National Recording Registry Omissions

The National Recording Registry is the archive of important American recordings – from historic speeches to popular bops. It is not exclusively American in content – for example artists like The Beatles and David Bowie are in the Registry – since the focus is on impact on American culture. It is incredibly wide in scope – from zydeco to Delta blues, and obscure classical recordings to Metallica.

Doing research for another project, I encountered some really stunning omissions, though. I’d looked into this back in 2013, but this is an updated list, presented categorically and by importance of stars, or chronologically by genre.

Finally, to be added to the registry the recording must be at least ten years old. More than one induction is extremely rare. Anything since 2014 is fair game. Without further ado:

 

Biggest Stars – Male

 

Elton John

Weird, right? One of the most celebrated and popular musicians ever.

Induction: “Candle in the Wind 1997,” 1997. Alternate: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973.

 

Eric Clapton

Generally considered one of the greatest guitarists ever, he is also a best-seller, and an unmatched three-time Rock Hall of Fame inductee. I’ll also allow Cream to be added, instead (or in addition).

Induction: “Layla,” 1970. Alternate: “Wonderful Tonight,” 1977.

 

James Taylor

Taylor’s work helped launch the singer-songwriter movement of the early 1970s.

Induction: “Fire and Rain,” 1970. Alternate: Sweet Baby James, 1970.

 

Van Morrison

The innovative artist who helped to blend rock and jazz and so much more.

Induction: Astral Weeks, 1968. Alternate: Moondance, 1970.

 

Aerosmith

Oddly, the ‘bad boys from Boston,’ despite selling out stadiums, haven’t gotten into the Registry.

Induction: “Dream On,” 1973. Alternate: Rocks, 1976.

 

AC/DC

Rock gods and top-sellers, it’s bizarre that they’ve not gotten in already.

Induction: Back in Black, 1980. Alternate: Highway to Hell, 1979.

 

Garth Brooks

One of America’s best-selling artists, and a landmark country musician.

Induction: “Friends in Low Places,” 1990. Alternate: Ropin’ the Wind, 1991.

 

Biggest Stars – Female

 

Dionne Warwick

The muse of Burt Bacharach’s song-writing, with a slew of popular 1960s hits.

Induction: “Walk on By,” 1964. Alternate: “I Say a Little Prayer,” 1967.

 

Gladys Knight

Hall of Famer, Kennedy Center Honoree, and generally-lauded artist.

Induction: “Midnight Train to Georgia,” 1973. Alternate: Imagination, 1973.

 

Sinead O’Connor

Her work should have probably been added a long time ago, before she died…

Induction: “Nothing Compares 2 U,” 1990. Alternate: I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, 1990.

 

Mary J. Blige

Blige’s 90s soul recordings resuscitated the genre a full three decades ago.

Induction: My Life, 1994. Alternate: What’s the 411?, 1992.

 

Alanis Morrissette

Frankly, it feels like a matter of ‘not if, but when’ that her best-selling album gets added.

Induction: Jagged Little Pill, 1995. Alternate: “Ironic,” 1995

 

Sleater-Kinney

The most-visible of the riot grrrl bands, capturing an important rock subgenre of the 90s.

Induction: Call the Doctor, 1996. Alternate: Dig Me Out, 1997.

 

Adele

Yes, it has been thirteen years since Adele exploded on the scene.

Induction: 21, 2011. Alternate: “Hello,” 2015 [next year].

 

Iconic Songs

Sometimes a particular song, rather than an artist, is just so important it needs induction.

 

1911: “Aloha Oe,” sung by Nani Alapai

Arguably the most famous song from Hawai’i, in one of the earliest recordings.

 

1949: “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” Stan Jones and his Death Valley Rangers

A seminal song of the Western genre, in the earliest recording by its author.

 

1967: “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” Procul Harum

Late-sixties anthem, it’s become a standard, and covered a whole lot of times.

 

1970: “In the Summertime,” Mungo Jerry

The third-best-selling song of all time, featuring a tune that practically everyone knows.

 

1977: “Birdland,” Weather Report

The mix of pop and jazz fusion on an album that unexpectedly sold a half million copies.

 

1997: “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine Dion

One of the best-selling songs ever by one of the best-selling artists ever.

 

1998: “Believe,” Cher

The autotune classic!

 

Broadway!

The most recent album, chronologically, they’ve inducted is from 1979 – 45 years ago. There’s some serious catching up to do.

 

1971-1986: Andrew Lloyd Webber: Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera

No, really: Andrew Lloyd Webber isn’t in the National Recording Registry. It’s astounding.

 

1976: A Chorus Line and Chicago

A great year for widely-popular musicals, neither of which has made it into the collection.

 

1978: Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

Including one of the best-selling songs of all time, “You’re the One That I Want,” Grease is polled as the most popular American musical.

 

1996: Rent

The first half of the 90s was rough for Broadway – this rock musical helped bring back some status to the Great White Way.

 

1997: The Lion King

The Disney-fication of Manhattan in a nutshell, but also a great musical, especially the standout “He Lives in You.”

 

2001-2011 Funny Musicals: The Producers, Hairspray, Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon

A slew of popular, comedic, musicals came out between 23 and 13 years ago, any one of which could be inducted as representative of the era. Or, you know, more than one.

 

2003: Wicked

The musical that erupted onto the pop culture scene, and launched one of the most well-known Broadway ballads of the past quarter-century: “Defying Gravity.”

 

Rap

An under-appreciated genre, to be sure. The Blueprint, from 2001, is the most recent inductee. So many classics aren’t there – in fact, only 14 recordings have been added, total. Missing highlights:

 

Eric B. and Rakim

The debut of the internal rhyme in rap – which became a standard by which the best artists would be judged.

Induction: Paid in Full, 1987. Alternate: “Eric B. Is President,” 1987.

 

Beastie Boys

Masters of remixing and sampling, the Beastie Boys helped bring rap to more diverse audiences.

Induction: Paul’s Boutique, 1989. Alternate: “Sabotage,” 1994.

 

Notorious BIG

Ready to Die is widely hailed as one of the finest rap records ever released.

Induction: Ready to Die, 1994. Alternate: “Juicy,” 1994.

 

Outkast

The group more than any other put the South on the map of the rap scene, breaking the East Coast / West Coast stranglehold.

Induction: Aquemini, 1998. Alternate: Stankonia, 2000.

 

Eminem

One of the most talented rappers of all-time, and one of the best-selling artists ever.

Induction: The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000. Alternate: “Lose Yourself,” 2002.

 

Missy Elliott

Elliott is the most recent rapper inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and with good reason: she is a pioneer and a tremendously popular artist.

Induction: “Work It,” 2002. Alternate: “Get Ur Freak On,” 2001.

 

Kanye West

*ugh* West is a walking dumpster-fire these days, but there was a time when he was the best rapper in America, and the most innovative.

Induction: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 2010. Alternate: The College Dropout, 2004.

 

Electronica

I get it. Electronica is the least-American of the musical genres in the Western world. We invented jazz, the blues, rock, R&B, soul, rap… But electronica goes, predominantly, to the Germans and the Brits. That said, there should be, you know, some in the registry. Currently there’s none at all – just a couple of experimental classical works. Here are seven recordings to form the nucleus of an Electronica collection:

 

1977: Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express

The Big Bang of the electronica genre out of Germany.

 

1978: Brian Eno, Ambient 1: Music for Airports

A milestone of the ambient electronic field.

 

1996: DJ Shadow, Endtroducing….

The first-ever album created entirely from samples.

 

1998: Fatboy Slim, “Praise You”

A big beat classic, Fatboy Slim became a crossover sensation in pop music.

 

1999: Moby, Play

The double-platinum phenomenon was a breakthrough, and captures an iconic late-90s sound.

 

2001: Daft Punk, Discovery

The French duo helped popularize electronica as a mainstream dance genre.

 

2010: Skrillex, “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”

Yes, Skrillex emerged on the scene 14 years ago. This track became a landmark in the popularity of electronica, and EDM in particular, in America.

 

Historical Recordings

 

1893: Benjamin Harrison

A wax cylinder of Harrison, the first recording of a President.

 

1912: Theodore Roosevelt Campaign Speech

“The Right of People to Rule” was recorded in Roosevelt’s failed reelection bid.

 

1937: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy First Radio Broadcast

The start of a popular 11-year run of the famous ventriloquist and dummy act.

 

1948: H.L. Mencken Speaks

First interview of immensely popular columnist and commentator H.L. Mencken.

 

1950: William Faulkner Nobel Prize Speech

Faulkner’s brief speech reflects the political moment of his time.

 

1971-73: Nixon Tapes

The problematic secret recordings of the President.

 

1984: Cesar Chavez: California Commonwealth Club Address

One of Chavez’ more well-known late-period speeches.