LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
You must recognize this tune. It was the anthem for a generation of women.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WILL SURVIVE")
GLORIA GAYNOR: (Singing) At first, I was afraid. I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Next month, the Library of Congress will be hosting a Bibliodiscotheque featuring films and lectures and also a performance by none other than disco queen Gloria Gaynor in the Great Hall. The tickets sold out online almost instantly. Two years ago, "I Will Survive" was added to the National Recording Registry at the library, putting it right alongside Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech and Mahler's Symphony No. 9. Bryonna Head, a staffer at the library, told The Washington Post, this is the celebration of an era that changed American culture forever.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WILL SURVIVE")
GAYNOR: (Singing) Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye? Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Come on and sing - you know you want to.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WILL SURVIVE")
GAYNOR: (Singing) I will survive. Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive. And I've got all my life to live. And I've got all my love to give. And I'll survive. I will survive.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Singing) I will survive. Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive. And I've got all my life to live. And I've got all my love to give. And I'll survive. I will survive. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.