National Recording Registry adds Madonna, John Lennon and Mariah Carey classics, plus Super Mario Bros. theme

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

“Imagine” that a John Lennon classic, “Like A Virgin” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” weren’t already part of the National Recording Registry.

It’s easy if you try, because the hits are among the newly named songs being added to the registry by the Library of Congress.

On Wednesday, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden named 25 recordings to the list “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 National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Hayden said in a statement. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come.”

In addition to the songs by Lennon, Madonna and Mariah Carey, several other tunes also made the cut, including the Super Mario Bros. theme (the first video game theme ever added), Queen Latifah’s All Hail the Queen” and Daddy Yankee’s reggaeton hit “Gasolina.”

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics were also added.

“We welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next,” Hayden added in her statement. “We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”

The titles of the 2022 additions follow in chronological order:

• “The Very First Mariachi Recordings” — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)
• “St. Louis Blues” — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)
• “Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)
• Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)
• “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)
• “Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)
• “What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)
• “Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)
• “Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)
• “Déjà Vu” — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)
• “Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)
• “Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)
• “Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)
• “Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)
• “Flashdance…What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)
• “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)
• “Synchronicity” — The Police (1983)
• “Like a Virgin” — Madonna (1984)
• “Black Codes (From the Underground)” — Wynton Marsalis (1985)
• Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1985)
• “All Hail the Queen” — Queen Latifah (1989)
• “All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)
• “Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)
• “Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)
• “Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)

With the newest additions, there are now 625 songs selected for the National Recording Registry.

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