Ramones’ 1976 debut added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry

The Ramones’ classic 1976 self-titled debut album was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry today alongside 25 other songs and records — including Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack — as examples of the “richness and variety of our audio heritage.”

The 25 sound recordings, which include a 1958 address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower that was relayed by satellite, were “marked for preservation because of their cultural, artistic and historic importance to the nation’s aural legacy,” according to the Library of Congress.

James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, said in a press statement:

“Congress created the National Recording Registry to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio heritage and to underscore our responsibility for long-term preservation, to assure that legacy can be appreciated and studied for generations. Our challenge, however, continues to be finding collaborative and innovative ways to protect and make available this unmatched legacy to the public.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Library of Congress each year selects 25 recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and at least 10 years old for inclusion on the registry, which to date includes 375 recordings — including R.E.M.’s “Radio Free Europe.”

See the full list of 2012 inductees below:

2012 National Recording Registry (listed in chronological order)

“After You’ve Gone,” Marion Harris (1918)
“Bacon, Beans and Limousines,” Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
“Begin the Beguine,” Artie Shaw (1938)
“You Are My Sunshine,” Jimmie Davis (1940)
D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
“Just Because,” Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
“South Pacific,” Original Cast Album (1949)
“Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature,” Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
President’s Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
“A Program of Song,” Leontyne Price (1959)
“The Shape of Jazz to Come,” Ornette Coleman (1959)
“Crossing Chilly Jordan,” The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
“The Twist,” Chubby Checker (1960)
“Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s,” Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
“Hoodoo Man Blues,” Junior Wells (1965)
“Sounds of Silence,” Simon and Garfunkel (1966)
“Cheap Thrills,” Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
“The Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd (1973)
“Music Time in Africa,” Leo Sarkisian, host (July 29, 1973)
“Wild Tchoupitoulas,” The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
“Ramones,” The Ramones (1976)
“Saturday Night Fever,” The Bee Gees, et al (1977)
“Einstein on the Beach,” Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
“The Audience with Betty Carter,” Betty Carter (1980)