meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Desert Island Discs

John Legend, musician

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.413.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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. DISC ONE: Here Comes the Sun by Nina Simone DISC TWO: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) by Pete Rock & CL Smooth DISC THREE: Day Dreaming by Aretha Franklin DISC FOUR: Roc Boys (And the Winner is…) by Jay-Z DISC FIVE: As by Stevie Wonder DISC SIX: Love on Top by Beyonce DISC SEVEN: L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole DISC EIGHT: Superfly by Curtis Mayfield 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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts

0:04.9

Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.

0:08.6

Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them

0:13.9

if they were cast away to a desert island.

0:16.5

And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.

0:21.2

I hope you enjoy listening.

0:45.3

My cast away this week is the singer-songwriter John Legend, born John Stevens in Springfield,

0:50.9

Ohio, grew up surrounded by music.

0:53.8

His father played drums at the local Pentecostal church whilst his mother directed the choir

0:58.4

and his grandmother played the organ.

1:00.2

John sang in the choir from the age of just seven.

1:03.4

Music wasn't his first career path though.

1:05.5

He was a management consultant in his early 20s while trying to find his way as an artist

1:10.1

in the evenings. The name Legend was bestowed on him for his ability to channel the great of

1:15.6

soul music and he's become one of the most powerful voices in American entertainment

1:20.4

as a musician and a campaigner.

1:22.9

He's one of just 16 living artists to earn the ultimate acronym, EGOT, with two Emmys,

1:29.2

12 Grammys and Oscar and a Tony Award all under his belt.

1:33.4

At the age of just 15, he won an essay competition sponsored by a global fast food chain.

1:38.8

In which he wrote,

1:40.0

I plan to impact society by developing my own character and being a leader in the community by example.

1:46.8

I plan to use my social skills and my musical talents to be a positive role model for my fellow

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.