25 recordings are joining the Library of Congress‘ National Recording Registry, which means they have been deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” Among pop and rock classics like “Stairway to Heaven” and “Like a Virgin”, one listing stands out: the Super Mario Bros. theme.
A video game theme song, probably the most recognizable in history, is also a first for the #NatRecRegistry. The Super Mario Bros. theme by Koji Kondo helped establish the game's legendary status & proved that the Nintendo sound chip was capable of vast musical complexity. pic.twitter.com/RHPaXV1WLs
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) April 12, 2023
The iconic theme, composed by video game music legend Koji Kondo, captured players hearts and imaginations in 1985 upon Super Mario Bros. release. Officially titled “Ground Theme”, the theme now holds the title of first piece of video game music to be inducted into the registry.
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Kondo, who still works for Nintendo, told the Library of Congress, “The amount of data that we could use for music and sound effects was extremely small, so I really had to be very innovative and make full use of the musical and programming ingenuity that we had at the time…I used all sorts of genres that matched what was happening on screen. We had jingles to encourage players to try again after getting a ‘game over,’ fanfares to congratulate them for reaching goals and pieces that sped up when the time remaining grew short.” Kondo stated it was an honor to have a composition of his inducted into the National Recording Registry.
