Bill Gates says Beatles song perfectly explains relationship with Jobs

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
Photo: AllThingsD

Bill Gates has a song in his heart for the late Steve Jobs. Yes, they were fierce rivals as they pioneered products that revolutionized personal computing, but the competition mellowed into a good friendship.

So when Gates, in an interview on BBC show Desert Island Discs, was asked to choose eight songs and why they are meaningful to him, he had one picked out for Jobs — “Two of Us” by The Beatles.

“In the early years, the intensity had always been about the project, and so when Steve got sick, it was far more mellow in terms of talking about our lives and our kids,” Gates said during the interview, which covered his childhood, wife Melinda, charity and ruthlessness. “Steve was an incredible genius, and I was more of an engineer than he was. But anyway, it was fun. It was more of a friendship that was reflective, although tragically then he couldn’t overcome the cancer and died.”

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Excerpts from the interview with host Kristy Young can be found here. The show asks guests to pick out songs and explain their personal significance.

The other songs picked by Gates included:

“Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie: Gates said this song brings him back to his 20s and 30s, when he worked a lot but occasionally blew off steam by dancing on a Friday or Saturday night.

“Blue Skies” by Willie Nelson: Gates talked about how he surprised his wife in Hawaii with meeting Nelson on a beach.

“Sing” by Ed Sheehan: Daughter Phoebe, 13, likes this one.

Are You Experienced, Jimi Hendrix: An older Paul Allen would taunt Gates with the title of this song.

“One” by U2: Brings back memories of his first meeting with Bono and the singer’s thoughts on global health.

“How Can Love Survive” from The Sound of Music: A favorite of his and Melinda’s, especially after hearing Warren Buffett and his first wife, Susie, sing the song.

“My Shot” from Hamilton: “It’s about a young person saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to take a risk — I’m going to get out there and try and do something different.’“

Source: BBC

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