National Recording Registry Radio Features

Since 2006, Ben Manilla Productions and Acompany Studios have produced, for various radio outlets, short documentaries about selected titles from the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. In 2012, the series won the Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence.

These programs can be accessed via the links below.

“Wang Dang Doodle” | 1A (the1a.org)

May 10, 2023

The Sounds of America: “Wang Dang Doodle”
The Super Mario Brothers theme song | 1A (the1a.org)

May 3, 2023

The Sounds of America: The Super Mario Brothers theme song
‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ | WAMU

April 26, 2023

The Sounds of America: ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’
‘Pale Blue Dot’ | WAMU

April 19, 2023

The Sounds of America: “Pale Blue Dot”
The Class of 2023

April 12, 2023

The Sounds of America: The Class of 2023
Partners

https://the1a.org/segments/flaco-jimenez/

Airdate: 4/6/21
Late for the Sky

https://the1a.org/segments/jackson-browne-late-for-the-sky/

Airdate: 3/24/21
Rainbow Connection

https://the1a.org/segments/rainbow-connection/

Airdate: 3/13/21
Robin Williams and Marc Maron

May 11, 2022

Sounds of America: Robin Williams and Marc Maron
‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’

May 4, 2022

The Sounds of America: ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’
Terry Riley ‘In C’

Originally aired April 27, 2022

The Sounds of America: Terry Riley ‘In C’
A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal sophomore album

Originally aired April 20, 2022

The Sounds of America: A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal sophomore album
The Class of 2022

Originally aired April 13, 2022

The Class of 2022
Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come"

Originally aired March 29, 2021
Features Jimmy Cliff, Chris Blackwell, and Justine Henzell

The Sounds of America: The Harder They Come Soundtrack
From ‘Bacon, Beans And Limousines’ To ‘Remain In Light:’ A Special Edition Of ‘The Sounds Of America’

Originally aired: July 4, 2020

From ‘Bacon, Beans And Limousines’ To ‘Remain In Light:’ A Special Edition Of ‘The Sounds Of America’ (WAMU)
Cheap Trick's "Cheap Trick at Budokan"

Originally aired: April 29, 2020
Features the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Nawaka Onsusa, author Michael K. Bourdaghs and Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson

The Sounds of America: Cheap Trick at Budokan (BMP Audio)
Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman"

Originally aired: April 8, 2020
Features songwriter Jimmy Webb, Michael Gray (Country Music Hall of Fame), author Dylan Jones, and Kim Campbell (widow of Glen Campbell)

The Sounds of America: “Wichita Lineman” (BMP Audio)
Dusty Springfield's "Dusty in Memphis"

Originally aired: April 15, 2020
Features Dusty's longtime friend and manager Vicki Wickham, author/musician/educator Warren Zanes, and studio musicians Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman

The Sounds of America: Dusty In Memphis (BMP Audio)
Allen Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"

Originally aired: April 1, 2020
Features Weird Al Yankovic, writer Lily E. Hirsch, biographer Mark Cohen, and Sherman's son Robert Sherman

The Sounds of America: “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” (BMP Audio)
The 1951 National League Tiebreaker Giants/Dodgers playoffs

Originally aired: March 25, 2020
Features Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, ESPN's Claire Smith and author Josh Prager

The Sounds of America Launches on 1A (BMP Audio)
Talking Heads' "Remain in Light"

Originally aired: November 8, 2018
Features author Sytze Steenstra, drummer Chris Frantz, and bassist Tina Weymouth

Talking Heads, ‘Remain in Light’ (BMP Audio)
Don McLean's "American Pie"

Originally aired: October 25, 2018
Features Don McLean, Garth Brooks, and author Raymond I. Schuck

Don McLean’s “American Pie” (BMP Audio)
Richard Pryor's "Wanted: Live in Concert"

Originally aired: August 30, 2018
Features comedian Howie Mandel, daughter Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, and biographer Scott Saul

Richard Pryor’s ‘Wanted: Live in Concert’ (BMP Audio)
Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour"

Originally aired: July 12, 2018
Features biographer Tony Fletcher, Dan Aykroyd, and guitarist Steve Cropper

Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” (BMP Audio)
George Carlin: "Class Clown"

Originally aired: April 27, 2017
Features professor Susan Seizer, manager Jerry Hamza, and comic Marc Maron

George Carlin's "Class Clown" (WNYC)
The Legacy of Clara Schumann

Originally aired: February 9, 2017
Features scholar John Tibbetts, biographer Anna Beer, and Beaux Arts Trio member Menahem Pressler

The Legacy of Clara Schumann (WNYC)
Clifton Chenier: "Boagalusa Boogie"

Originally aired: December 15, 2016
Features son C. J. Chenier, scholar Ann Savoy, and record producer Chris Strachwitcz

Clifton Chenier’s “Bogalusa Boogie” (WNYC)
"I Will Survive": The Best Song to Grace a B-Side

Originally aired: November 3, 2016
Features Gloria Gaynor and music writer Vince Aletti

Inside the National Recording Registry: “I Will Survive” (BMP Audio)
What Make Wes Montgomery a Legend

Originally aired: April 26, 2018
Features musician George Benson, musician Pat Martino and "NYT" writer Peter Keepnews (son of Orrin Keepnews, found of Riverside Records who produced the album)

“The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” (BMP Audio)
"Mary Don't You Weep": The Life of a Song

Originally aired: April 7, 2016
Features pastor/gospel singer Shirley Caesar Williams, music producer/writer Anthony Heilbut, and singer Krayzie Bone.

“Mary, Don’t You Weep”: the Life of a Song (WNYC)
Steve Martin's "A Wild and Crazy Guy"

Originally aired: January 14, 2016
Features historian Sheila Moeschen, Dan Aykroyd, and Steve Martin

Steve Martin’s “A Wild and Crazy Guy” (BMP Audio)
"The Boys of the Lough"

Originally aired: January 7, 2016
Features Brian Conway, radio producer Fiona Ritchie and descendant Jim O'Beirne

“The Boys of the Lough” (BMP Audio)
Radio's: "Sorry, Wrong Number"

Originally aired: November 26, 2015
Features Dorothy Herrmann (Louis Fletcher's daughter) and Steve Darnall (editor of "Nostalgia Digest").

“Sorry, Wrong Number” (BMP Audio)
"Stand": Sly and the Family Stone Want You to Stand Up

Originally aired: November 19, 2015
Features guitarist Freddie Stonem, biographer Jeff Kaliss, and George Clinton

Sly and the Family Stone Want You to Stand Up (BMP Audio)
Linda Ronstadt: "Heart Like a Wheel"

Originally aired: December 18, 2014
Features Ben Fong-Torres (former editor at "Rolling Stone"), manager/record producer Peter Asher, and Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt: “Heart Like a Wheel” (BMP Audio)
"Celia and Johnny": They Invented Salsa

Originally aired: December 4, 2014
Features biographer Ana Cristina Reymunda, bandleader/musician Johnny Pacheco, and music professor Marisol Berrios-Miranda

Celia & Johnny: They Invented Salsa (BMP Audio)
"First Family": Making Fun of the Kennedys

Originally aired: November 21, 2014
Features album co-writer/producer Bob Booker and comedy historian Ronald L. Smith

Making Fun of the Kennedys (WNYC)
Buck Owens Goes to Carnegie Hall

Originally aired: November 14, 2014
Features Owens' biographer Eileen Sisk, music historian Scott B. Bomar, and the band's drummer Willie Cantu

Buck Owens Goes to Carnegie Hall (WNYC)
Leontyne Price: "A Program of Song"

Originally aired: December 13, 2013
Features Renée Fleming, F. Paul Driscoll (editor, "Opera News"), and Daniel Guss (music executive)

Leontyne Price’s A Program of Song (WNYC)
Ornette's Coleman: "The Shape of Jazz to Come"

Originally aired: December 6, 2013
Features Sonny Rollins, Denardo Coleman (son and drummer), and John Litweiler (jazz critic, former editor of "Downbeat" and Coleman biographer)

Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come (BMP Audio)
Will Rogers' "Bacon, Beans and Limousines"

Originally aired: November 22, 2013
Features Lewis Black, archivist Steve Gragert, and biographer Richard D. White, Jr.

Will Rogers’ Bacon, Beans, and Limousines (BMP Audio)
"The Wild Tchoupitoulas"

Originally aired: November 15, 2013
Features Jan Ramsey ("Offbeat"magazine), Big Queen Rita, and Cyril Neville

The Wild Tchoupitoulas (BMP Audio)
Donna Summer: "I Feel Love"

Originally aired: December 21, 2012
Features composer Giorgia Moroder, musicologist Eric Weisbard

Donna Summer: I Feel Love (WNYC)
Vince Guaraldi: "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Originally aired: December 4, 2012
Features Lee Mendelson, drummer Jerry Granelli, and widow Jean Schulz.

Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas (WNYC)
Love: "Forever Changes"

Originally aired: November 30, 2012
Features Maria McKee (sister of band member), guitarist Johnny Echols, and producer Bruce Botnik

Love: Forever Changes (WNYC)
Gabby Pahinui: "Hula Medley"

Originally aired: November 16, 2012
Features Pahinui's son, Cyril Pahinui, University of Hawaii ethnomusicologist Jay Junker, and musician Nickie Hines

Gabby Pahinui: Hula Medley (WNYC)
Professor Longhair: "Tipitina"

Originally aired: January 20, 2012
Features Allen Toussaint, Hugh Laurie, and Irma Thomas

Professor Longhair: Tipitina (WNYC)
Captain Beefheart: "Trout Mask Replica"

Originally aired: January 13, 2012
Features writer Mike Barnes, biographer of Don Van Vliet (a.k.a. Captain Beefheart), band's musical director/drummer John French, and Tom Waits

Captain Beefheart: Trout Mask Replica (BMP Audio)
Phonautograms

Originally aired: January 6, 2012
Features audio historian Patrick Feaster, archeophonist David Giovannoni, and physicist Carl Haber

Phonautogram (BMP Audio)
Howlin' Wolf: "Smokestack Lightning"

Originally aired: December 2010
Features guitarist Hubert Sumlin, daughter Betty Kelly, and producer/historian/journalist Dick Sherman

Howlin’ Wolf: Smokestack Lightning (BMP Audio)
Morton Subotnick: "Silver Apples of the Moon"

Originally aired: December 2010
Features musician David Harrington, Morton Subotnik, and composer Laurie Spiegel

Morton Subotnick: Silver Apples of the Moon (BMP Audio)
R.E.M.: "Radio Free Europe"

Originally aired: December 2010
Features engineer Mitch Easter, radio manager Mike Henry, and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills

R.E.M.: Radio Free Europe (BMP Audio)
Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter"

Originally aired: December 2010
Features Loretta Lynn, Jack White and studio musician/Nashville veteran Harold Ray Bradley

Coal Miner’s Daughter (BMP Audio)
Sons of the Pioneers: "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"

Originally aired: December 2010
Features Gary LeMaster (member of the band), writer Holly George-Warren, and musician Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel)

Sons of the Pioneers: Tumbling Tumbleweeds (BMP Audio)
John Lee Hooker: "Boogie Chillen'"

Originally aired: December 2009
Features author Peter Guralnick and musician Charlie Musselwhite

John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen (WNYC)
John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen (The World from PRX)
Carmen Miranda: "O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem"

Originally aired: December 2009
Features Miranda's son Dori Catmmi and author Martha Gil-Montero

Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem (WNYC)
Carmen Miranda: O Que è Que a Bahiana Tem (The World from PRX)
"The 2000 Year Old Man "

Originally aired: December 2009
Features Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, and author Janet Coleman

The 2,000 Year Old Man (WNYC)
George Jones: "He Stopped Loving Her Today"

Originally aired: December 2009
Features George Jones, country music journalist Hazel Smith, and songwriter Bobby Braddock

George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today (The World from PRX)
Link Wray: "Rumble"

Originally aired: December 2009
Features guitarist Steven Van Zandt, bassist James Hutchinson, and writer Brian Wright-McLeod

Link Wray: Rumble (The World from PRX)
"Head Hunters" Found a New Direction in Jazz

Originally aired: December 28, 2008
Features Herbie Hancock, producer David Rubinson, and author Steve Pond

'Head Hunters' Found A New Direction In Jazz (NPR)
Kitty Wells: Don't Blame the "Honky-Tonk"

Originally aired: December 14, 2008
Features Kitty Wells, Emmylou Harris, and author Mary Bufwack

Kitty Wells: Don't Blame The 'Honky-Tonk' (NPR)
Mercy: Behind Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman"

Originally aired: December 6, 2008
Features Barbara Orbison (Orbison's widow) and Bill Dees (co-writer of "Oh, Pretty Woman')

Mercy: Behind Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman' (NPR)
NYC Mayor LaGuardia's Legendary Radio Readings

Originally aired: November 30, 2008
Features professor/author Dr. Thomas Kessner, former NYC mayor Ed Koch, and Andy Lanset (archivist, WNYC)

NYC Mayor LaGuardia's Legendary Radio Readings (NPR)
T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday"

Originally aired: November 7, 2008
Features musician Duke Robillard, B.B. King, and Walker's daughter Bernita Ruth Walker

T-Bone Walker's 'Stormy Monday' (NPR)
Revisiting Cole Porter's "You're The Top"

Originally aired: December 30, 2007
Features Mark Horowitz (LC Music Division), and Robert Kimball (Estate of Cole Porter)

Revisiting Cole Porter's 'Top' (NPR)
Bob Newhart: "The Button-Down Mind" Changed Modern Comedy

Originally aired: December 23, 2007
Features Conan O'Brien and Bob Newhart

'Button-Down Mind' Changed Modern Comedy (NPR)
"A Change is Gonna Come": Sam Cooke's Swan Song of Protest

Originally aired: December 16, 2007
Features author Peter Guralnick, L.C. Cooke (Sam's brother), and Aretha Franklin

Sam Cooke's Swan Song of Protest (NPR)
"Burnin'": Bob Marley's Reggae Landmark

Originally aired: December 9, 2007
Features music producer Chris Blackwell, singer Rita Marley (Marley's widow), and musicologist Jim Henke

Bob Marley's Reggae Landmark (NPR)
The Fight of the Century: Louis vs. Schmeling

Originally aired: November 25, 2006
Features author Lewis Erenberg, sportswriter Patrick Myler, and Louis' son Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.

The Fight of the Century: Louis vs. Schmeling (NPR)
The Psychedelic Debut of Jimi Hendrix

Originally aired: November 18, 2006
Features musician Vernon Reed, audio engineer Eddie Kramer and musicologist Reuben Jackson

The Psychedelic Debut of Jimi Hendrix (NPR)
"Crazy Blues": Mamie Smith and the Birth of the Blues Market

Originally aired: November 11, 2006
Features former record executive Lawrence Cohn, professor/activist Angela Davis, and Michael Taft (American Folklife Center)

Mamie Smith and the Birth of the Blues Market (NPR)
The Impact of Barber's "Adagio for Strings"

Originally aired: November 4, 2006
Features authors Joe Horowitz, Mortimer Frank and Barbara Heyman

The Impact of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' (NPR)
Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On"

Originally aired: October 28, 2006
Features producer/audio engineer Jack Clement, author Robert Gordon, and Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis: 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' (NPR)