Elton John, Chicago Lead 2025 National Recording Registry Additions

04-09-2025

(Library Of Congress) Elton John's monumental album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," Chicago's debut "Chicago Transit Authority," the original cast recording of Broadway's "Hamilton," Mary J. Blige's "My Life," Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," Microsoft's reboot chime, and the soundtrack to the Minecraft video game phenomenon have been selected as some of the defining sounds of history and culture that will join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today named 25 recordings 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 2025 class of inductees includes Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut album, Celine Dion's 1997 single "My Heart Will Go On" from the blockbuster film "Titanic," Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' classic "Happy Trails," Miles Davis' jazz fusion album "Bitches Brew," Charley Pride's groundbreaking "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin,'" Vicente Fernandez's enduring ranchera song "El Rey," Freddy Fender's breakthrough song "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and the Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle."

"These are the sounds of America - our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation's playlist," Hayden said. "The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology."

More than 2,600 nominations were made by the public this year for recordings to consider for the registry. "Chicago Transit Authority" finished No. 1 in the public nominations this year. Other selected recordings in the top 10 of public nominations include "Happy Trails," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "My Life" by Blige.

The recordings selected for the National Recording Registry this year bring the number of titles on the registry to 675, representing a small portion of the national library's vast recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items.

Elton John, the 2024 winner of the Library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, reflected on their 1973 album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

"Nobody really knows what a hit record is. I'm not a formula writer. I didn't think 'Bennie and the Jets' was a hit. I didn't think 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' was a hit. And that's what makes writing so special," John told the Library. "You do not know what you're coming up with and how special it might become."

Mary J. Blige recalled her 1994 soulful hip-hop album "My Life." "My favorite lyric from the 'My Life' album is 'Life can be only what you make of it,'" she said.

The latest selections named to the registry span from 1913 to 2015. Ten of this year's selections are from the 1970s. The earliest recording on the list is the long-beloved Hawaiian song "Aloha 'Oe," recorded in 1913 by the Hawaiian Quintette. The original Broadway recording of "Hamilton" by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast from 2015 becomes the newest recording to join the registry.

The 2025 selections span the sounds of folk, jazz, country, pop, comedy, sports, Latin, dance, R&B, tech, choral and musical theater. The recording from Minecraft is only the second video game soundtrack to join the registry, following the theme from Super Mario Brothers, selected in 2023.

"This year's National Recording Registry list is an honor roll of superb American popular music from the wide-ranging repertoire of our great nation, from Hawaii to Nashville, from iconic jazz tracks to smash Broadway musicals, from Latin superstars to global pop sensations - a parade of indelible recordings spanning more than a century," said Robbin Ahrold, chair of the National Recording Preservation Board.

Listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service. The Digital Media Association, a member of the National Recording Preservation Board, compiled a list of some streaming services with National Recording Registry playlists, available here.