← Steve Jobs

Music

17 entries, with sources

01

Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major – Prelude

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Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Yo-Yo Ma·1720 (composition); 1999 recording

Jobs revered Yo-Yo Ma's performance of this Bach prelude to the point of metaphysics, telling the cellist his playing was "the best argument" he had ever heard for the existence of God. He invited Ma to perform at his wedding, had him play privately on a Stradivarius, asked him to promise to play at his funeral, and featured this exact recording in the original iPod demo.

Circle Magazine's interview with Yo-Yo Ma recounts Jobs's direct quote about God; MacStories' account (drawing on Isaacson) adds the wedding invitation, private performance, and funeral request; CNET's report on the original iPod launch confirms Jobs used Ma's Bach Prelude recording in the live demo.

02

One Too Many Mornings

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Bob Dylan·1964

Isaacson reports this as Jobs's favorite Dylan song, the one he returned to even as his enthusiasm for Dylan's later work cooled, sitting atop an otherwise near-complete personal collection of Dylan's 1960s and 1970s catalog.

Walter Isaacson's biography states this was Jobs's favorite Dylan tune, a claim repeated in secondary summaries of Jobs's iPod library drawn from Isaacson's interviews and notes.

03

The Royal Albert Hall Concert

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Bob Dylan·1998 release (recorded 1966)

Jobs and Steve Wozniak spent their teenage years hunting down Dylan bootlegs from the 1965–66 electric tours, amassing over a hundred hours of tape centered on this era. Decades later Jobs chose this specific recording as one of twenty discs preloaded on the first giveaway iPods.

Isaacson recounts the teenage bootleg-collecting in detail; CNET's eyewitness report on the original iPod introduction lists this title among the twenty CDs Jobs personally selected for the giveaway devices.

04

A Hard Day's Night

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The Beatles·1964

Jobs sang along on stage to "I Should Have Known Better" and "If I Fell" from this album while demoing the original iPod, and he chose the album itself as one of twenty CDs preloaded onto the giveaway devices afterward.

CNET's eyewitness account of the original iPod introduction describes Jobs singing along to these specific tracks during the live demo and lists the album among his selected giveaway CDs.

05
Goldberg Variations
Public domain

Goldberg Variations

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Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Glenn Gould·1955 and 1981 recordings

Jobs compared Gould's two recordings of this work almost as a study in artistic evolution, telling Isaacson he used to prefer the "younger, exuberant" 1955 take but had come to understand "where he was coming from" in the more restrained 1981 version.

Business Insider's summary of Isaacson's biography quotes Jobs directly on his shifting preference between the two recordings; a Taiwanese profile drawing on the same sources describes him comparing the two versions as a lens on maturity.

06

Both Sides Now

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Joni Mitchell·1969 original; 2000 orchestral re-recording

Jobs played Isaacson the slow 2000 orchestral version of this song and remarked, "It's interesting how people age," using the contrast with the 1969 original as a private meditation on aging. He said he liked "the sad side of Joni Mitchell."

Business Insider's account of Isaacson's biography quotes Jobs's direct comment while playing the two versions; an essay at JoniMitchell.com confirms this anecdote was drawn from Isaacson and later dramatized in the film "Steve Jobs."

07

Surfacing

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Sarah McLachlan·1997

The track "Building a Mystery" from this album was the very first song Jobs played in public on an iPod, and he separately chose the full album as one of twenty CDs preloaded on the giveaway devices.

CNET's detailed report on the original iPod introduction states "Building a Mystery" was the first song played publicly on the device and lists "Surfacing" among the twenty giveaway CDs Jobs selected.

08

Legend

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Bob Marley & The Wailers·1984 compilation

Immediately after playing the first demo song on stage, Jobs cued up Marley's "Could You Be Loved," and he separately selected the compilation "Legend" as one of the twenty giveaway CDs, one of the few reggae records in that otherwise rock-and-folk-heavy set.

CNET's chronicle of the iPod launch records Jobs playing "Could You Be Loved" during the live demo and lists "Legend" among his selected giveaway CDs.

09

Nevermind

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Nirvana·1991

Jobs included this album among the twenty CDs he chose to preload onto the giveaway iPods at the original launch event, one of the few 1990s rock records in a set otherwise dominated by 1960s and 70s music.

CNET's report on the iPod launch lists "Nevermind" among the twenty albums Jobs personally selected for the giveaway devices.

10

Uncle John's Band

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Grateful Dead·1970

When Isaacson asked Jobs for a piece of music from their youth that had aged well, Jobs cued up this specific song on his iPod, singling it out from the broader Dead bootleg culture he had immersed himself in as a young listener.

Business Insider's summary of Isaacson's interviews describes this specific exchange and Jobs's choice of song; other reconstructions of his iPod library corroborate that this was his stated favorite Grateful Dead track.

11

Here Comes the Sun

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The Beatles·1969

This was the sole Beatles track on a short reconstructed list of Jobs's favorite songs, and it recurs in a separately curated list of music attributed to him alongside other Beatles staples, suggesting a repeated rather than incidental choice.

Far Out Magazine's reconstruction of Jobs's favorites (drawn from Isaacson's notes) lists this song; the Steve Jobs Archive book "Make Something Wonderful" reproduces a curated music list attributed to Jobs that includes it again.

12

Beast of Burden

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The Rolling Stones·1978

This song appears on reconstructed lists of Jobs's favorite tracks; separately, he told Mick Jagger that if a vault holding either band's masters caught fire, he would grab the Beatles' rather than the Stones', because "somebody else could have replicated the Stones" — even as he kept a curated set of Stones highlights on his iPod.

Far Out Magazine's list includes this track among Jobs's favorites; Business Insider, drawing on Isaacson, reports the direct quote to Jagger and notes Jobs kept select tracks from six Stones albums, though the quote itself concerns the band generally rather than this song specifically.

13

Kind of Blue

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Miles Davis·1959

Jobs included this album among the twenty CDs he selected for the original iPod giveaway, and its track "Blue in Green" separately appears on reconstructed lists of his favorite songs.

CNET's report on the iPod launch lists "Kind of Blue" among the twenty giveaway CDs Jobs chose; Far Out Magazine's list of favorites includes "Blue in Green" from the same album.

14

Play

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Moby·1999

Jobs included this album among the twenty CDs preloaded on the original giveaway iPods, one of the few contemporary electronic records in an otherwise vintage-heavy selection.

CNET's report on the iPod launch lists "Play" among the twenty giveaway CDs Jobs selected; secondary summaries of his iPod library corroborate Moby's presence among his more recent listening.

15

Time Out

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The Dave Brubeck Quartet·1959

Jobs included this album among the twenty CDs preloaded on the original giveaway iPods; its track "Take Five" is separately catalogued as music used in Apple's iPod-era presentations.

CNET's report on the iPod launch lists "Time Out" among the twenty giveaway CDs; AppleMusic.info's catalog of music used by Apple in keynotes and commercials lists "Take Five" in connection with the 2001 iPod introduction.

16

Imagine

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John Lennon·1971

This song appears on reconstructed lists of Jobs's favorite music, with secondary commentary connecting its utopian message to Jobs's stated belief that technology could make the world better — an interpretive link rather than a documented statement by Jobs himself.

Far Out Magazine's list of favorites (drawn from Isaacson's notes) includes "Imagine"; a Taiwanese profile draws an interpretive connection between the song's themes and Jobs's ambitions, but no direct quote from Jobs about the song is cited.

17

Hard Headed Woman

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Cat Stevens·1970

This song appears on reconstructed lists of Jobs's favorite music alongside other Cat Stevens tracks such as "Father and Son," suggesting he grouped the artist's work together, though no direct statement from Jobs about this specific song is documented.

Far Out Magazine's list of favorites includes "Hard Headed Woman"; the Steve Jobs Archive's curated music list groups several Cat Stevens songs together; a Taiwanese profile repeats the song's inclusion without adding a direct Jobs quote.