Entertainment

‘Stand by Me’ Among 25 Records Being Preserved at US Library

Published

11 years ago

March 25, 2015

In this Nov. 15, 2011 file photo, American soul singer Ben E. King speaks during a news conference in Tokyo. One of the most broadcast songs of the 20th century, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me,” has been selected for preservation at the Library of Congress, along with recordings from Joan Baez, The Righteous Brothers, Steve Martin and the darker sounds of the band Radiohead. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the most broadcast songs of the 20th century, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me,” has been selected for preservation at the Library of Congress, along with recordings from Joan Baez, The Righteous Brothers, Steve Martin and the darker sounds of the band Radiohead.

Twenty-five sound recordings spanning from 1890 to 1999 were added Wednesday to the library’s National Recording Registry. Each year the library chooses recordings that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

Some of the unforgettable tunes being archived include “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” from Johnny Mercer in 1944, Baez’s first solo album, The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” and Steve Martin’s “A Wild and Crazy Guy” comedy album, which broke new ground in the 1970s as Martin broke out of formulaic jokes and punchlines for less predictable humor.

Upon hearing of his archive-worthy achievement, Martin deadpanned: “I could not be more proud of this honor. This means the record was probably funny.”

The Library of Congress has been seeking to preserve important sound recordings for 15 years under terms of a preservation act passed by Congress.

In the 1960s, King originally intended his song “Stand by Me” for his former group, the Drifters, but he ended up recording it himself. The song is anchored by one of the best-known bass lines in history, curators said. A few years later, The Righteous Brothers were recording “Lovin’ Feelin.'” They thought the song was wrong for them at first but ended up with a hit.

The oldest recordings being saved are in the form of 600 wax cylinder recordings at the University of California, Santa Barbara, that were recorded by consumers in the 1890s, 1900s and 1910s as snapshots of everyday life. These are among the most endangered audio formats because their grooves are fragile and the wax decomposes over time. Another set of wax-cylinder recordings from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair captured sounds of musicians from around the world performing at the fair, giving Americans their first exposure to “world music.”

Other historic recordings chosen for preservation include radio coverage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral in 1945 and the 1953 theatrical recording of “John Brown’s Body,” based on a Civil War poem that proved commercially successful as a non-musical play.

Curators also deemed some more recent recordings worthy of preservation, include tunes from TV’s “Sesame Street.” The children’s show used music as an integral part of its educational program and drew stars ranging from B.B. King to R.E.M. and the Dixie Chicks. The library chose the 1995 recording “Sesame Street: All-Time Platinum Favorites” for the registry.

Public nominations lifted Radiohead’s 1997 album “OK Computer” to the curators’ attention after several years, with an album’s information-age dystopia characterized by corrupt politicians, psychopaths, consumerism and airline disasters.

“I sort of see it as part of a certain ongoing phenomenon in rock music that maybe begins with the Velvet Underground but also The Doors, who are on the registry this year. Pop music is not entirely positive in its outlook, shall we say,” curator Matt Barton said. “I think we can say that ‘OK Computer’ really sums a lot of that up.”

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Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

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OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

3 days ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.