The Library of Congress has introduced Mary J. Blige‘s seminal sophomore album, My Life, has been added to the Nationwide Recording Registry.
The enduring album qualifies to be preserved all the time based mostly on its “cultural, historic or aesthetic significance within the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
Reflecting on the album, Blige says, “My favourite lyric from the My Life album is, ‘Life may be solely what you make of it.’”
The road is from the soul-stirring title observe, which samples Roy Ayers’ traditional “All people Loves the Sunshine.”
My Life is among the many Nationwide Recording Registry’s 2025 class of 25 audio recordings, which additionally contains Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew (1970), Charley Pleasure’s “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” (1971), Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut album (1988), Céline Dion’s “My Coronary heart Will Go On” (1997) and Amy Winehouse’s Again to Black (2006), to call a couple of.
“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging historical past and tradition. The Nationwide Recording Registry is our evolving nation’s playlist,” says Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Hayden continues, “The Library of Congress is proud and honored to pick out these audio treasures worthy of preservation, together with iconic music throughout a wide range of genres, subject recordings, sports activities historical past and even the sounds of our each day lives with know-how.”
Robbin Ahrold, chair of the Nationwide Recording Preservation Board, provides, “This yr’s Nationwide Recording Registry record is an honor roll of very good American widespread music from the wide-ranging repertoire of our nice nation, from Hawaii to Nashville, from iconic jazz tracks to smash Broadway musicals, from Latin superstars to world pop sensations – a parade of indelible recordings spanning greater than a century.”
My Life was launched Nov. 29, 1994, by way of Uptown Information/MCA Information, because the follow-up to Blige’s 1992 debut, What’s The 411?
The previous album, primarily produced by the late Chucky Thompson, included singles akin to “Mary Jane (All Night time Lengthy),” “I’m Goin’ Down,” “Be Glad” and “You Convey Me Pleasure.”
Relating to the album’s ultimate single, “I Love You,” Thompson informed Rated R&B in 2019, “I used to be attempting to provide that report in a approach that Dr. Dre would produce for her. You hear the little twangy keyboard strains and various things. I simply laced the drums and put that bassline in there to offer it that West Coast really feel.”
My Life peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 in January 1995. By December of that yr, it was licensed 3x platinum by the RIAA for promoting over three million copies within the U.S.
On the thirty eighth Grammy Awards, My Life was nominated for Greatest R&B Album, marking Blige’s first nod for an album.
Whereas she didn’t win in that class, Blige took dwelling a trophy for Greatest Rap Efficiency By A Duo Or Group for her collaboration with Methodology Man, “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Want To Get By.”
Blige teamed up with Amazon Prime Video to premiere her documentary, Mary J. Blige’s My Life, in 2021. The doc, which included Quincy Jones as an govt music producer, explored the makings of Blige’s second album.
Forward of its debut, Blige informed Folks, “My Life is the album that basically bonded me with my followers who’ve since been alongside for what turned out to be a loopy experience. Going again and reliving that point and that music felt like an out-of-body expertise, however one I’m so humbled by.”
In 2022, Rated R&B ranked My Life as Blige’s greatest album so far. “Blige opened her intimate diary and flipped by way of the telling pages in an hour-long set that logged the delicate worries of her coronary heart and thoughts,” wrote Antwane People.
In 2024, Apple Music highlighted My Life amongst its 100 Greatest Albums of All Time record.
See the Library of Congress’ Nationwide Recording Registry Class of 2025 beneath.
Recordings Chosen for the Nationwide Recording Registry in 2025
(chronological order)
- “Aloha ‘Oe” – Hawaiian Quintette (1913) (single)
- “Candy Georgia Brown” – Brother Bones & His Shadows (1949) (single)
- “Glad Trails” – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (1952) (single)
- Radio Broadcast of Sport 7 of the 1960 World Collection – Chuck Thompson (1960)
- Harry Urata Discipline Recordings (1960-1980)
- “Howdy Dummy!”– Don Rickles (1968) (album)
- “Chicago Transit Authority” – Chicago (1969) (album)
- “Bitches Brew” – Miles Davis (1970) (album)
- “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pleasure (1971) (single)
- “I Am Lady” – Helen Reddy (1972) (single)
- “El Rey” – Vicente Fernandez (1973) (single)
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Highway” – Elton John (1973) (album)
- “Earlier than the Subsequent Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender (1975) (single)
- “I’ve Received the Music in Me” – Thelma Houston & Stress Cooker (1975) (album)
- “The Kӧln Live performance” – Keith Jarrett (1975) (album)
- “Fly Like an Eagle” – Steve Miller Band (1976) (album)
- Nimrod Workman Assortment (1973-1994)
- “Tracy Chapman” – Tracy Chapman (1988) (album)
- “My Life” – Mary J. Blige (1994) (album)
- Microsoft Home windows Reboot Chime – Brian Eno (1995)
- “My Coronary heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion (1997) (single)
- “Our American Journey” – Chanticleer (2002) (album)
- “Again to Black” – Amy Winehouse (2006) (album)
- “Minecraft: Quantity Alpha” – Daniel Rosenfeld (2011) (album)
- “Hamilton” – Authentic Broadway Forged Album (2015) (album)
Revisit Mary J. Blige’s My Life on Spotify and Apple Music.