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Category: National Recording Registry

A laughing Jimmy Buffett, wearing a baseball cap and facing the camera.

Fair Winds and Following Seas to You, Jimmy Buffett

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Jimmy Buffett, whose iconic "Margaritaville" was inducted into the National Recording Registry this year, died yesterday at age 76. We interviewed him in March for the NRR. Here, we remember that conversation, his story of writing the song, his performance at the Library in 2008 and how his songs inspired the author long ago, even before Buffett was a star.

Color photograph of a young Wynton Marsalis in suit and ite, holding a trumpet

Wynton Marsalis, “Black Codes” and Thoughts on the Highway

Posted by: Neely Tucker

It is midafternoon on a recent weekday and jazz legend Wynton Marsalis is driving across the Southwest, taking the call on speakerphone that his 1985 album, “Black Codes (From the Underground),” has been inducted into the 2023 class of the National Recording Registry. With endless desert spreading about behind and before him, he took a few minutes to talk about the album and its pointed political statement.

A young woman with close-cropped orange hair and bright red lipstick sings directly into the camera

The 2023 National Recording Registry – Mariah Carey, Eurythmics, Jimmy Buffett, Wynton Marsalis, John Lennon (And Lots More)

Posted by: Neely Tucker

The 2023 class of the National Recording Registry adds music from Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee, the Eurythmics, Jimmy Buffett, Wynton Marsalis, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and several others. The 25 additions range from 1908 to 2012 and includes early blues and Mariachi music, along with radio broadcasts from the 1930s. A highlights video, with interviews with several of the artists, is included.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Lamont Dozier, Legendary Motown Songwriter and National Recording Registry Member, Dies at 81

Posted by: Neely Tucker

  Lamont Dozier, one third of Motown’s key hit-writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, has died at 81. It’s difficult to imagine the soundtrack of the 1960s without him. I chatted with him earlier this year, when the trio’s “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” was inducted into the 2022 class of the National Recording Registry. Here’s the story …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Alicia Keys, Journey, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and the 2022 National Recording Registry

Posted by: Neely Tucker

The 2022 Class of the National Recording Registry includes albums such as Alicia Keys' "Songs in A Minor" and singles such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " and Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca," along with with important inductions of hip-hop and Latin music, including recordings by Linda Ronstadt, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan and the Buena Vista Social Club.