Super Mario Bros. Theme Selected For National Recording Registry

It must be music to Nintendo's ears to hear that the Super Mario Bros. theme has been added to the National Recording Registry. The US Library of Congress highlighted that this is the first time ever that a video game song has been recognized for the registry.

Mentioned as "probably the most recognizable" video game theme song in history, the Library of Congress honored Koji Kondo and Nintendo on Twitter. The Super Mario Bros. theme is part of the class of 2023 for the registry. It joins other notable works of music like Madonna's Like A Virgin and Daddy Yankee's Gasolina.

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

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden stated that the registry "preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation's diverse culture." Twenty-five recordings were added to the collection this year, with the Super Mario Bros. theme becoming one of just 625 songs overall.

Kondo has had a prolific career composing video game music. He's not only known for his work on Mario games, but also his contributions to The Legend of Zelda franchise. Kondo also assisted on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which broke a ton of records this past weekend.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie already sports the biggest opening weekend box office haul worldwide for an animated film and video game movie. It raked in $377 million, surpassing previous record-holders Frozen 2 ($358 million) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($141 million).

For more on the film, check out GameSpot's Super Mario Bros. Movie review.