favorites" (album)—Various (1995)
22. "OK Computer" (album)—Radiohead (1997)
23. "Old Regular Baptists: Lined-Out Hymnody from Southeastern Kentucky" (album)—Indian Bottom Association (1997)
24. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (album)—Lauryn Hill (1998)
25. "Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman" (album)—Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor; Joan Tower, composer (1999)

The full National Recording Registry currently numbers 425 recordings, and can be viewed here. The Registry solicits nominations for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations is available at the Registry website. 

WFMU Marathon 2015

Love free-form radio? Then consider supporting independent station WFMU during its annual fundraising Marathon that runs March 8 through March 22, 2015. WFMU first hit the airwaves on April 24, 1958 at the now-defunct Upsala College and has never looked back. Currently based in Jersey City, New Jersey, WFMU broadcasts at 91.1 Mhz and via a second signal at 90.1 Mhz in Mount Hope, New York. WFMU has also long been an Internet pioneer, streaming its programming 24/7 in multiple formats, including iPhone and Android. Past shows are archived at the station's website, which also features WFMU's entertaining and content-rich blog.

What is free-form radio you might ask? WFMU describes itself as follows:

WFMU's programming ranges from flat-out uncategorizable strangeness to rock and roll, experimental music, 78 RPM Records, jazz, psychedelia, hip-hop, electronica, hand-cranked wax cylinders, punk rock, gospel, exotica, R&B, radio improvisation, cooking instructions, classic radio airchecks, found sound, dopey call-in shows, interviews with obscure radio personalities and notable science-world luminaries, spoken word collages, Andrew Lloyd Webber soundtracks in languages other than English as well as country and western music.

And because the station is listener-supported, WFMU DJs have for years maintained complete autonomy and control over their own programming, which is extraordinarily eclectic. Check out the current WFMU audio smorgasbord, and see for yourself!