They’re already icons of the music world, but entertainers running the gamut from Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Weezer are now going to be installed in the annals of history.
The Library of Congress announced the latest inductions into the National Recording Registry.
Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Newlen announced the 25 recordings that are considered “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
The latest group of more than two-dozen recordings spans 70 years and includes The Byrds’ “Turn, Turn, Turn,” Gladys Knight and the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad.”
But it isn’t just hit songs; the soundtrack from the video game “Doom” was selected as well. It was the third time that a video game was added.
The public nominated more than 3,000 recordings this year, with Weezer being the most requested.
There were a few firsts this year: the first Taylor Swift and first Beyoncé recordings were added, while 2026 saw the first time a daughter and her father were both part of the registry, with Roseanne Cash’s “The Wheel” added more than 20 years after her father, Johnny Cash’s “At Folsom Prison” was selected.
Vince Gil said “Go Rest High On That Mountain” is one that people seek out when they’re going through a rough patch.
“I’ve been writing songs for over 50 years, and if you asked me straight up what’s the one song you’d want to be remembered for, I would pick this one, hands down. Wouldn’t even be close,” Gill said in the news release announcing the 2026 slate of recordings. “In my era of success, it was probably the least charting record I’ve ever had, but what this song has gone on to do for other people is what makes it special to me. It was written, me, grieving the loss of my big brother. Truth is, I had never planned on recording it. A fellow I worked with, Tony Brown, heard the song and said ‘you have to record it.’ I said ‘It’s a little too personal.’ And he said, ‘No, the world should hear this song.’”
Chaka Kahn said that her cover of Prince’s “I Feel for You” was a crossover hit, partially thanks to God.
“‘I Feel for You’ was a moment where everything converged, Prince’s genius, Stevie’s harmonica, Grandmaster Melle Mel’s rap, and whatever God put in me that day,” Khan said. “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. And I am so very grateful to have been part of it.”
Several streaming services have set up playlists of recordings added to the registry. You can find them here.
Here is the complete list for 2026 in chronological order:
- “Cocktails for Two” – Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1944) (single)
- “Mambo No. 5” – Pérez Prado and His Orchestra (1950) (single)
- “Teardrops from My Eyes” – Ruth Brown (1950) (single)
- “Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)” – Kaye Ballard (1954) (single)
- “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” – Paul Anka (1959) (single)
- “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” – Oliver Nelson (1961) (album)
- “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” – Ray Charles (1962) (album)
- “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” – The Byrds (1965) (single)
- “Amen, Brother” – The Winstons (1969) (single)
- “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano (1970) (single)
- “The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier” (March 8, 1971) (broadcast)
- “Midnight Train to Georgia” – Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973) (single)
- “Chicago” Original Cast Album (1975) (album)
- “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – The Charlie Daniels Band (1979) (single)
- “Beauty and the Beat” – The Go-Go’s (1981) (album)
- “Texas Flood” – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983) (album)
- “I Feel For You” – Chaka Khan (1984) (single)
- “Your Love” – Jamie Principle (1986) / Jamie Principle/Frankie Knuckles (1987) (singles)
- “Rumor Has It” – Reba McEntire (1990) (album)
- “The Wheel” – Rosanne Cash (1993) (album)
- “Doom” Soundtrack – Bobby Prince, composer (1993)
- “Go Rest High On That Mountain” – Vince Gill (1994) (single)
- “Weezer (The Blue Album)” – Weezer (1994) (album)
- “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” – Beyoncé (2008) (single)
- “1989” – Taylor Swift (2014) (album)
As for 2027, nominations are now being accepted. The portal will close on Oct. 1. For more information, click here.
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