It may be true what they say about old soldiers and the American South after all, if the Library of Congress National Recording Registry has anything to say about it.

"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away," Gen. Douglas MacArthur said to a joint session of Congress in 1951 after President Harry S. Truman relieved him of command for advocating an invasion of China.

Now that speech will be preserved in perpetuity, along with Edward R. Murrow's broadcast from London in 1940 during the blitzkrieg at the Battle of Britain and Neil Armstrong's 1969 comments from the moon.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said in one of the most memorable moments in American history.

In addition to its interest in war and science, the preservation board must also be hiding a few southern sympathizers, since no less than five of the 50 choices to be preserved this year come from distinct southern voices.

It will come as no surprise to Southern Rock aficionados that the board chose to immortalize the Allman Brothers Band's "Live at Fillmore East," surely one of the most played and worn out vinyl records of all time.

To country music fans with knowledge of the South and the music emanating from Alabama, it will not come as a shock that the board chose Hank Williams' 1949 classic "Lovesick Blues," which became a No. 1 hit and propelled the hard drinking, twangy balladeer from a regional success to national stardom and a record six encores at the Grand Ole Opry.

Nashville greats Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs make the list this year too, with the bluegrass classic "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," which was featured in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.

The board didn't leave out Mississippi this year either, although delta blues great Muddy Waters recorded "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" in Chicago in 1954.

Not to leave out the gospel spiritual genre, the board included another set of classic numbers from Alabama, the 1955 recordings of the Tuskegee Institute Choir directed by William L. Dawson.

And not just to show all the great music doesn't come from the South, the board celebrates the incredible diversity of American music by choosing to preserve the broadway show tunes of George Gershwin and the hip-hop of Public Enemy.

Michael Feinstein paid tribute to Gershwin, along with Fred and Adele Astair, by performing "Fascinating Rhytm" on Gershwin's own grand piano, now on permanent display at the Library of Congress in the Jefferson Building.

When asked why the preservation of American music was so important to him, Feinstein said a number of people do not understand how many important recordings have been lost forever, including some of Bruce Springstein's masters.

"Whether it's the Beatles or great Appalachian music, people need to understand that it will not survive forever on that old scratchy record album or cassette tape," he said. "If we don't preserve it here, it could be lost forever."

He also indicated that commercial record companies don't always do such a great job of utilizing and preserving great music, especially after it enters the public domain after 50 years in Europe and no longer has significant economic value.

Hip-hop pioneer Chuck D. was also on hand for the event in Washington. His archives are being digitized by the University of Florida, but his pioneering "Fear of a Black Planet" from 1989 made the list to be preserved and archived in Washington this year.

He said he it was just "an honor" to be included in the same collection as Gershwin and the rest.

As for the South, it may not rise again, but its voices will live on in the music record, now.

And as for old soldiers, they may fade away, but their words will not die.

For more information, visit the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board online.

Glynn Wilson