‘I don’t believe in song shaming!’: Jon Batiste’s honest playlist
The acclaimed musician and former late night bandleader loves everything from Amyl and the Sniffers to Erykah Badu. So why can’t he stand Steely Dan?
The first song I fell in love with
I remember hearing Strokin’ by Clarence Carter because my dad would play it. I know every lyric, and at eight years old, I probably shouldn’t have. My earliest musical lessons came from my family. My Uncle Thomas would send me jazz recordings of Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and he sent sermons, like the Book of Revelations. So, I would learn about a whole bunch of different music, and also study the word of God.
The first single I bought
I used to buy records from Blockbuster video, in the used CDs bin. I bought Michael Jackson’s Dangerous, Björk’s Vespertine, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate. Those are the first four records I bought.
