Library of Congress inducts signature songs from Buffett, Carey, Madonna
Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Jimmy Buffett’s classic hit “Margaritaville” and Mariah Carey’s yuletide smash “All I Want for Christmas is You” are among the latest songs to be inducted into the Library of Congress.
The tunes are among 25 songs that will be included in the National Recording Registry, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday.
The recordings, the Washington institution said, were selected based on “their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
Some other new inductees to the Library of Congress’s registry include the 1985 theme song to the Super Mario Bros. — the first sounds from a video game to be included — Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Queen Latifah’s “All Hail the Queen,” “Déjà Vu” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” the first mariachi music recordings made in 1908, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics, Daddy Yankee’s 2004 reggaeton hit “Gasolina” and John Denver’s “Take me Home, Country Roads.”
The National Recording Registry now has 625 titles, according to the Library of Congress. The newest selections were chosen from among more than 1,100 nominations from the public.
“The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement, “and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next.”