[Slowhand] EC on BBC's Desert Island Discs radio show (1989) + some discographical research part 1 of 2

[John Walasko]

Greetings from rainy Vancouver, BC.

Here is a little Clapton article I've been working on. My recent  
attempts to post have been unsuccessful, so I've split it into two  
parts on the assumption that I've exceeded the permitted file size.


DESERT ISLAND DISCS

In 1989, EC appeared on the BBC radio show "Desert Island Discs" and  
spoke about eight of his favourite recordings and other possessions  
important to him.

His choices were also listed in the Journeyman 1990 tour program, and  
here is the information as it appeared there (courtesy of the FAQ at  
the Whereseric site):

Eric Clapton's Desert Island Discs

'Senza Mama' by Ranata Scotto
'Au Fond Du Temple Saint' by Ernest Blanc and Nicolai Gedda
'Crossroads Blues' by Robert Johnson
'Feel Like Going Home' by Muddy Waters
'I Was Made To Love Her' by Stevie Wonder
'Hard Times' by Ray Charles
'I Love The Woman' by Freddie King
'Purple Rain' by Prince

He was also delighted to appear on BBC's Radio 4 programme Desert  
Island Discs. Listeners may have been startled to hear him choose  
operatic excerpts among his most coveted records, as well as Muddy  
Waters and -- his all-time favourite -- Prince's Purple Rain. His one  
luxury was no surprise, though: a guitar. Asked to take a book of his  
choice, "Apart from the Bible or Shakespeare" and denied the chance to  
take a full set of Charles Dickens for his book choice, Eric settled  
for the master's Barnaby Rudge.

- END QUOTE -


Back in 1990, I saw the Journeyman tour in Dallas, bought the tour  
book, saw the list of Desert Island Discs, and I decided I would track  
down the recordings mentioned. I found Clapton's best music very  
inspiring (I still do) and thought it would be educational for me to  
hear some of the artists that inspired him.

I already owned several of the tracks (Robert J, Muddy, Ray, Freddie  
K), but a couple were quite mysterious. Ernst Blanc? Nicolai Gedda? At  
that time I was completing my music degree in the USA, so a few  
research trips to the music library were involved. It's strange to  
think back to those pre-Google, pre-Wikipedia days.

For those interested about these recordings, here is information I  
found back in 1990-91, updated and fact-checked in 2009:


Continued in part 2