"Thriller" Added to Library of Congress' Registry

Michael Jackson's 1982 classic Thriller was among this year's class of twenty-five recordings added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry. Not that we needed Congress to tell us how important Thriller is, but the distinction means that Thriller is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" to the history of American music. Other recordings making the Congressional cut was Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," Joni Mitchell's For the Roses, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears" and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. Audio recordings of speeches by Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan were also included in the eclectic mix. Every year, the Library of Congress adds twenty-five recordings to the Registry, compiled by the preservation board and suggestions from the public.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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