The Library of Congress has announced Mary J. Blige‘s seminal sophomore album, My Life, has been added to the National Recording Registry.
The iconic album qualifies to be preserved for all time based on its “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”
Reflecting on the album, Blige says, “My favorite lyric from the My Life album is, ‘Life can be only what you make of it.’”
The line is from the soul-stirring title track, which samples Roy Ayers’ classic “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”
My Life is among the National Recording Registry’s 2025 class of 25 audio recordings, which also includes Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew (1970), Charley Pride’s “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” (1971), Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut album (1988), Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” (1997) and Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black (2006), to name a few.
“These are the sounds of America – our wide-ranging history and culture. The National 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 select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology.”
Robbin Ahrold, chair of the National Recording Preservation Board, adds, “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, from Hawaii to Nashville, from iconic jazz tracks to smash Broadway musicals, from Latin superstars to global pop sensations – a parade of indelible recordings spanning more than a century.”
My Life was released Nov. 29, 1994, via Uptown Records/MCA Records, as the follow-up to Blige’s 1992 debut, What’s The 411?
The former album, primarily produced by the late Chucky Thompson, included singles such as “Mary Jane (All Night Long),” “I’m Goin’ Down,” “Be Happy” and “You Bring Me Joy.”
Regarding the album’s final single, “I Love You,” Thompson told Rated R&B in 2019, “I was trying to produce that record in a way that Dr. Dre would produce for her. You hear the little twangy keyboard lines and different things. I just laced the drums and put that bassline in there to give it that West Coast feel.”
My Life peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 in January 1995. By December of that year, it was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA for selling over three million copies in the U.S.
At the 38th Grammy Awards, My Life was nominated for Best R&B Album, marking Blige’s first nod for an album.
While she did not win in that category, Blige took home a trophy for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for her collaboration with Method Man, “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need 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 executive music producer, explored the makings of Blige’s second album.
Ahead of its debut, Blige told People, “My Life is the album that really bonded me with my fans who have since been along for what turned out to be a crazy ride. Going back and reliving that time and that music felt like an out-of-body experience, but one I’m so humbled by.”
In 2022, Rated R&B ranked My Life as Blige’s best album to date. “Blige opened her intimate diary and flipped through the telling pages in an hour-long set that logged the sensitive worries of her heart and mind,” wrote Antwane Folk.
In 2024, Apple Music highlighted My Life among its 100 Best Albums of All Time list.
See the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry Class of 2025 below.
Recordings Selected for the National Recording Registry in 2025
(chronological order)
- “Aloha ‘Oe” – Hawaiian Quintette (1913) (single)
- “Sweet Georgia Brown” – Brother Bones & His Shadows (1949) (single)
- “Happy Trails” – Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (1952) (single)
- Radio Broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series – Chuck Thompson (1960)
- Harry Urata Field Recordings (1960-1980)
- “Hello Dummy!”– Don Rickles (1968) (album)
- “Chicago Transit Authority” – Chicago (1969) (album)
- “Bitches Brew” – Miles Davis (1970) (album)
- “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride (1971) (single)
- “I Am Woman” – Helen Reddy (1972) (single)
- “El Rey” – Vicente Fernandez (1973) (single)
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Elton John (1973) (album)
- “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender (1975) (single)
- “I’ve Got the Music in Me” – Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker (1975) (album)
- “The Kӧln Concert” – Keith Jarrett (1975) (album)
- “Fly Like an Eagle” – Steve Miller Band (1976) (album)
- Nimrod Workman Collection (1973-1994)
- “Tracy Chapman” – Tracy Chapman (1988) (album)
- “My Life” – Mary J. Blige (1994) (album)
- Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime – Brian Eno (1995)
- “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion (1997) (single)
- “Our American Journey” – Chanticleer (2002) (album)
- “Back to Black” – Amy Winehouse (2006) (album)
- “Minecraft: Volume Alpha” – Daniel Rosenfeld (2011) (album)
- “Hamilton” – Original Broadway Cast Album (2015) (album)
Revisit Mary J. Blige’s My Life on Spotify and Apple Music.