Unless the Library of Congress knows something we don’t, the hip-hop classic “Rapper’s Delight” was recorded by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979 and not by the late great Donna Summer in 1977.
Obviously, the LOC knows that, but the first sentence of its Wednesday morning statement is just a smidge confusing:
“The voices of former slaves, the sounds of Native American culture, the creative wordplay of ‘Rapper’s Delight,’ Donna Summer’s electric 1977 hit and the only surviving recording of a stage icon are among the sound recordings selected for induction into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.”
The LOC, and the news outlets that lifted the sentence, obviously meant that both the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” and Donna Summer’s 1977 disco classic, “I Feel Love,” will be saved for posterity.
Oh, awkward sentence structure, how awkward you make things.
The LOC is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the National Recording Registry.
“Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today selected 25 sound recordings that will be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures for generations to come.”
Check out some of the other recordings that made the registry after the jump.
Dolly Parton “Coat of Many Colors”:
Prince and the Revolution “Purple Rain”:
Leonard Bernstein’s debut with the New York Philharmonic (this is not it):
Heard on the Hill is Roll Call's Capitol Hill gossip blog.
Warren Rojas is a Heard on the Hill columnist for Roll Call, having previously worked as the founding dining editor for Northern Virginia Magazine and also as a tax reporter for Tax Notes. @WARojas
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