Inside The National Recording Registry

"I Will Survive:" The Best Song to Grace a B-Side

 When Gloria Gaynor recorded the B-side to her 1978 single, she knew it was a hidden hit. 

"I Will Survive:" The Best Song to Grace a B-Side

“Mary, Don’t You Weep”: the Life of a Song

“Mary, Don’t You Weep”: the Life of a Song

"Sorry, Wrong Number"

"Sorry, Wrong Number"

Linda Ronstadt: “Heart Like a Wheel”

Linda Ronstadt: “Heart Like a Wheel”

Celia & Johnny: They Invented Salsa

Celia & Johnny: They Invented Salsa

Sons of the Pioneers: Tumbling Tumbleweeds

The Sons of the Pioneers' 1934 song “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” was written by a Canadian by birth who fell in love with the American West when his family moved to Tucson.  

Sons of the Pioneers: Tumbling Tumbleweeds

He Stopped Loving Her Today

He Stopped Loving Her Today

George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today

One of this year's selections is a song so sad that George Jones was initially reluctant to record it. Yet it became one of the most popular songs in country music. 

George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today

Link Wray: Rumble

This guitar instrumental altered the course of rock music. The story of Link Wray and "Rumble," from 1958, is told by guitarist Steven Van Zandt, bassist James Hutchinson, and writer ...

Link Wray: Rumble

Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem

This samba was recorded by the Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda in 1939. Dori Caymmi, the son of the songwriter, and biographer Martha Gil-Montero explain how the song brought Brazilia...

Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem

The 2,000 Year Old Man

This 1961 comedy routine by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner is about a man so old, he once knew Jesus — personally — and dated Joan of Arc. Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner explain why "2000 Y...

The 2,000 Year Old Man

John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen

Our series begins with John Lee Hooker's breakthrough song "Boogie Chillen". Blues veteran Charlie Musselwhite and writer Peter Guralnick explain how Hooker's 1948 song left its mark ...

John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen

The 2,000 Year-Old Man

The 2,000 Year-Old Man

Boogie Chillen

Boogie Chillen