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Grunge, Rap Music Added to U.S. Recording Registry

Public Enemy's 1989 album Fear of a Black Planet is among the newest recordings added to the list.
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Public Enemy's 1989 album Fear of a Black Planet is among the newest recordings added to the list.
The 1959 jazz recording Giant Steps includes seven original compositions by John Coltrane.
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The 1959 jazz recording Giant Steps includes seven original compositions by John Coltrane.

Glenn Miller's "In the Mood," Edward R. Murrow's wartime broadcasts from London and Public Enemy's influential hip-hop album Fear of a Black Planet are among the recordings added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

Also added were Nirvana's seminal grunge rock album, Nevermind, Muddy Waters' blues classic "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" and the satiric Songs by Tom Lehrer.

Following is the complete list of recordings comprising the 2004 National Recording Registry (in chronological order).

The 2004 National Recording Registry

1. "Gypsy Love Song," Eugene Cowles (1898).

2. "Some of These Days," Sophie Tucker (1911).

3. "The Castles in Europe One-Step ("Castle House Rag)," Europe's Society Orchestra (1914).

4. "Swanee," Al Jolson (1920).

5. Armistice Day broadcast by Woodrow Wilson (1923).

6. "See See Rider Blues," Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1923).

7. "Charleston," Golden Gate Orchestra (1925).

8. "Fascinating Rhythm" from "Lady, Be Good!" Fred and Adele Astaire; George Gershwin, piano (1926).

9. NBC radio broadcast coverage of Charles A. Lindbergh's arrival and reception in Washington, D.C. (1927).

10. "Stardust," Hoagy Carmichael (1927).

11. "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)," Jimmie Rodgers (1927).

12. "Ain't Misbehavin'," Thomas "Fats" Waller (1929).

13. "Gregorio Cortez," Trovadores Regionales (1929).

14. "Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano; Leopold Stokowski, conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra (1929).

15. "The Suncook Town Tragedy," Mabel Wilson Tatro of Springfield, Vt. (July 1930).

16. Rosina Cohen oral narrative from the Lorenzo D. Turner Collection (1932).

17. "Stormy Weather," Ethel Waters (1933).

18. "Body and Soul," Coleman Hawkins (1939).

19. Sergey Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf," Serge Koussevitzky, conductor; Richard Hale, narrator; Boston Symphony Orchestra (1939).

20. "In the Mood," Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (1939).

21. Edward R. Murrow broadcast from London (1940).

22. "We Hold These Truths," radio broadcast (1941).

23. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23, b-flat minor; Vladimir Horowitz, piano; Arturo Toscanini, conductor, NBC Symphony Orchestra (1943).

24. "Down by the Riverside," Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1944).

25. "U.S. Highball (Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip)," Harry Partch, Gate 5 Ensemble (1946).

26. "Four Saints in Three Acts," composer Virgil Thomson and members of original 1934 cast (1947).

27. "Manteca," Dizzy Gillespie Big Band with Chano Pozo (1947).

28. Jack Benny radio program, March 28, 1948.

29. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (1949).

30. "Lovesick Blues," Hank Williams (1949).

31. Guys and Dolls, original cast recording (1950).

32. "Old Soldiers Never Die" (Farewell Address to Congress), Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur (1951).

33. Songs by Tom Lehrer (1953).

34. "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," Muddy Waters (1954).

35. "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," The Penguins (1954).

36. Tuskegee Institute Choir Sings Spirituals, directed by William L. Dawson (1955).

37. "Messiah," Eugene Ormandy, conductor; Richard Condie, choir director; Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Philadelphia Orchestra (1958).

38. Giant Steps, John Coltrane (1959).

39. Drums of Passion, Michael Babatunde Olatunji (1960).

40. Peace Be Still, James Cleveland (1962).

41. "The Girl From Ipanema," Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto (1963).

42. Live at the Apollo, James Brown (1965).

43. Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys (1966).

44. King James version of the Bible, Alexander Scourby (1966).

45. Remarks from Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong's broadcast from the moon (1969).

46. The Allmann Brothers Band at Fillmore East (1971).

47. Star Wars (soundtrack), John Williams (1977).

48. Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy (1989).

49. Recordings of Asian elephants by Katharine Payne (1984).

50. Nevermind, Nirvana (1991).

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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