The music business is bloated with award shows that serve as mass marketing events, meant to magnify artist exposure and, hopefully, boost record sales. But there are certain honors that have a timeless impact beyond immediate commercial gain. These are tributes that, rather than publicity, bestow prestige on artists and serve to enhance the legacy of their recordings.
Such is the case with the National Recording Registry (NRR), an exclusive roster curated by the Library of Congress for recordings deemed of special historical significance. Since 2002, the registry has annually added recordings considered to be “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the program’s website.
Among the 25 works that made the prestigious list for the year 2020 is the album Partners by Flaco Jimenez, the San Antonio conjunto legend whose recordings represent a cornerstone of the Frontera Collection.
Read more on the Frontera Collection blog.