70 recordings make Hall of Fame

“Free Bird!” -- it’s not just a drunken concert shout-out anymore. Now the Lynyrd Skynyrd Southern rock classic is officially “timeless,” one of 70 recordings to be added to the Grammy Hall of Fame by the Recording Academy.

The Skynyrd track is joined by the Beatles’ “Help!,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, Louis Armstrong’s “St. Louis Blues,” Arthur Nikisch’s 1914 recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and tracks or albums by piano men Billy Joel and Vladimir Horowitz, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Willie Nelson and dozens more

The Hall of Fame’s roster now totals 798 recordings that are at least 25 years old.

-- Randy Lewis