Mario Music to Join U.S. Library of Congress Archive

Jiji Press

16:14 JST, April 17, 2023

WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — The famous theme music from Nintendo Co.’s classic game title Super Mario Bros. will be archived by the U.S. Library of Congress as part of its permanent collection, the library has said.

It is part of the latest selection of 25 recordings to join the library’s National Recording Registry as audio treasures worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in U.S. recorded sound heritage.

It marks the first time for video game music to join the registry and an extremely rare case of music created by a Japanese composer being archived.

The “Ground Theme” for the 1985 Super Mario Bros. title, composed by Nintendo’s Koji Kondo, is “a jaunty, Latin-influenced melody that’s instantly recognizable around the world today,” the library said.

“Having this music preserved alongside so many other classic songs is such a great honor,” the 61-year-old Kondo is quoted by the library as saying. “It’s actually a little bit difficult to believe,” he said.

Other music in the same selection includes “Imagine” by John Lennon, “Like a Virgin” by Madonna and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.

“The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said on Wednesday.