Library of Congress’ new additions to National Recording Registry includes Simon & Garfunkel, Van Cliburn and Pink Floyd

The Library of Congress has announced its annual picks for the National Recording Registry, meaning that the tracks will be preserved forever. Fans of rock icons like Pink Floyd, Big Brother & The Holding Company and Simon & Garfunkel will be happy to see them represented, while the late Van Cliburn’s historic performance in Moscow was included.

The list of recordings includes tracks made between 1918 and 1980. The oldest recording is Marion Harris’ “After You’ve Gone,” one of the first recordings of the American standard by Turner Layton and Harry Creamer. Will Rogers is represented by 1931’s “Bacon, Beans and Limousines.”

Cliburn’s legendary performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was included. Cliburn, who died last month, was just 23 in 1958 when he shocked the world at the height of the Cold War by winning the first Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow.

Essential albums from Rock & Roll icons have also been included. Simon & Garfunkel’s Sounds of Silence, Big Brother & The Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Ramones’ Ramones and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack will be preserved.

“Congress created the National Recording Registry to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio heritage and to underscore our responsibility for long-term preservation, to assure that legacy can be appreciated and studied for generations,” Librarian of Congress James H. Billington explained. “Our challenge, however, continues to be finding collaborative and innovative ways to protect and make available this unmatched legacy to the public.”

Here’s the full list from loc.gov:

"After You’ve Gone," Marion Harris (1918)
"Bacon, Beans and Limousines," Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
"Begin the Beguine," Artie Shaw (1938)
"You Are My Sunshine," Jimmie Davis (1940)
D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
"Just Because," Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
"South Pacific," Original Cast Album (1949)
"Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature," Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
President's Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
"A Program of Song," Leontyne Price (1959)
"The Shape of Jazz to Come," Ornette Coleman (1959)
"Crossing Chilly Jordan," The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
"The Twist," Chubby Checker (1960)
"Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s," Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
"Hoodoo Man Blues," Junior Wells (1965)
"Sounds of Silence," Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
"Cheap Thrills," Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
"The Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd (1973)
"Music Time in Africa," Leo Sarkisian, host (July 29, 1973)
"Wild Tchoupitoulas," The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
"Ramones," The Ramones (1976)
"Saturday Night Fever," various artists (1977)
"Einstein on the Beach," Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
"The Audience with Betty Carter," Betty Carter (1980)