Bispham! Bispham! Bispham!

One of my favorite annual announcements happened last week: the United States Library of Congress announced the 2023 inductees for the National Recording Registry. As the Library’s website notes, “Each year, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress chooses 25 recordings showcasing the range and diversity of American recorded sound heritage in order to increase preservation awareness.”

This year’s inductees range stylistically from Very First Mariachi Recordings by Cuarteto Coculense (1907-1909) to “Flashdance…What a Feeling” by Irene Cara (1983) to Koji Kondo’s “Super Mario Theme” (1985).

One great aspect of the National Recording Registry is that anybody can nominate a song, album, or spoken word piece for induction. With nominations open for 2024, I have already nominated what I believe is a worthy song:

“Danny Deever”, as sung by David Bispham.

My nomination is a surprise to no one who have been on one of my Laurel Hill Cemetery tours. Bispham is the final stop on nearly every tour I do. I tell the story of how Bispham blew Teddy Roosevelt’s mind when he sang “Danny Deever” (lyrics based on a Rudyard Kipling poem) at the White House.

Bispham’s “Danny Deever” is iconic and should be in the LoC’s NRR. Give it a listen and, if you agree, nominate it at this website today!

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