Stephen King, Jack Higgins, Bernard Cornwell, and other authors pick tunes for a desert island stint

June 17, 11:12 AMBook ExaminerMichelle Kerns

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                  Stephen King loves "She Loves You"

BBC Radio 4 airs a nifty little show, Desert Island Discs, in which authors, actors, politicians, and other ladies and gentlemen of interest are asked to name the eight pieces of music they would take with them if they were to be marooned on a desert island. The cast aways are then also asked to choose one luxury (with the stipulation that it must be inanimate and not allow escape or communication with the outside world), and one book, along with the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare.

Desert Island Discs has featured a number of authors over the years -- including Stephen King, Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin, Margaret Atwood, Jack Higgins, P.D. James, and Nick Hornby -- and, for bookish people, it is unendingly interesting to get an inside glimpse into the inner world of these famous scribblers.

Take a look at some of their choices; I think you'll find some pretty surprising.

Stephen King's Desert Island Disc selections

1.She Loves You (Huzzah to that)
Performer The Beatles
CD Title One

2.Desolation Row
Performer Bob Dylan
CD Title Highway 61 Revisited

3 Choctaw Bingo
Performer James McMurtry
CD Title Saint Mary of the Woods

4.Middle of the Road
Performer The Pretenders
CD Title Learning to Crawl

5.Barrier Reef
Performer Old 97’s
CD Title Alive and Wired

6.Ramrod
Performer Bruce Springsteen
CD Title The River

7.Pon De Replay
Performer Rihanna
CD Title Rihanna: Pon De Replay

8.When the Stars Go Blue
Performer  Ryan Adams
CD Title Gold

Mr. King chose The Collected Poetry of W.H. Auden as his book and a water hammock as his luxury.

 

Jack Higgins' Desert Island Disc selections

1. They Can't Take that Away from Me
Performer Fred Astaire
CD Title Fred Astaire:Songs from the Movies

2. Danny Boy (This makes me cry every time I hear it)
Performer The Choirboys
CD Title The Choirboys

3. A Foggy Day
Performer Fred Astaire
CD Title Songs from the Movies

4. The Grand March from Verdi's Aida
Performer The Mounted Band of the Blues and Royals
CD Title Music from the 1991 Royal Tournament

5. Le Pastour (Shepherd)
Performer Peter Katin
CD Title Children's Corner: Peter Katin, piano
 
6. Gloria - from Misa Criolla - the Brazilian Mass
Performer Mercedes Sosa
CD Title Misa Criolla Mercedes Sosa

7. Sailing
Performer Rod Stewart
CD Title Atlantic Crossing

8. Let's Face the Music and Dance
Performer Fred Astaire
CD Title The Cream of Fred Astaire

Mr. Higgins' chose The Complete Works of Dickens as his book and a mobile phone as his luxury, which I'm not sure how he got away with since the luxury isn't supposed to allow communication with the outside world. I suppose the host was a sucker for spy novels and decided to give Mr. Higgins a pass on that one.

 

P.D. James' Desert Island Disc selections

1. St Matthew Passion
Performer: Monteverdi Choir and the London Oratory Junior School with the Baroque Soloists, conductor John Eliot Gardiner
Composer: Bach
CD Title: St Matthew Passion 

2. Agnus Dei 
Performer: Kings College Choir
Composer: Fauré
CD Title: Faure's Requiem

3. A String of Pearls (I could certainly listen to this every day on a desert island for the rest of my life)
Performer: The Universal International Orchestra, conductor Joseph Gershenon
CD Title: The Glen Miller Story

4. J'attendrai
Performer: Jean Sablon
Composer: Poterat/Olivieri
CD Title: 25 Continental All Time Greats

5. Concerto for two Trumpets in C Major 
Performer: Philip Jones and John Wilbraham with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conductor Neville Marriner
Composer: Vivaldi
CD Title: Baroque Weekend

6. The Importance of Being Earnest 
Performer Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell interviewing Sir John Gielgud as John Worthing
Author: Oscar Wilde
CD Title: Voice of Poetry 

7. Ave Verum Corpus
Performer: The Hatfield Philharmonia Chorus
Composer: Mozart
CD Title: Classics - Carols

8. Is Life A Boon?
Performer: Kurt Streit with Academy and Chorus of St Martin in the Fields
Composer: Gilbert and Sullivan
CD Title: Gilbert and Sullivan's "Yeoman of the Guard"

Ms. James would take Tolstoy's War and Peace as her book and pencils and paper as her luxury.

 

Bernard Cornwell's Desert Island Disc selections

1. Maria Mater Gratiae from Faure's Requiem
Performer  Cambridge Singers &  members of the City of London Sinfonia conducted by John Rutter
Composer   Faure
CD Title  Faure: Requiem and other choral music

2. Down to the River to Pray (Good stuff right here)
Performer  Alison Krauss
CD Title  O' Brother where are thou? - film soundtrack

3. Madame George
Performer  Van Morrison
CD Title  Astral Weeks

5. Over the Hills and Far Away
Performer  John Tams
CD Title  Over the Hills and Far Away - music from Sharpe 

Mr. Cornwell chose A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys as his book and his boat as his luxury, though Mr. Cornwell assured the host that he didn't intend to try to escape.

 

Nick Hornby's Desert Island Disc selections

1. Kitty's Back
Performer  Bruce Springsteen
CD Title  The Wild, the Innocent & E Street Shuffle

2. You Wear It Well
Performer  Rod Stewart
CD Title  The Best of Rod Stewart

3. Complainte pour Ste Catherine
Performer  Kate and Anna McGarrigle
CD Title  French Record

4. The Love You Save
Performer  Jackson Five
CD Title  Children of the Light

5. Fatou Yo
Performer  Toure Kunda
CD Title  World Playground-Musical adventure for kids
 
6. Night Ride Home
Performer  Joni Mitchell
CD Title  Night Ride Home

7. My heart is the Bums on the Street
Performer  Marah
CD Title  Kids in Philly

8. Going Back to Cali
Performer LL Cool J
CD Title  Less Than Zero soundtrack

Mr. Hornby chose Charles Dickens' Barnaby Rudge as his book and his Ipod as his luxury.

Check out the Desert Island Disc selections of Alexander McCall Smith, Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin, Brian Aldiss, and Minette Walters here.

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