2020 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

"The Chronic", the debut solo album from rapper/producer and member of N.W.A., Dr Dre; a blues classic, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" from guitarist, Memphis Minnie, Dusty Springfield's iconic soul album, "Dusty In Memphis", Whitney Houston's mesmerizing cover of Dolly Parton's song, "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, the original cast recording of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler On The Roof" and the disco-anthem-turned-wedding reception staple, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People are some of this year's selections to be inducted in to the National Recording Registry.

The Recording Registry is an extension of the passage by Congress in 2000 of the National Recording Preservation Act. Each year the Library of Congress oversees the selection of 25 recordings, which must be at least 10 years old at the time of induction, and deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and this latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 550.

Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered in to the 2020 Recording Registry:

"Whispering" (single) - Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti" (singles) - Compagnia Columbia (1927)
"Sacco e Vanzetti" (single) - Raoul Romito (1927)
"La Chicharronera" - Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
"Arch Oboler’s Plays" - episode from “The Bathysphere.” (November 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 (October 3, 1951)
Puccini’s "Tosca" (album) - Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli and 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" - original Broadway cast album (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" - Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
"Y.M.C.A." (single) - Village People (1978)



"A Feather on the Breath of God" - 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)
"Percussion Concerto" (album) - Colin Currie (2008)

GLEN CAMPBELL (1936 - 2017)

Glen Campbell, who was a popular entertainer in the '60's and '70's on the country and pop charts, has passed away on August 8th after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was officially diagnosed with this in 2011 and soon embarked on a final tour the following year. He made his final television appearance on the 2012 Grammy Awards where he did a thrilling performance of one of his biggest hits, "Rhinestone Cowboy" with this song reaching number one on the country and pop charts back in 1975. Campbell also did his last recordings in 2012 and 2013 which would become his sixty-fourth studio album, "Adiós" and was just released this year in June.

Born the seventh of twelve children to Wesley and Carrie Campbell in Billstown, Arkansas, Glen was given a guitar as a child and learned to play from his Uncle Dick Bills who was a professional musician with his band, the Sandia Mountain Boys. Campbell dropped out of high school and later went to join his uncle's band in 1956 and stayed with the group until he started his own band in 1958.

Campbell decided to head to California to try and become a solo artist in 1960. He did manage to get a recording contract with Capitol Records but his singles were not successful. However Campbell did become a very popular studio guitarist and was part of the famous "Wrecking Crew" session musicians who backed everyone from Elvis Presley to Frank Sinatra.

Campbell did not give up on his dream to become a recording artist of his own and finally had a breakthrough in 1967 with "Gentle On My Mind" which hit the Billboard Top 40 and earned Campbell two 1968 Grammy Awards for Best Country Male Vocalist and Best Contemporary Male Vocalist. The hits continued for the singer with "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston" and "Southern Nights" to name a few. Campbell became so popular that television came calling with him first making appearances on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" before getting his own variety show, "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" which ran from 1969 through 1971. Campbell even made a few movies with the most notable being the 1969 John Wayne film, "True Grit".

A documentary, "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" was released in 2014 and covers his struggles with Alzheimer's and the farewell tour. A song from the film, "I’m Not Gonna Miss You", written by Campbell and Julian Raymond, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. In tribute, here are a few clips of the talented Glen Campbell performing some of his best known songs: