Success is in the pipeline for the famous mustachioed plumber.
While Super Mario Bros.
the Movie
got off to the best start of the year, the eponymous game's soundtrack established another feat... and became the first video game soundtrack to become part of America's national heritage.
The mythical piece makes its debut today at the Library of Congress, the American equivalent of the National Library in France.
It lists all the creations that have had a cultural impact in the United States.
To discover
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Mario, Princess Peach and the antagonist Bowser carve out a place for themselves alongside the 624 recordings listed as American national heritage.
Among them, emblematic figures of the American and international music industry such as Pink Floyd or Michael Jackson.
The music from Nintendo's 1985 video game Super Mario Bros was selected because of its status as "
the most recognizable video game theme in history"
.
Dubbed “Ground Theme,” the soundtrack
“helped establish video game legend and proves that Nintendo is capable of great musical complexity and creativity.”
, justifies the Library in a press release.
Indeed, the piece is regularly reused and remixed to follow the adventures of the plumber, in games, films or jingles.
25 new titles
A consecration for its composer, Koji Kondo.
38 years after the creation of the soundtrack, the Japanese artist says he is delighted with this designation.
"It's an honor to see this music preserved alongside so many other historic songs."
"It's a little hard to believe
," he added.
At 61, Koji Kondo still works for Nintendo.
He has done other music for the Super Mario video games, as well as The Legend of Zelda.
"Few musicians are as little known as Koji Kondo when their work is famous internationally
", underlines the Library.
Read alsoVideo games: 2021, a solid year for Nintendo
This year, nearly 25
"national hearing treasures"
will be honored with a place in the National Recording Registry, said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Among these new titles, we find, alongside Super Mario,
"All I Want for Christmas is You"
by Mariah Carey,
"Imagine
" by John Lennon,
"Stairway to Heaven"
by Led Zeppelin or
"Like a Virigin"
by Madonna.
Astronomer Carl Sagan's recording, from his book on humanity's place in the universe "Pale Blue Dot", as well as comments and analysis by NBC radio journalist Dorothy Thompson during the Second World War II are also added to the heritage, as a non-musical recording.
