I’ve just thought of this: sort your music alphabetically by the first letter of the artist. Now choose one letter to take to your desert island. Without much thought, I vote, from my collection, for “R”
- Rachmaninov, Sergei
- Randolph, Robert & the Family Band
- RatDog
- Ravel, Maurice
- Richard Burnett, piano (on original instruments)
- Richard Thompson
- Robert Johnson
- Robert Schumann
- Robin Canter, oboe, with the London Baroque (on original instruments
- Roger McGuinn
- Rolling Stones
- Roosevelt Sykes
- Rory Gallagher
- Roxy Music
- Rudolf Serkin
- Rufus Wainwright
- Ry Cooder
There are a couple of these I could well do without, and much from elsewhere that I miss. Then I think of B
- B. B. King
- BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda
- BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult
- Bamberg Symphonic Orchestra under Georg Singer
- Bamberg Symphonic Orchestra under Jonel Perlea
- Be Good Tanyas
- Beethoven
- Bernd Glemser
- Bert Jansch
- Bert Jansch And John Renbourn
- Bertha ‘Chippie’ Hill
- Big Jack Johnson
- Big Jack Johnson With Kim Wilson
- Big Sandy And The Fly-Rite trio
- Bill Evans
- Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings
- Billie Holiday With Teddy Wilson
- Billy Joe Shaver
- Blind Boys of Alabama, The
- Blind Faith
- Blind Willie Johnson
- Blind Willie McTell
- Bob Dylan
- Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Boz Scaggs
- Brownie McGhee And Sonny Terry
- Bruce Springsteen
- Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young
- Bruch
- Buck Owens / Emmylou Harris
- Buffalo Springfield
and realise that my previous choice was ludicrous. But it’s a silly, cheering game.
But you’re cheating, there. Half your artists are listed last name first, the other half first name first. You could get Bert Jansch into the R’s if you rename him Renborn, John and Bert Jansch.
But Schumann no more belongs in the R’s than EmmyLou Harris belongs in the B’s.
Call yourself an archivist…
wg
(Apologies for being too lazy to write the requisite many paragraphs of invective.)