Super Mario Bros. theme to become first video game music in US Library of Congress

Recording archive to include 25 more items among ‘defining sounds of nation’s history’, including Madonna’s Like a Virgin

The original 1985 theme from Super Mario Bros, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You and Madonna’s 1984 album Like a Virgin are among “the defining sounds of the nation’s history and culture” to be given places in the US national recording registry, the Library of Congress has announced.

The Super Mario Bros. music, officially known as the Ground Theme, written by the young Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, becomes the first music from a video game to enter the registry, which the library called “the most recognisable video game theme in history”. The tune has appeared in countless Mario-related incarnations.