Albums from Miles Davis, Mary J. Blige, Elton John and Minecraft enter National Recording Registry
The Associated Press
April 9, 2025, 2:41 PM

This combination of photos show Musicians Miles Davis, from left, Mary J. Blige and Elton John. (AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Albums from Elton John, Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, Mary J. Blige and the cast of Hamilton are entering Americas audio canon, along with singles from Helen Reddy and Celine Dion and the music of Minecraft. ... New inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include Davis groundbreaking 1970 merger of jazz and rock Bitches Brew, Johns loaded-with-hits Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from 1973, Chapmans self-titled 1988 album that included Fast Car, Bliges deeply introspective 1994 My Life, and the 2015 original Broadway cast album of Hamilton.
They were among the 25 recordings entering the archive in the class of 2025, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Wednesday. The recordings were chosen for their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nations recorded sound heritage[.] ... These are the sounds of America our wide-ranging history and culture, Hayden said in a statement.
The National Recording Registry is our evolving nations playlist.
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Among the more unusual inclusions are the original music for the video game (and now monster hit movie) Minecraft from German producer Daniel Rosenfeld, as collected on the 2011 album, Minecraft: Volume Alpha, and the reboot sound for Microsofts Windows 95 operating system, created by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician and producer Brian Eno. ... Announcer Chuck Thompsons radio broadcast of the 1960 World Series between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates clinched with a Game 7 home run by the Pirates Bill Mazeroski is also entering the registry.
The oldest recording in the class of 2025 is 1913s Aloha Oe by the Hawaiian Quintette. The most recent is the 2015 Hamilton album, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. ... Other albums that won inclusion are 1968s Hello Dummy from insult comic Don Rickles, 1969s Chicago Transit Authority from the band Chicago, 1975s Ive Got the Music in Me from Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker, 1976s Fly Like an Eagle from the Steve Miller Band, and 2006s Back to Black from Amy Winehouse. ... Career-defining singles from other canonical artists are joining those of Reddy and Dion, including 1952s Happy Trails from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Freddy Fenders 1975 Before the Next Teardrop Falls, and 1971s Kiss an Angel Good Mornin from trailblazing Black country artist Charley Pride.
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