A pioneering Los Angeles rap group and an L.A. broadcasting legend are among this year’s additions to the prestigious National Recording Registry.
The Library of Congress announced Wednesday that N.W.A’s album, “Straight Outta Compton,” would be preserved for posterity. The library selects 25 recordings every year for the registry in recognition of their historical, artistic or cultural significance.
“Straight Outta Compton” influenced a generation of rappers with its raw lyrics about gang violence and the drug trade. Once a flashpoint in the culture wars, it’s now part of the hip-hop canon and inspired an Oscar-nominated movie.
The library also chose longtime play-by-play man Vin Scully’s call of a 1957 game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Both teams would move to California after that season.
(Listing Titles in Chronological Order)
1. The 1888 London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud (1888)
2. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (singles), Manhattan Harmony Four (1923); Melba Moore and Friends (1990)
3. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (single), Harry Richman (1929)
4. “Over the Rainbow” (single), Judy Garland (1939)
5. “I’ll Fly Away” (single), The Chuck Wagon Gang (1948)
6. “Hound Dog” (single), Big Mama Thornton (1953)
7. “Saxophone Colossus,” Sonny Rollins (1956)
8. The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, announced by Vin Scully (September 8, 1957)
9. “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,” Marty Robbins (1959)
10. “The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery,” Wes Montgomery (1960)
11. “People” (single), Barbra Streisand (1964)
12. “In the Midnight Hour” (single), Wilson Pickett (1965)
13. “Amazing Grace” (single), Judy Collins (1970)
14. “American Pie” (single), Don McLean (1971)
15. “All Things Considered,” first broadcast (May 3, 1971)
16. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” David Bowie (1972)
17. “The Wiz,” original cast album (1975)
18. “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975),” Eagles (1976)
19. “Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha,” Gunter Schuller, arr. (1976)
20. “Wanted: Live in Concert,” Richard Pryor (1978)
21. “We Are Family” (single), Sister Sledge (1979)
22. “Remain in Light,” Talking Heads (1980)
23. “Straight Outta Compton,” N.W.A (1988)
24. “Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (All-Night Vigil),” Robert Shaw Festival Singers (1990)
25. “Signatures,” Renee Flemming (1997)
Pioneering rap album "Straight Outta Compton" from N.W.A joins the #NatRecRegistry today https://t.co/0Ur4KeDVJM pic.twitter.com/0pxq5vhfqi
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) March 29, 2017
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