Library of Congress to preserve Miami Sound Machine, 'Footloose'

Miami Sound Machine's crossover hit "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," blockbuster film song "Footloose" and disco anthem "Le Freak" were selected Wednesday by the Library of Congress to be preserved for posterity.

The federal research complex in Washington announced 25 more works to enter the National Recording Registry, in which the Library of Congress safeguards original editions due to their historic importance.

"Rhythm is Gonna Get You," by Cuban-born Gloria Estefan and her group Miami Sound Machine, was groundbreaking on its release in 1987 by finding a mainstream audience for a pop track with Latin undertones.

Estefan said in a statement that the song "set out to create a fusion of rhythms that reflected the musical cultures of our native Cuba and our adopted country, the United States."

"So it is an accolade of particular significance to us that it be honored as an important part of the creative legacy of this great country with its induction into the National Recording Registry," she said.

"Footloose," performed and co-written by Kenny Loggins, became one of film history's most successful songs as the theme to the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon about a small, religious town that bans dancing.

The song "remains today deeply emblematic of the 1980s -- fun, invigorating and, in its way, a little rebellious," the Library of Congress said in its announcement.

Chic's 1978 song "Le Freak" was one of the biggest hits of disco, led by Nile Rodgers' funky guitar and lyrics that name-checked the era.

"Despite the supposed 'death' of disco, Chic's 'Le Freak' has become a staple of wedding receptions, movie soundtracks and nightclubs," the Library of Congress said.

The Library of Congress also will preserve "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and his Comets, the 1954 track that was one of the opening salvos of rock 'n' roll, and the 1965 soundtrack to the film musical mega-hit "The Sound of Music."

Other selections included Harry Belafonte's 1956 album "Calypso," which marked an earlier commercial breakthrough for musical fusion, Motown classic "My Girl" by The Temptations and "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac, a chart-topping 1977 pop album that found musical harmony within a band facing intense personal strife.

Also entering the registry are "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "The Gambler," among the most identifiable hits respectively by pop standard crooner Tony Bennett and country legend Kenny Rogers.

In the registry's latest hip-hop entry, the Library of Congress added Run-D.M.C.'s 1986 album "Raising Hell," which showed the commercial potential of rap.

(AFP)