Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical has earned a place in the Registry.
The 45-year-old Puerto Rican award-winning actor, composer, lyricist, producer, director and playwright’s cast album for his Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation Hamilton: An American Musical is among this year’s 25 additions to the National Recording Registry, which is administered by the Library of Congress.
This year’s selections span 102 years, from 1913 (a recording of “Aloha ‘Oe” by Hawaiian Quintette) to 2015 (Miranda’s Hamilton cast album).
Hamilton (2015) is the first Broadway cast album that was released since Sweeney Todd in 1979 to be selected.
The album, like the musical, has been a best-selling phenomenon, receiving Diamond certification (meaning 10 million copies sold) from the RIAA in 2023.
Produced by The Roots members Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, the album preserves the musical’s original Broadway cast, and released September 25, 2015, via Atlantic Records.
Freddy Fender’s country/pop smash “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1975) has also been added to the Registry.
The late Mexican American singer’s song is one of three songs on the Registry to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” topped that chart for two weeks.
The single — which features verses sung in both English and Spanish — broke boundaries in the music industry by becoming a crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on both the Hot Country Songs chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
Fender’s emotive performance and heartfelt delivery turned the song into a classic, showcasing the power of Latin voices in country music — a genre that initially had limited representation from Hispanic artists.
Vicente Fernández’s enduring ranchera classic “El Rey” (1973), one of the most recognizable songs in Regional Mexican music, joined the roster of Latin recordings in the Registry.
The late Mexican singer and actor’s iconic song appears on his 1973 album, El Ídolo de México, and it was written by José Alfredo Jiménez in 1971.
With its kingly themes of resilience and pride, “El Rey” has become emblematic of Chente’s enduring legacy, even inspiring a 2022 Netflix bioseries of the same name that celebrates his life and career. The mariachi singer — who died in 2021 — remains one of Mexico’s most celebrated musical figures, and his induction into the Registry further solidifies his enduring legacy.
More than 2,600 nominations were made by the public this year.
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.”
Recordings become eligible for the Registry 10 years after release, compared to 25 years for the Grammy Hall of Fame. (Which means the Hamilton cast album won’t be eligible there for another 15 years.)
“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation.”
Industry veteran Robbin Ahrold serves as chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. “This year’s National Recording Registry list is an honor roll of superb American popular music from the wide-ranging repertoire of our great nation,” he said in a statement.
These 25 recordings bring the number of titles on the Registry to 675. This represents just a tiny fraction of the Library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly four million items.
Here’s the complete list of 2025 additions to the National Recording Registry. They are listed in chronological order by release date.
- “Aloha ‘Oe” – Hawaiian Quintette (1913, Victor)
- “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Brother Bones & His Shadows (1949, Tempo)
- “Happy Trails” – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (1952, RCA Victor)
- Radio Broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series – Chuck Thompson (1960)
- Harry Urata Field Recordings (1960-1980)
- Hello Dummy! – Don Rickles (1968, Warner Bros.)
- Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago (1969, Columbia)
- Bitches Brew – Miles Davis (1970, Columbia)
- “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride (1971, RCA Victor)
- “I Am Woman” – Helen Reddy (1972, Capitol)
- “El Rey” – Vicente Fernández (1973, CBS)
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (1973, MCA)
- “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender (1975, ABC/Dot)
- I’ve Got the Music in Me – Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker (1975, Sheffield Lab)
- The Kӧln Concert – Keith Jarrett (1975, ECM)
- Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (1976, Capitol)
- Nimrod Workman Collection (1973-1994)
- Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988, Elektra)
- My Life – Mary J. Blige (1994, Uptown/MCA)
- Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime – Brian Eno (1995)
- “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion (1997, 550 Music/Epic)
- Our American Journey – Chanticleer (2002) (album, Warner Classics International)
- Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (2006 album, Republic/Universal Music)
- Minecraft: Volume Alpha – Daniel Rosenfeld (2011 album, self-released)
- Hamilton: An American Musical – Original Broadway Cast Album (2015 album, Atlantic)
