The United States Library of Congress has included Pink Floyd’s seminal 1973 album “The Dark Side of the Moon” as one of 25 recordings added to the National Recording Registry for 2012.
The registry is a federally-funded archive that preserves songs and sounds that’re “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.”
Here’s the complete list of additions for 2012:
1. After You’ve Gone Marion Harris (1918)
2. Bacon, Beans and Limousines Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
3. Begin the Beguine Artie Shaw (1938)
4. You Are My Sunshine Jimmie Davis (1940)
5. D-Day Radio Broadcast George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
6. Just Because Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
7. South Pacific Original Cast Album (1949)
8. Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
9. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
10. President’s Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
11. A Program of Song Leontyne Price (1959)
12. The Shape of Jazz to Come Ornette Coleman (1959)
13. Crossing Chilly Jordan The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
14. The Twist Chubby Checker (1960)
15. Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
16. Hoodoo Man Blues Junior Wells (1965)
17. Sounds of Silence Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
18. Cheap Thrills Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
19. The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd (1973)
20. Music Time in Africa Leo Sarkisian, host (July 29, 1973)
21. Wild Tchoupitoulas The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
22. Ramones Ramones (1976)
23. Saturday Night Fever The Bee Gees, et al (1977)
24. Einstein on the Beach Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
25. The Audience with Betty Carter Betty Carter (1980)
Not being American I am unable to relate to many of the entries, but there are a number of others which I recognise and find very interesting. Being in my early 60’s, I go back to over halfway through this list although I do not know most titles here!
However, I’m glad you provided the list at all!
Don’t worry: I’m American and I can’t relate to many of them either!