What sounds like a very cultured pick-up line is, in fact, the song that launched the career of the Andrews Sisters, earning them a gold record—the first ever awarded to a female vocal ensemble. The swing sensation—“To me you are beautiful”—was originally composed by Sholom Secunda for a 1932 Yiddish musical. In 1937, lyricist Sammy Cahn and pianist Lou Levy were catching a show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem when two black performers called Johnnie and George took the stage singing "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" in Yiddish. Sensing a hit, Cahn convinced Warner Music to purchase the rights, slapped on a set of English lyrics and presented the song to the trio of Lutheran sisters and their bandleader to make it swing or sing, as it were.

The Andrews Sisters’ hit is one of 25 new selections added to the National Recording Registry. Among the other selections are Marian Anderson’s recital at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939; Mary Margaret McBride’s interview with Zora Neale Hurston; the sounds of the ivory-billed woodpecker in the Louisiana swamp forest—the last confirmed aural evidence of what was once the largest woodpecker species in the United States; studio recordings of violinist Jascha Heifetz from 1917-24; the recording credited with launching the American audiobook industry, "A Child’s Christmas in Wales"; Etta James’ "At Last" crossover masterpiece; Winston Churchill’s "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri; and the original cast recording of "West Side Story."

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with selecting 25 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and are at least 10 years old.

Several sound bites of the new selections have been made available at the NRPB website. These bring the total number of recordings in the registry to 275.