The Library of Congress has added works by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Weezer to the National Recording Registry, a collection that honors recordings of cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.
Cultural Significance Recognized
This year's inductees include Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Taylor Swift's album 1989, and Weezer's Blue Album,
Artists Reflect on Legacy
Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go’s expressed excitement over their inclusion, saying, “It’ll be great 100 years from now when someone is doing their research and they see The Go-Go’s in there.” Jane Wiedlin added, “I don’t know that there is a better feeling than knowing that women are raising their daughters and playing them The Go-Go’s.”
Chaka Khan, whose version of “I Feel For You” was inducted, remarked, “For the Library of Congress to say this recording belongs in the permanent collection of American sound heritage, that means it wasn’t just a hit, it was history.”
2026 Inductees List
- Spike Jones and His City Slickers: “Cocktails for Two” (1944)
- Pérez Prado and His Orchestra: “Mambo No. 5” (1950)
- Ruth Brown: “Teardrops From My Eyes” (1950)
- Kaye Ballard: “Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)” (1954)
- Paul Anka: “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (1959)
- Oliver Nelson: The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961)
- Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)
- The Byrds: “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” (1965)
- The Winstons: “Amen, Brother” (1969)
- José Feliciano: “Feliz Navidad” (1970)
- “The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier” (March 8, 1971)
- Gladys Knight and the Pips: “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973)
- Chicago Original Cast Album (1975)
- The Charlie Daniels Band: “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (1979)
- The Go-Go’s: Beauty and the Beat (1981)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Texas Flood (1983)
- Chaka Khan: “I Feel for You” (1984)
- Jamie Principle: “Your Love” (1986) / Jamie Principle and Frankie Knuckles (1987)
- Reba McEntire: Rumor Has It (1990)
- Rosanne Cash: The Wheel (1993)
- Bobby Prince: Doom Soundtrack (1993)
- Vince Gill: “Go Rest High on That Mountain” (1994)
- Weezer: Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)
- Beyoncé: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
- Taylor Swift: 1989 (2014)
Source: https://pitchfork.com/news/beyonce-taylor-swift-and-weezer-records-added-to-national-recording-registry/
