DESERT ISLAND DISCS: JOHN LEGEND (320kbs-m4a/80mb/35mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 7th August 2022
The American singer and songwriter John Legend has won two Emmys, 12 Grammys, an Oscar and a Tony award – making him one of only 16 living artists to have won all four honours. One of his songs, All of Me, written for his wife, the model Chrissy Teigen, has been streamed more than four billion times on digital platforms.
He was born John Stephens in Springfield, Ohio into a musical family. His father played drums in church, where his mother conducted the choir. John took piano lessons from an early age and soon became involved in arranging music for the church.
He attended university at the age of 16 and after graduating worked as a management consultant for four years, while pursuing his interest in music out of office hours. He signed his first record deal after working with Kanye West early in his career, and took on the stage name John Legend, releasing his first solo album in 2004.
Alongside his musical career, he has acted on TV and film, including a role in the highly successful La La Land. He has performed at three Presidential inauguration ceremonies – for President Obama in 2009 and 2013, and for President Biden in 2021.
John lives in the USA with his wife and their two children.
BOOK CHOICE: The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow
LUXURY ITEM: A piano
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Here Comes the Sun by Nina Simone
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
Nina Simone - Here Comes The Sun [RCA]
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) [Rhino/Elektra]
Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming [Rhino/Atlantic]
JAY-Z - Roc Boys (And the Winner Is).. [Roc Nation/Jay-Z]
Stevie Wonder - As [UNI/Motown]
Beyoncé - Love On Top [Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia]
Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E [Capitol]
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly [Rhino]
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