Tag Archives: Before the Next Teardrop Falls

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” Cast Album Added to Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry

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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical has earned a place in the Registry.

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican award-winning actor, composer, lyricist, producer, director and playwright’s cast album for his Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation Hamilton: An American Musical is among this year’s 25 additions to the National Recording Registry, which is administered by the Library of Congress.

HamiltonThis year’s selections span 102 years, from 1913 (a recording of “Aloha ‘Oe” by Hawaiian Quintette) to 2015 (Miranda’s Hamilton cast album).

Hamilton (2015) is the first Broadway cast album that was released since Sweeney Todd in 1979 to be selected.

The album, like the musical, has been a best-selling phenomenon, receiving Diamond certification (meaning 10 million copies sold) from the RIAA in 2023.

Produced by The Roots members Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, the album preserves the musical’s original Broadway cast, and released September 25, 2015, via Atlantic Records.

Freddy Fender’s country/pop smash “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1975) has also been added to the Registry.

The late Mexican American singer’s song is one of three songs on the Registry to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Before the Next Teardrop Falls” topped that chart for two weeks.

The single — which features verses sung in both English and Spanish — broke boundaries in the music industry by becoming a crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on both the Hot Country Songs chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

Fender’s emotive performance and heartfelt delivery turned the song into a classic, showcasing the power of Latin voices in country music — a genre that initially had limited representation from Hispanic artists.

Vicente Fernández’s enduring ranchera classic “El Rey” (1973), one of the most recognizable songs in Regional Mexican music, joined the roster of Latin recordings in the Registry.

The late Mexican singer and actor’s iconic song appears on his 1973 album, El Ídolo de México, and it was written by José Alfredo Jiménez in 1971.

With its kingly themes of resilience and pride, “El Rey” has become emblematic of Chente’s enduring legacy, even inspiring a 2022 Netflix bioseries of the same name that celebrates his life and career. The mariachi singer — who died in 2021 — remains one of Mexico’s most celebrated musical figures, and his induction into the Registry further solidifies his enduring legacy.

More than 2,600 nominations were made by the public this year.

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Recordings become eligible for the Registry 10 years after release, compared to 25 years for the Grammy Hall of Fame. (Which means the Hamilton cast album won’t be eligible there for another 15 years.)

“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation.”

Industry veteran Robbin Ahrold serves as chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. “This year’s National Recording Registry list is an honor roll of superb American popular music from the wide-ranging repertoire of our great nation,” he said in a statement.

These 25 recordings bring the number of titles on the Registry to 675. This represents just a tiny fraction of the Library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly four million items.

Here’s the complete list of 2025 additions to the National Recording Registry. They are listed in chronological order by release date.

  • “Aloha ‘Oe” – Hawaiian Quintette (1913, Victor)
  • “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Brother Bones & His Shadows (1949, Tempo)
  • “Happy Trails” – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (1952, RCA Victor)
  • Radio Broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series – Chuck Thompson (1960)
  • Harry Urata Field Recordings (1960-1980)
  • Hello Dummy! – Don Rickles (1968, Warner Bros.)
  • Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago (1969, Columbia)
  • Bitches Brew – Miles Davis (1970, Columbia)
  • “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride (1971, RCA Victor)
  • “I Am Woman” – Helen Reddy (1972, Capitol)
  • “El Rey” – Vicente Fernández (1973, CBS)
  • Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (1973, MCA)
  • “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender (1975, ABC/Dot)
  • I’ve Got the Music in Me – Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker (1975, Sheffield Lab)
  • The Kӧln Concert – Keith Jarrett (1975, ECM)
  • Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (1976, Capitol)
  • Nimrod Workman Collection (1973-1994)
  • Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988, Elektra)
  • My Life – Mary J. Blige (1994, Uptown/MCA)
  • Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime – Brian Eno (1995)
  • “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion (1997, 550 Music/Epic)
  • Our American Journey – Chanticleer (2002) (album, Warner Classics International)
  • Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (2006 album, Republic/Universal Music)
  • Minecraft: Volume Alpha – Daniel Rosenfeld (2011 album, self-released)
  • Hamilton: An American Musical – Original Broadway Cast Album (2015 album, Atlantic)

Raul Malo & The Mavericks Cover Freddy Fender’s Classic “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”

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Raul Malo is celebrating his band’s anniversary with the help of a Latino country music legend…

The 54-year-old Cuban American country singer/guitarist and his The Mavericks mates have covered Freddy Fender’s iconic “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” for their next album.

Raul Malo & The Mavericks

The band recorded the late singer’s song because the track holds special meaning to frontman Malo.

“When I was a kid, that song meant a lot to me, and it meant a lot to my dad,” Malo tells Billboard of the song, a platinum 1975 single for Fender, one of only a half-dozen songs that year to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Country Singlescharts. 

“We would be driving around Miami listening to it, and I remember it being a really proud moment whenever it was played. Even though my family’s Cuban and Freddy’s Mexican, just the fact there was a Latin male on the pop charts and on TV singing this beautiful song, it was a source of pride.”

Malo adds, “It had a verse in Spanish, and it was on the pop charts and on the country charts. You think, ‘My gosh, how does that happen?’ Of course, those are the mysteries of the music business. That’s why we love it and hate it at the same time, but [the song] was a sweet miracle, for sure.”

Malo says “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” will be part of a covers set due out this fall, likely late October or early November, that commemorates the Mavericks’ 30th anniversary, which the group has been touring to celebrate all year. The genre-hopping group has already released a rendition of John Anderson‘s “Swingin‘,” and Malo says the rest of the album will feature “a collection of songs that have meant something to us — there are some classic country music songs in there, obviously, and there’s a few surprises thrown in there for good measure.”

The group is continuing to play live and celebrate an eclectic, idiosyncratic career that began with three straight top 10 country albums and a Grammy Award, as well as a resumption in 2012 — following an eight-year hiatus — that’s  brought four more albums and the launch of the group’s own Mono Mundo Recordings label in 2017.

“I feel like an old vampire that has all this wisdom, but I’m still in the game and it’s been an amazing ride,” Malo says. “The Mavericks have been counted out, almost sort of the outsider. That’s been frustrating, but I realized a while ago it’s a good place to be, and we can turn that to our advantage however we want to. I like the paths we’ve taken, and our willingness to take chances. When you live a little outside the rules and outside of the game, you can really do whatever you want. That’s what works for us and what works for our fans as well.”