Maya Angelou
Michael Parkinson's castaway is writer Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou inherited her love of music from her grandmother, who used to sing to her as a child at the family home in the southern United States. The first volume of her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was a bestseller, describing her life as singer, actress, stripper, dancer and writer. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, she looks back on a remarkable career and chooses eight records she would take to the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
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Bookclub
Maya Angelou talks about volume one of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
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Maya Angelou: ‘I tried to speak poetry, and I had a voice'
Duration: 03:31
Music Played
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CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE
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Mahalia Jackson
How Great Thou Art
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Max Roach
A Quiet Place
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Roberta Flack
Killing Me Softly (With His Song)
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Stevie Wonder
I Just Called To Say I Love You
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Sarah Vaughan
East Of The Sun
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Frank Sinatra
One For The Road
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George Gershwin
Summertime (from Porgy & Bess)
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Ray Charles
Georgia On My Mind
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BOOK CHOICE
Negro Caravan - selected and edited by Sterling Brown, Arthur P Davis and Uylsses Lee
LUXURY ITEM
The Kumasi Market painting by John T. Biggers
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Michael Parkinson |
| Interviewed Guest | Maya Angelou |
Broadcasts
- Sun 2 Aug 1987 12:15BBC Radio 4
- Fri 7 Aug 1987 09:05BBC Radio 4
- Sun 20 Mar 1988 12:15BBC Radio 4
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