Curated category
United States National Recording Registry recordings
- All Things ConsideredOn the 3rd of May 1971, a single voice named Robert Conley spoke into a microphone for the first time. That broadcast reached approximately 90 radio stations…
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandIn August 1966, the Beatles permanently stopped touring after a series of exhausting and controversial performances. The group had grown weary of live shows…
- OthelloWilliam Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice around 1603. This play draws its core plot from a novella by Giovanni Battista Giraldi…
- Bohemian RhapsodyFreddie Mercury began developing the song in the late 1960s while playing parts of it on a piano. One early piece known as The Cowboy Song contained lyrics…
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)In the late 1980s, cousins Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, and Russell Jones formed a group named Force of the Imperial Master.
- Pet SoundsOn the 16th of May 1966, Capitol Records released Pet Sounds, the eleventh studio album by the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson had declared his withdrawal from…
- Straight Outta ComptonIn 1987, Eric Wright stood in a Compton living room and founded Ruthless Records. He was a member of the Kelly Park Crips who wanted to control his own money.
- I Have a DreamOn the evening of Tuesday, the 27th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. still did not know what he would say to the crowd gathering for the March on…
- The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song)The 1980 New York City transit strike created a city of silence and frustration. Rappers Duke Bootee and Melle Mel wrote The Message during this period of…
- The ChronicThe 15th of December 1992 marked the release of The Chronic, a debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre.
- Ready to DieThe Notorious B.I.G. entered The Hit Factory in New York City during 1993 to begin work on his debut album. Sean Combs signed the rapper to Uptown Records…
- IllmaticNasir Jones was fifteen years old when he met producer Large Professor in Flushing, Queens. This meeting launched a career that would eventually produce…
- Rapper's DelightIn late 1978, Sylvia Robinson stood in a pizza parlour and heard Henry Jackson speak. He went by the name Big Bank Hank at that moment.
- I Will SurviveDino Fekaris stood in his room during the mid-1970s after losing his job at Motown Records. He had spent seven years as a staff writer there before being let…
- Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point gameOn the 2nd of March 1962, a cold and rainy Friday night, 4,124 spectators paid to enter Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.