N.W.A.’s classic “Straight Outta Compton” is getting further kudos for its role in U.S. history, as one of 25 recordings that are being added to the Library of Congress.
Eazy-E visited the White House, but even he probably couldn’t have ever seen this come in.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the full list of the National Recording Registry’s picks on Wednesday, which were selected “because of their cultural, artistic and historical importance to American society and the nation’s audio heritage.” Other 2017 additions include the original-cast album of “The Wiz,” Richard Pryor’s “Wanted: Live In Concert,” and David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust.”
The addition of “Straight Outta Compton” comes two years after a film of the same title chronicled N.W.A.’s rise to fame through their seminal debut, and one year after the group was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. The album, which featured songs like “F–k tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta” and “Express Yourself,” is usually acknowledged as being the pioneering record of gangsta rap.
“This year’s exciting list gives us a full range of sound experiences,” Hayden said in a press release. “These sounds of the past enrich our understanding of the nation’s cultural history and our history in general.”
The Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country, the largest library in the world, and the research arm of Congress. It has millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts.
Read below for the full list of inductees:
1. The 1888 London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud (1888)
2. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (singles), Manhattan Harmony Four (1923); Melba Moore and Friends (1990)
3. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (single), Harry Richman (1929)
4. “Over the Rainbow” (single), Judy Garland (1939)
5. “I’ll Fly Away” (single), The Chuck Wagon Gang (1948)
6. “Hound Dog” (single), Big Mama Thornton (1953)
7. “Saxophone Colossus,” Sonny Rollins (1956)
8. The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, announced by Vin Scully (September 8, 1957)
9. “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,” Marty Robbins (1959)
10. “The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery,” Wes Montgomery (1960)
11. “People” (single), Barbra Streisand (1964)
12. “In the Midnight Hour” (single), Wilson Pickett (1965)
13. “Amazing Grace” (single), Judy Collins (1970)
14. “American Pie” (single), Don McLean (1971)
15. “All Things Considered,” first broadcast (May 3, 1971)
16. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” David Bowie (1972)
17. “The Wiz,” original cast album (1975)
18. “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975),” Eagles (1976)
19. “Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha,” Gunter Schuller, arr. (1976)
20. “Wanted: Live in Concert,” Richard Pryor (1978)
21. “We Are Family” (single), Sister Sledge (1979)
22. “Remain in Light,” Talking Heads (1980)
23. “Straight Outta Compton,” N.W.A (1988)
24. “Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (All-Night Vigil),” Robert Shaw Festival Singers (1990)
25. “Signatures,” Renée Fleming (1997)