'My Girl', 'Sound Of Music', 'Rumors' Added To Recording Registry

It began with a simple two-note figure: one long, two short, played on the bass, the genesis of what became the first No. 1 hit for Motown Records' group the Temptations back in 1965.

Now "My Girl" is also one of 25 sound recordings being honored with election to the National Recording Registry, a compendium of recorded works singled out by the Library of Congress for their historical, cultural or aesthetic significance, reports The LATimes.

"It's a dream come true for me, man," the song's co-writer, William "Smokey" Robinson, 78, told The Times on Tuesday. "When I write something, I try to write something that will mean something — and mean something from now on, or in this case, from then on."



"My Girl," which Robinson wrote with his bandmate in the Miracles Ronald White, is joined this year by two dozen other typically diverse recordings being added to the registry, which was established by Congress as part of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000.

They include Run-DMC's 1986 breakthrough rap album "Raising Hell" and Tony Bennett's signature 1962 pop ballad "I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Also included is news coverage of proceedings that led to the creation of the United Nations and Bill Haley and His Comets' 1954 call to teenage action on the dance floor, "Rock Around the Clock."

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 blockbuster rock album "Rumours" is also newly headed into the registry along with the 1965 soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" featuring Julie Andrews, a 1972 live album "An Evening with Groucho" documenting the famed comedian's performance at Carnegie Hall and pianist Artur Schnabel's set of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas recorded from 1932 to 1935.

Other notable entries include Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” ″Le Freak” by Chic and  Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler”.

For Run-DMC member Rev Run, news of "Raising Hell" joining the registry is "a massive honor. I could not believe that something we put together so many years ago was going to be honored at such a high level. I had to ask my manager two times if this was for real.

The newly designated recordings span nearly the entire 20th century. Included is a 1911 recording by Victor Herbert and his orchestra of Herbert's operetta "Dream Melody Intermezzo: Naughty Marietta," as well as a 1996 album from cellist Yo-Yo Ma that premiered contemporary cello concertos by Richard Danielpour, Leon Kirchner and Christopher Rouse.

Recordings must be at least 10 years old before they become eligible for the registry. The choices are not limited to music, although music represents the vast majority in the registry.



There are also spoken-word recordings and noteworthy newscasts, including NBC Radio's World War II-era coverage of the gathering in San Francisco of people from around the world that led to the creation of the United Nations.