Flaco Jiménez is being added to the registry…
One of the 82-year-old Mexican American singer, songwriter and accordionist’s most popular albums Partners, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1992, is one of this year’s National Recording Registry selections.
Jiménez, a Tejano music legend, appears on the new list of classic recordings joining the registry that Janet Jackson‘s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, Kool & the Gang‘s buoyant single “Celebration“; Nas‘ game-changing debut album Illmatic and timeless children’s titles Free To Be… You And Me and “The Rainbow Connection.”
“Partners” by Jiménez, a champion of traditional conjunto music and Tex-Mex culture who is also known for innovation and collaboration with a variety of artists. This bilingual album features collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos, among others.
The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.
Nearly 900 titles were submitted for recognition this year.
“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.
Here’s the complete list, in chronological order:
1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917 single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — November 22, 1945
7. Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. Aida — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. Born Under a Bad Sign — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. Free to Be…You & Me — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. The Harder They Come — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — LaBelle (1974) (single)
16. Late for the Sky — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. Bright Size Life — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. Partners — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. Illmatic — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)
