Inside the National Recording Registry

Series produced by Devon Strolovitch

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Celebrating selections from the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress

Each year, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress chooses 25 recordings to be preserved for all time. Inside the National Recording Registry, produced by Ben Manilla Productions, highlights some of those selections.


12 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Originally released as a B-side, so many deejays began playing Gloria Gaynor's “I Will Survive” that the record company reissued it as a single. It...

Bought by PRX Demo Station, KPIK-LP, Third Coast Festival/Re:sound (Outside Purchaser), KUER, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and more


  • Added: May 03, 2017
  • Length: 06:43
  • Purchases: 8
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George Carlin’s seminal 1972 album “Class Clown” includes his infamous bit, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” which still rings true 4...

Bought by KPIK-LP and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: May 03, 2017
  • Length: 09:40
  • Purchases: 2
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In 1972, one of the most celebrated chamber music groups in America, the Beaux Arts Trio, made one of the only recordings of Clara Schumann's piano...

Bought by KUFM - Montana Public Radio and Radio Newark


  • Added: Mar 10, 2017
  • Length: 06:12
  • Purchases: 2
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Author/radio host Steve Darnall and Dorothy Hermann, daughter of playwright Lucille Fletcher, present Fletcher's groundbreaking radio drama, first ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio and KGLT


  • Added: Nov 30, 2015
  • Length: 06:22
  • Purchases: 2
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Guitarist Freddie Stone, author Jeff Kaliss, and funk legend George Clinton look back at the 1969 album from Sly and the Family Stone, which was in...

Bought by KUFM - Montana Public Radio, Radio Newark, and KGLT


  • Added: Nov 28, 2015
  • Length: 06:36
  • Purchases: 3
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Johnny Pacheco, Ana Cristina Reymundo, and Marisol Berrios-Miranda remember this breakthrough 1974 album, selected for the National Recording Regis...

Bought by Radio Newark, KALW, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jan 05, 2015
  • Length: 05:47
  • Purchases: 3
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George Jones, Bobby Braddock, and Hazel Smith tell the story behind one of the saddest songs ever written, selected for the National Recording Regi...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, KGLT, and KUT


  • Added: Apr 26, 2013
  • Length: 05:08
  • Purchases: 3
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Sonny Rollins, John Litweiler, and Denardo Coleman tell the story of this groundbreaking 1959 album, selected for the National Recording Registry i...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, PRX Remix, and KGLT


  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 04:46
  • Purchases: 4
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Cyril Neville, Loreta Dollis, and Jan Ramsey tell the the story of the album that brought Mardi Gras music to the general public, selected for the ...

Bought by KGLT


  • Added: Oct 18, 2014
  • Length: 05:51
  • Purchases: 1
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Maria McKee, Johnny Echols, and Bruce Botnick tell the story of this overlooked psychedelic masterpiece, selected for the National Recording Regist...

Bought by KGLT and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 18, 2014
  • Length: 06:33
  • Purchases: 2
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John French, Mike Barnes, and Tom Waits tell the story of the first avant-garde rock album, selected for the National Recording Registry in 2010.

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, KUFM - Montana Public Radio, KGLT, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 19, 2014
  • Length: 06:20
  • Purchases: 4
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Loretta Lynn, Harold Bradley, and Jack White tell the story of "Coal Miner's Daughter," selected for the National Recording Registry in 2009.

Bought by WABE, KGLT, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 19, 2014
  • Length: 05:50
  • Purchases: 3