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Some might say Kiefer Sutherland had an easy ride of it, walking into an acting career under the nepotistic sunshine of having Donald Sutherland, star of M*A*S*H and Kelly’s Heroes, for a father. But one look at Kiefer’s acting and musical talent, and the cynicism will wash away. After all, it can’t be easy following a parent’s profession with hopes to emerge from beneath such an admirably large shadow.
Kiefer’s legacy thus far is highlighted by his fantastic recurring role as Jack Bauer, the counter-terrorism agent in the nailbiting US action series 24. But thanks to his sheer versatility and a good dose of his father’s genes, he’s managed to steer clear of the type-cast plague. His career also boasts stand-out performances in several cult-classic movies, including A Time to Kill, Dark City and Phone Booth.
As a restless creative, Keifer’s talents on screen have spilt over into music, his secondary passion. In 2002, Kiefer joined his friend, the singer-songwriter Jude Cole, to establish Ironworks, an independent record label. The now-defunct label was based in the Los Angeles Silver Lakes area in 2015, it most notably released Lifehouse’s seventh album, Out of the Wasteland.
The actor’s foray into the music world didn’t stop in the board room. He has also proved himself as an eminent force in the singing and songwriting game, having released three full-length studio albums, Down in a Hole and Reckless, Me and Bloor Street, the latter of which was released at the beginning of this year. He is set to tour the UK in support of the new album this autumn.
As it is for most music fanatics, Kiefer’s taste changes with the wind and his top ten songs will shift like sand dunes, but a handful of artists seem to crop up each time he surfaces in radio interviews and podcasts.
In a 2017 interview with NME for their ‘Soundtrack Of My Life’ feature, Sutherland revealed his love for Elton John, explaining that ‘Your Song’ was the first track he fell in love with as a child. “I had a brother named Tom,” he said. “He was seven years older than I was, so I ended up wanting to be him and do everything like him; I was probably the first kid in second grade that was an Aerosmith fan. But the first song that I really fell in love with? It would have to be Elton John, ‘Your Song’. I just love the melody and I thought he sang it so beautifully.”
Bob Seger also appears to have received a sizeable amount of affection from Kiefer over the years. “Bob Seger wrote really linear stories,” Kiefer said, revealing that Seger’s Night Moves was the first album he ever bought. “It wasn’t like a Pink Floyd song, which was loaded with metaphors. He wrote a song called ‘Mainstreet’, and it was about a kid walking down Main Street, passing a pool hall and a strip bar. He wrote these fantastic stories about those teenage years and, like, that first girl, where you took her to the point and made out. I really connected with that.”
In a 2019 appearance on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Tracks Of My Years’, Kiefer picked out Elton John’s ‘Daniel’ as an ostensible all-time favourite.
Below, we have listed Kiefer Sutherland’s ten favourite songs as they were in 2019 when he spoke to BBC Radio 2 for ‘Tracks Of My Years’.
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