Deceased rapper Tupac Shakur's "Dear Mama" was inducted yesterday to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The song joins tracks from R.E.M., Willie Nelson, and The Band. The entire list of 25 inductees can be viewed below.
Under the terms of the 2000 National Recording Preservation Act, the criteria for preservation by the Library of Congress are that the work be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and be a minimum of 10 years old. In its citation for Shakur's "Dear Mama," the NRPB called the song a "moving and eloquent homage to both his own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference."
The new batch of inductees brings the total to 300 recordings in the National Recording Registry.
2010 National Recording Registry Inductees 1. Fon der Choope (From the Wedding) - Abe Elenkrig's Yidishe Orchestra (April 4, 1913) 2. "Canal Street Blues," King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (April 5, 1923) 3. "Tristan und Isolde," Metropolitan Opera, featuring Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior, NBC Broadcast (March 9, 1935) 4. "When You Wish Upon a Star," Cliff Edwards (recorded 1938; released 1940) 5. "America's Town Meeting of the Air: Should Our Ships Convoy Materials to England?" (May 8, 1941) 6. The Library of Congress Marine Corps Combat Field Recording Collection, Second Battle of Guam (July 20 - August 11, 1944) 7. "Evangeline Special" and "Love Bridge Waltz," Iry LeJeune (1948) 8. "The Little Engine That Could," narrated by Paul Wing (1949) 9. Leon Metcalf Collection of recordings of the First People of Western Washington State (1950-1954) 10. "Tutti Frutti," Little Richard (1955) 11. "Smokestack Lightning," Howlin' Wolf (1956) 12. "Gypsy," original cast recording (1959) 13. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, Bill Evans Trio (June 25, 1961) 14. "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)," Max Mathews (1961) 15. "I Started Out As a Child," Bill Cosby (1964) 16. "Azucar Pa Ti," Eddie Palmieri (1965) 17. "Today!," "Mississippi" John Hurt (1966) 18. "Silver Apples of the Moon," Morton Subotnick (1967) 19. "Soul Folk in Action," The Staple Singers (1968) 20. "The Band," The Band (1969) 21. "Coal Miner's Daughter," Loretta Lynn (1970) 22. "Red Headed Stranger," Willie Nelson (1975) 23. "Horses," Patti Smith (1975) 24. "Radio Free Europe," R.E.M. (1981) 25. "Dear Mama," Tupac Shakur (1995)
