A year of firsts: Daddy Yankee, Queen Latifah, 'Super Mario' added to National Recording Registry

The National Recording Registry is slotting in some pioneers among its 2023 entries.

Queen Latifah becomes the first female rapper to join the ranks with her 1989 debut album, “All Hail the Queen,” “Super Mario Bros.” composer Koji Kondo is the architect of the first video game soundtrack to enter the registry, and Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” is the first reggaeton selection.

This year’s list of 25 recordings regarded as “audio treasures” by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress was announced Wednesday by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The songs are recognized as worthy of preservation based on “their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the library.

Who has a song in the Library of Congress?

Among the new entries this year that join Queen Latifah and Kondo – whose original Nintendo music appears in the new “Super Mario Bros. Movie” – are:

• Madonna’s cultural touchstone “Like a Virgin.”

• Mariah Carey (making her debut in the National Recording Registry) with ubiquitous holiday jingle, “All I Want For Christmas is You.”

• John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine.”

• Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” which is widely credited for the explosion of reggaeton upon its release in 2004.

Jimmy Buffett’s singalong-at-the-bar “Margaritaville” is also a new inductee. Buffett told the Library of Congress the song’s everlasting appeal is due to the uplifting effect it has on people.

“You're lucky enough at some point to put your thumb on the pulse of something that people can connect with,” he said. “It's an amazing and lucky thing to happen to you, and that happened with ‘Margaritaville.’”

How many songs are in the National Recording Registry?

The recordings selected for the National Recording Registry bring its number of titles to 625. The full list can be viewed at loc.gov/recording. National Recording Registry playlists will be available on most streaming platforms.

Other songs landing in the registry include The Four Seasons’ “Sherry”; Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”; “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” by John Denver; The Police’s “Synchronicity,” Ricky Martin’s Latin pop megahit “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Jay-Z's "Blueprint" album.

Music notes

• Love to love these: Donna Summer, TLC among new documentaries 

• No more Who in U.S.: Roger Daltrey says the band is likely finished touring America

• A break from the Boss: Little Steven talks radio show, pasta and rock 'n' roll

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National Recording Registry adds Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee, Madonna