Albums from Miles Davis, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, and Minecraft enter the National Recording Registry
Mary J. Blige‘s 1994 album, My Life, is one of the 25 sounds selected by the National Recording Registry for preservation, coming in the top 10 of public nominations.
“My favorite lyric from the ‘My Life’ album is ‘Life can be only what you make of it,’” Mary told the Library of Congress. The line is from the soul-stirring title track, which samples Roy Ayers’ classic “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”
On April 9, 2025, the Library of Congress announced that albums from Mary J. Blige, Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, Elton John, and the cast of “Hamilton” are entering America’s audio canon, along with singles from Helen Reddy and Celine Dion and the music of Minecraft.
Blige’s deeply introspective 1994 album, “My Life,” will be inducted alongside the groundbreaking 1970 merger of jazz and rock “Bitches Brew,” John’s loaded-with-hits “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” from 1973, Chapman’s self-titled 1988 album that included “Fast Car,” “I’ve Got the Music in Me” by Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker, and the 2015 original Broadway cast album of “Hamilton.”
The National Recording Registry, administered by the Library of Congress, recognizes and preserves sound recordings that are of “cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.” The National Recording Registry helps ensure that these important sounds are preserved for future generations.
“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “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.”
Robbin Ahrold, chair of the National Recording Preservation Board, added, “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.”
Full list of 2025 recordings selection for National Recording Registry
- “Aloha ‘Oe” – Hawaiian Quintette (1913) (single)
- “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Brother Bones & His Shadows (1949) (single)
- “Happy Trails” – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (1952) (single)
- Radio Broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series – Chuck Thompson (1960)
- Harry Urata Field Recordings (1960-1980)
- “Hello Dummy!”– Don Rickles (1968) (album)
- “Chicago Transit Authority” – Chicago (1969) (album)
- “Bitches Brew” – Miles Davis (1970) (album)
- “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride (1971) (single)
- “I Am Woman” – Helen Reddy (1972) (single)
- “El Rey” – Vicente Fernandez (1973) (single)
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Elton John (1973) (album)
- “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender (1975) (single)
- “I’ve Got the Music in Me” – Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker (1975) (album)
- “The Kӧln Concert” – Keith Jarrett (1975) (album)
- “Fly Like an Eagle” – Steve Miller Band (1976) (album)
- Nimrod Workman Collection (1973-1994)
- “Tracy Chapman” – Tracy Chapman (1988) (album)
- “My Life” – Mary J. Blige (1994) (album)
- Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime – Brian Eno (1995)
- “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion (1997) (single)
- “Our American Journey” – Chanticleer (2002) (album)
- “Back to Black” – Amy Winehouse (2006) (album)
- “Minecraft: Volume Alpha” – Daniel Rosenfeld (2011) (album)
- “Hamilton” – Original Broadway Cast Album (2015) (album)
This latest achievement for MJB comes on the heels of the nine-time Grammy-winner being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in the Class of 2024, last October.
Calling the Yonkers-born singer, songwriter, rapper, Oscar-nominated actor, producer, and nine-time Grammy winner, Mary J. Blige, the voice of a generation means acknowledging a rarely recognized fact. Often called the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” and “Queen of R&B”, she’s sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Blige’s 1992 debut album, What’s the 411?, went multi-platinum and helped establish the Hip-Hop Soul genre. She’s won nine Grammys and been nominated 37 times.
