President Roosevelt, Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Wu-Tang Clan among 25 Newest Additions to National Recording Registry

Now in its twentieth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 600 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2022, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry reflects the diverse music and voices that have shaped our nation’s history and culture through recorded sound. The national library is proud to help preserve these recordings, and we welcome the public’s input. We received about 1,000 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1921-2010, the selections for this year are as follows:

1. “Harlem Strut” — James P. Johnson (1921)
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Complete Presidential Speeches (1933-1945)
3. “Walking the Floor Over You” — Ernest Tubb (1941) (single)
4. “On a Note of Triumph” (May 8, 1945)
5. “Jesus Gave Me Water” — The Soul Stirrers (1950) (single)
6. “Ellington at Newport” — Duke Ellington (1956) (album)
7. “We Insist!  Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite” — Max Roach (1960) (album)
8. “The Christmas Song” — Nat King Cole (1961) (single)
9. “Tonight’s the Night” — The Shirelles (1961) (album)
10.  “Moon River” — Andy Williams (1962) (single)
11.  “In C” — Terry Riley (1968) (album)
12.  “It’s a Small World” — The Disneyland Boys Choir (1964) (single)
13.  “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” — The Four Tops (1966) (single)
14.  Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run (April 8, 1974)
15.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” — Queen (1975) (single)
16.  “Don’t Stop Believin’” — Journey (1981) (single)
17.  “Canciones de Mi Padre” — Linda Ronstadt (1987) (album)
18.  “Nick of Time” — Bonnie Raitt (1989) (album)
19.  “The Low End Theory” — A Tribe Called Quest (1991) (album)
20.  “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” — Wu-Tang Clan (1993) (album)
21.  “Buena Vista Social Club” (1997) (album)
22.  “Livin’ La Vida Loca” — Ricky Martin (1999) (single)
23.  “Songs in A Minor” — Alicia Keys (2001) (album)
24.  WNYC broadcasts for the day of 9/11 (Sept. 11, 2001)
25.  “WTF with Marc Maron” (Guest: Robin Williams) (April 26, 2010)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2022 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year. 

Edison, Louis Armstrong, and Odetta among 25 Newest Additions to National Recording Registry

Now in its nineteenth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 575 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2020, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years. We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1878-2008, the selections for 2020 are as follows:

1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917) (single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast--Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — Nov. 22, 1945
7. “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues” — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)  
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. “Aida” — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. “Born Under a Bad Sign” — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. “Free to Be…You & Me” — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. “The Harder They Come” — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — Labelle (1974) (single)
16. “Late for the Sky” — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. “Bright Size Life” — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. “Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs” — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. “Partners” — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. “Illmatic” — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2021 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year. 

WFMU Marathon: Freeform Station of the Nation

Love free-form radio? Take the leap and consider supporting independent station WFMU during its annual fundraising Marathon that runs March 6 to March 21, 2021. WFMU first hit the airwaves over sixty years ago 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 in New York and via a second signal at 90.1 Mhz in the Hudson Valley. WFMU has long been an Internet pioneer, and has multiple online streams, as well as an extensive archive of past shows.

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. Apps available for both iOS & Android. 

New Cohort for National Recording Registry Includes Memphis Minnie, Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Selena, Dr. Dre & Colin Currie

Now in its eighteenth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 550 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2019, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry is the evolving playlist of the American soundscape. It reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time. . . . As genres and formats continue to expand, the Library of Congress is committed to working with our many partners to preserve the sounds that have touched our hearts and shaped our culture.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1920-2008, the selections for 2019 are as follows:

1. “Whispering” (single), Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (1920)
2. “Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti,” Compagnia Columbia; “Sacco e Vanzetti,” Raoul Romito
   (1927)
3. “La Chicharronera” (single), Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
4. “Arch Oboler’s Plays” episode “The Bathysphere” (Nov. 18, 1939)
5. “Me and My Chauffeur Blues” (single), Memphis Minnie (1941)
6. The 1951 National League Tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers — Russ
   Hodges, announcer (Oct. 3, 1951)
7. Puccini’s “Tosca” (album), Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi,
   Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli, Victor de Sabata (1953)
8. “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” (single), Allan Sherman (1963)
9. WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy Assassination,
   Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
10. “Fiddler on the Roof” (album), original Broadway cast (1964))
11. “Make the World Go Away” (single), Eddy Arnold (1965)
12. Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music (1966-67; 1971-73)
13. “Wichita Lineman” (single), Glen Campbell (1968)
14. “Dusty in Memphis” (album), Dusty Springfield (1969)
15. “Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ ” (album), Fred
    Rogers (1973)
16. “Cheap Trick at Budokan” (album), Cheap Trick (1978)
17. Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach:
    Fantasia in G (special edition audiophile pressing), Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland
    Symphonic Winds (1978)
18. “Y.M.C.A.” (single), Village People (1978)
19. “A Feather on the Breath of God” (album), Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor;
    Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
20. “Private Dancer” (album), Tina Turner (1984)
21. “Ven Conmigo” (album), Selena (1990)
22. “The Chronic” (album), Dr. Dre (1992)
23. “I Will Always Love You” (single), Whitney Houston (1992)
24. “Concert in the Garden” (album), Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
25. “Percussion Concerto” (album), Colin Currie (2008)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2020 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year. 

The WFMU Marathon: Support Freeform Radio

Love free-form radio? Take the leap and consider supporting independent station WFMU during its annual fundraising Marathon that runs February 29 to March 15, 2020. WFMU first hit the airwaves over sixty years ago 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 in New York and via a second signal at 90.1 Mhz in the Hudson Valley. WFMU has long been an Internet pioneer, and has multiple online streams, as well as an extensive archive of past shows.

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. Apps available for both iOS & Android. 

First Humans on the Moon: 07.20.69

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landing of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle (20:17 UTC, July 20, 1969). Some six hours later (02:56:15 UTC), Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon, whereupon he uttered the immortal words: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin joined him on the lunar surface a few minutes later, while the third NASA astronaut on the  Apollo 11 mission, Michael Collins, remained in orbit around the moon. A vast archive of the entire spaceflight, including 11,000 hours of Mission Control audio and other original historical documentation, is available at Apollo 11 in Real Time.

The Sixties in America were an especially tumultuous period of social protest by many constituencies, so it is not too surprising that the moon landing itself was also the subject of criticism. Indeed, no less a figure than the highly accomplished space scientist Dr. James Van Allen [1914-2006] of the University of Iowa objected throughout his career to the vast resources that were expended on manned space flight as opposed to other more economical and efficient means of exploration and research.

On the cultural front, poet, musician, and activist Gil Scott-Heron in 1970 composed and recorded the song, "Whitey on the Moon," which contrasts the poverty and medical expenses of the song's protagonist to the fact that astronauts are now going to the moon. The lyrics raise poignant questions about how society allocates limited resources to fundamental needs such as health care. And in what is perhaps a reference to the air mail stamp that was issued in 1969 to commemorate the moon landing (pictured above), the song concludes: "I think I'll send these doctor bills, airmail special (to Whitey on the moon)." Various versions of this song, as well as Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" are available on YouTube.

The last man on the moon (and all twelve NASA astronauts that walked on the moon were male--and white) was Eugene Cernan, who commanded the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. His parting words as the lunar module left the celestial body closest to Earth were: "We leave as we came and, god willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind."

Walt Whitman Sings Out at 200

The bicentennial of the birth of the great poet Walt Whitman [1819-1892] is today, May 31, 2019. The irrepressible Whitman still sings in the 21st century, but if you would like to check out his sole surviving recording, circa 1889-90, you can listen to it here. The recording is a recitation of the following poem, though the last two lines are not captured on the wax cylinder:

America 

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons, 

All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old, 

Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich, 

Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love, 

A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother, 

Chair'd in the adamant of Time.

The story of how it came about, and its technical aspects, can be read in Professor Ed Folsom's "The Whitman Recording." The scholarship on Whitman is of course vast, with (re)discoveries in recent years including Whitman's novel, Life and Adventures of Jack Engle, and a lengthy newspaper series curiously called "Manly Health and Training," both texts being uncovered by Zachary Turpin.

The University of Iowa has long been a center for Whitman scholarship, with Prof. Folsom and others maintaining the extensive Walt Whitman Archive and editing the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. The first MOOC (or Massive Open Online Course) that Iowa's International Writing Program ever offered, in 2014, was "Every Atom: Walt Whitman's 'Song of Myself.'"

In 2005, Iowa mounted a major exhibition that drew heavily upon the Whitman collection of Dr. Kendall Reed, and for which Prof. Folsom wrote an extensive illustrated catalog, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog & Commentary. The catalog delves deeply into not only Whitman's writing practice but how his knowledge of printing influenced the design and make-up of his ever-evolving masterpiece, Leaves of Grass. A fascinating study (and freely available online), it begins:  

Walt Whitman is the only major American poet of the nineteenth century to have an intimate association with the art of bookmaking. Everyone knows Whitman as a poet and the author of one of the most studied books of American poetry, Leaves of Grass. What is less well known is that Whitman was trained as a printer and throughout his life spent time in printing shops and binderies, often setting type himself and always intimately involved in the design and production of his books. Whitman did not just write his book, he made his book, and he made it over and over again, each time producing a different material object that spoke to its readers in different ways.

No nineteenth-century American author was more involved in the range of actual activities of bookmaking than Whitman. He began his career as a newspaper worker, learning typesetting at the young age of twelve as an apprentice on the Long Island Patriot under the tutelage of William Hartshorne (1775–1859), a master printer (Whitman called him "the veteran printer of the United States") who later became Brooklyn's city printer. Late in his life, Whitman wrote a poem called "A Font of Type," in which he imagines all the "unlaunch'd voices—passionate powers, / Wrath, argument, or praise, or comic leer, or prayer devout" that lie "within the pallid slivers slumbering" in "This latent mine" of the type-box . . . .

To commemorate Whitman's enduring body of work, the University of Iowa Libraries offers the exhibition, Walt Whitman: A Bicentennial Celebration, through August 9, as well as Walt Whitman at 200: The Bicentennial Symposium, on June 18-19. Additional events and programming nationally can be found at the Walt Whitman Initiative website. 

Note: The illustration above is from the frontispiece for the first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855), as found in the University of Iowa Libraries' copy. 

Ritchie Valens, Dexter Gordon & Nina Simone among Artists Added to the National Recording Registry

Now in its seventeenth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 525 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2018, stating: “The National Recording Registry honors the music that enriches our souls, the voices that tell our stories and the sounds that mirror our lives. The influence of recorded sound over its nearly 160-year history has been profound and technology has increased its reach and significance exponentially. The Library of Congress and its many collaborators are working to preserve these sounds and moments in time, which reflect our past, present and future.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1901-2001, the selections for 2018 are as follows:

1. Yiddish Cylinders from the Standard Phonograph Company of New York and the Thomas Lambert Company (c. 1901-1905)
2. “Memphis Blues” (single), Victor Military Band (1914)
3. Melville Jacobs Collection of Native Americans of the American Northwest (1929-1939)
4. “Minnie the Moocher” (single), Cab Calloway (1931)
5. “Bach Six Cello Suites” (album), Pablo Casals (c. 1939)
6. “They Look Like Men of War” (single), Deep River Boys (1941)
7. “Gunsmoke” — Episode: “The Cabin” (Dec. 27, 1952)
8. Ruth Draper: Complete recorded monologues, Ruth Draper (1954-1956)
9. “La Bamba” (single), Ritchie Valens (1958)
10. “Long Black Veil” (single), Lefty Frizzell (1959)
11. “Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Vol. 1: The Early Years” (album), Stan Freberg (1961)
12. “GO” (album), Dexter Gordon (1962)
13. “War Requiem” (album), Benjamin Britten (1963)
14. “Mississippi Goddam” (single), Nina Simone (1964)
15. “Soul Man” (single), Sam & Dave (1967)
16. “Hair” (original Broadway cast recording) (1968)
17. Speech on the Death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy (April 4, 1968)
18. “Sweet Caroline” (single), Neil Diamond (1969)
19. “Superfly” (album), Curtis Mayfield (1972)
20. “Ola Belle Reed” (album), Ola Belle Reed (1973)
21. “September” (single), Earth, Wind & Fire (1978)
22. “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (single), Sylvester (1978)
23. “She’s So Unusual” (album), Cyndi Lauper (1983)
24. “Schoolhouse Rock!: The Box Set” (1996)
25. “The Blueprint” (album), Jay-Z (2001)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2019 is available at the Registry website.