Dr. Dre's The Chronic was one of this year's 25 additions to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, alongside the theme song to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and music by Tina Turner.
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Updated March 25, 3:11 p.m. ET.
The National Recording Registry was founded in 2000 by the Library of Congress to showcase the breadth and depth of American sound. Every year, 25 recordings are picked to be preserved for posterity.
This year, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden called the selections "the ultimate stay at home playlist." The entries, culled from a list of over 800 possibilities, include the original cast recording of the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roofstarring Zero Mostel; the 1978 disco classic "Y.M.C.A."; Tina Turner's 1984 pop hit "Private Dancer"; and a 1951 broadcast of a nail-biter of a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, with Jackie Robinson at bat. They go all the way back to a ferocious 1927 spoken-word recording made by Italian Americans in response to the execution of anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and all the way up to a contemporary rap classic: Dr. Dre's The Chronic, from 1992.
But the most comforting recording in this year's list is indisputably the theme song to the beloved PBS children's show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
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Here's the full list of the 25 recordings:
"Whispering" (single), Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti," Compagnia Columbia; "Sacco e Vanzetti," Raoul Romito (1927)
"La Chicharronera" (single), Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
"Arch Oboler's Plays" episode "The Bathysphere." (Nov. 18, 1939)
"Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (single), Memphis Minnie (1941)
The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers — Russ Hodges, announcer (Oct. 3, 1951)
Puccini's Tosca (album), Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli, Victor de Sabata (1953)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (single), Allan Sherman (1963)
WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
Fiddler on the Roof (album), original Broadway cast (1964)
"Make the World Go Away" (single), Eddy Arnold (1965)
Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music (1966-67; 1971-73)
"Wichita Lineman" (single), Glen Campbell (1968)
Dusty in Memphis (album), Dusty Springfield (1969)
Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From Mister Rogers' Neighborhood(album), Fred Rogers (1973)
Cheap Trick at Budokan (album), Cheap Trick (1978)
Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G (Special Edition Audiophile Pressing album), Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
"Y.M.C.A." (single), Village People (1978)
A Feather on the Breath of God (album), Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
Private Dancer (album), Tina Turner (1984)
Ven Conmigo (album), Selena (1990)
The Chronic (album), Dr. Dre (1992)
"I Will Always Love You" (single), Whitney Houston (1992)
Concert in the Garden (album), Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
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