Recordings of Chippewas performing, Marian Anderson singing, an interview with Jelly Roll Morton, the broadcast of Game 4 of the 1941 World Series and Garrison Keillor's first radio program in a 30-year series of "A Prairie Home Companion" are among 50 sound recordings added to the National Recording Registry. See this article for the complete list. An annotated list of the 2003 National Recording Registry can be found at www.loc.gov/nrpb.
1941 World Series Game 4 with "Voice of the Dodgers" Red Barber calling the plays
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the 2003 registry selections for preservation on March 19. This is the second year he has named registry recordings that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" as required by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000.
Members of the public and the National Recording Preservation Board nominated landmark recordings for long-term preservation. The public made suggestions on the board's Web site (www.loc.gov/nrpb). The board, which comprises leaders in music, recorded sound and preservation, helped the Librarian review all the nominations. Registry recordings must be at least 10 years old.
Selecting notable recordings was "a difficult but absorbing task," Billington said. "The number and range of recordings to consider is great and a tribute to our extraordinarily rich and varied sonic history. This year's list attests to the diversity of significant recorded sound in our lives—not only music of many types, but also political addresses, comedy, sports, poetry, sermons and machinery."
Like the inaugural 2002 selections, the recordings chosen for the 2003 registry are milestones in the history of sound recording in America. Included are the following examples:
- Frances Densmore's 300-cylinder subset of Chippewa recordings (1907-1910), which document ancient traditions and performances, many of which have been lost within native communities.
- The first in a series of Bubble Books, published by Harper Columbia between 1917 and 1922, which featured children's illustrated books of nursery rhymes bound with recordings.
- The best-selling Okeh Laughing Record of 1922, a much-imitated comic novelty recording of a bad cornet solo and a laughing woman.
- Guy B. Johnson's first field recordings of African-American music on St. Helena Island, S.C., in the 1920s.
- The first recording of a full day of radio broadcasting, from 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 21, 1939, to 1 a.m. on Sept. 22, by CBS affiliate WJSV in Washington, D.C. Highlights include Arthur Godfrey, soap operas, an address of President Franklin Roosevelt to Congress, coverage of the war in Europe, a baseball game, Amos ‘n' Andy, Major Bowes Amateur Hour and commercials.
- The 1940 and 1942 recordings of Anne Brown and Todd Duncan, the original cast members in George Gershwin's 1935 opera "Porgy and Bess."
- Pianist Glenn Gould's landmark 1955 recording of J.S. Bach's Aria with (30) diverse variations, also known as the "Goldberg Variations."
- The first "foreign" selections named to the registry. Selected for their influence on American culture and the global recording industry were the 1967 recording of the Beatles' 12 unforgettable songs in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and a 19-disc set, recorded from 1958 to 1965, of George Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Richard Wagner's complete "Ring" cycle.
Record companies and archives are supporting the Library's effort to identify and preserve the best existing versions of the recordings in the registry. A number of major record companies have located the best surviving elements of their recordings and duplicated them at no expense to the Library, ensuring that the best existing version is added to the National Recording Registry Collection at the Library.
The Library is accepting nominations for the 2004 National Recording Registry at the National Recording Preservation Board Web site, www.loc.gov/nrpb. The deadline for public nominations is July 15.
Album cover of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
In other audio preservation activities authorized by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 and the National Recording Preservation Board, the Library is studying the state of sound-recording archives, preservation, restoration and access. From this study, the Library will develop a comprehensive national recording preservation program, the first of its kind. The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is assisting the Library with the study.
As part of this effort, 15 audio preservation engineers from across the nation attended a two-day audio preservation roundtable sponsored by the Library and CLIR in January. Documents based on their discussions will identify common audio-reformatting practices, outline core competencies for audio preservation engineers and prioritize research and testing needs. The National Recording Preservation Board will turn its attention to access issues later this year.
