Library of Congress adds Jamie Principle’s “Your Love” to National Recording Registry

One of the signature tracks of the early Chicago house music era has been inducted in to the National Recording Registry.

Jamie Principle‘s “Your Love” — the 1986 release and Frankie Knuckles‘ 1987 rework — are among 25 tracks inducted into the National Recording Registry of the US Library of Congress for 2026. The tracks are among just 700 selected in the Registry’s history which represent “the defining sounds of history and culture.”

Other releases selected this year include Chaka Khan’s 1984 single “I Feel For You,” Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” and Taylor Swift’s entire “1989” album.

“The 2026 selections span the sounds of country, pop, jazz, sports, Latin, folk, funk, R&B and more,” the LOC wrote in a release. “The Library of Congress works with partners to ensure each recording will be preserved at the Library or by another entity and available for future generations.”

“Music and recorded sound are essential, wonderful parts of our daily lives and our national heritage. The National Recording Registry works to preserve our national playlist for generations to come,” Newlen said. “The Library of Congress is proud to select these audio treasures and will work to preserve them with our partners in the recording industry.”

“When I did ‘Your Love,’ I had one keyboard at that time. I played live drums. The bass line was being played live.”

“The songs I was writing were pretty much for myself, playing them in my home because those were the things I wanted to hear,” Jamie Principle told 5 Mag editor-in-chief Czarina Mirani in a 5 Mag cover story. “I had a basic 4-track situation at my house. When I did ‘Your Love,’ I had one keyboard at that time. I played live drums. The bass line was being played live….

“When I did ‘Your Love,’ there were actually four other songs that went with that package. One was ‘I’m Gonna Make You Scream,’ ‘Cold World,’ ‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Waiting on My Angel.’ The last song was technically the only song that came out on vinyl. Everything else was on cassettes and reel-to-reel at the time.”

Louie Gomez was working at a mall on the southside of Chicago when “one day here comes Jamie walking down the hallway looking like the coolest new wave guy you’ve ever seen: grey vintage jacket, purple knit gloves, skinny jeans, black Fiorucci sunglasses and two different colored Chuck Taylor gym shoes.

“I just knew I had to strike up a conversation with this interesting looking guy. We quickly became friends because of our shared interest in music, fashion and ideas, and he also happened to be from the south side, not far from where I lived.”

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Jamie played a demo of “Your Love” for him. “I loved it,” Louie told Czarina in a later interview. Louie “suggested a longer version, which led to him inviting me to Soto Sound Studio to work on a remix.

“[When] I met Jamie at the studio, I remember smoking a joint before going in because I was so nervous, and so there I was pretty high as we started on this mix of “Your Love” which turned into this trippy vocal dub with an extended bassline, an arpeggio intro and a crazy drum break in the middle with pitched tom toms and lots and lots of delays. I guess it was the weed lol…”

Gomez remembered loitering around the I.R.S. record pool, waiting for Frankie Knuckles to pick up his latest vinyl (that’s the way promos were distributed back in the day…)

“It was there that I handed Frankie a copy of my remix of ‘Your Love’ on reel-to-reel tape. and to my surprise that following weekend he played it at the Warehouse. The night he first played it, I remember the lights turning off on the dancefloor and hearing that distinct arpeggio playing through the speakers and then that analog bassline from the Korg Mono/Poly, oh wow!!

“I brought Jamie to the record pool with me for them to meet and I tell you, none of us had any idea the lasting impact all of this would have,” he said.

Frankie would play Louie’s vocal dub in his sets “for almost an entire year,” Louie recalled (and once again: that’s how things were back in the day…) Jamie told 5 Mag that Frankie would take him to a friend’s studio where “I did a demo version of ‘Cold World,’ ‘Baby Wants to Ride’ and ‘Bad Boy.’ That’s the one that Trax wound up releasing, and they never had the rights to release any of my stuff.”

The Registry’s notes describe “Your Love” as “an influential recording in the worlds of electronica and modern club culture… “Your Love” began its journey to the dance floor in 1982 from the creative energies of Chicago songwriter, composer and producer Jamie Principle. After being passed around on reel-to-reel tapes and audio cassettes, “Your Love” was published on the Persona label in 1986 with a mix by Principle and DJ Louie Gomez. Reworked by Frankie Knuckles in 1987, this explosive and widely recognized version incorporates additional musical effects and vocal contributions of Adrienne Jett, while still honoring the essence of the original remix. The song’s enduring legacy underscores its importance as a cultural artifact and a groundbreaking work in the history of house music and electronica.”

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