Queen Latifah Becomes First Female Rapper Selected For The National Recording Registry

The National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress revealed its 2023 class of inductees with historical selections Wednesday morning (April 12). With the announcement, Queen Latifah becomes the first female rapper to have an album to be added to the registry.

“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” expressed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

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“The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”

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The 2023 class also includes the first sounds of a video game to join the registry with the Super Mario Bros. theme. Additionally, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” becomes the first Reggaeton record to be added to the audio history library.

Also joining the ranks includes Mariah Carey’s first entry with “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Madonna’s album Like a Virgin, Wynton Marsalis’s album Black Codes (From the Underground), and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven.”

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. View the full 2023 announcement video below and continue to read the full list, presented in chronological order.

National Recording Registry, 2023 Selections

1. “The Very First Mariachi Recordings” — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)

2. “St. Louis Blues” — Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)

3. “Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)

4. Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)

5. “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)

6. “Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)

7. “What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)

8. “Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)

9. “Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)

10. “Déjà Vu” — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)

11. “Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)

12. “Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)

13. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)

14. “Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)

15. “Flashdance…What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)

16.  “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)

17. “Synchronicity” — The Police (1983)

18. “Like a Virgin” — Madonna (1984)

19. “Black Codes (From the Underground)” — Wynton Marsalis (1985)

20. Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1985)

21. “All Hail the Queen” — Queen Latifah (1989)

22. “All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)

23. “Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)

24. “Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)

25. “Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)

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