Library of Congress Adds 25 Sounds to 2026 Registry for U.S. 250th Anniversary

3 articles · Updated · NPR · Jul 3

Twenty-five recordings, speeches and broadcasts were named to the National Recording Registry's 2026 class as the Library of Congress tied this year's Sounds of America series to the U.S. 250th anniversary.
Featured inductees highlighted in the report include the Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," The Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat," and the radio call of the Ali-Frazier "Fight of the Century."
Rachael Stoeltje, who leads the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, said the facility houses and preserves the Library of Congress' audio and video artifacts.
The annual project continued after President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in 2025, with the White House citing her "pursuit of DEI" in ending her nine-year oversight of the series.