RO: Do you feel it was Jack's wide interest and releases in different genres - from rock and blues to Latin, classical, free jazz and folk - that sort of prevented him from having a bigger status as a "rock" star?

HS: It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Jack to have stayed in the rock groove and keep recreating Cream in one form or another. But he had to follow his heart and his talent, which range across many different genres.

If you can do all that, you want to do it - even if it is not the best recipe for regular commercial success. In any event, Jack has never been that comfortable with "star" status. Playing in front of an audience is one thing, but he has deliberately kept himself and his family out of the celebrity limelight.

RO: What is your single personal favorite Bruce solo or group record and why?

HS: I can this pin this down to one song - "Theme for an Imaginary Western" Not only my favorite Bruce/[Pete] Brown composition, but my favorite song of all time.

It was inspired by [Bruce's former group] The Graham Bond Organisation and the way they took the music to places it had never been, just like the old pioneers setting out for uncharted lands in the Old West. It is also the best song about life on the road ever written. The music, the lyrics and the way Jack sings it, just melt my soul every time I hear it.

We have a radio show in the UK called Desert Island Discs where a celebrity is asked to choose eight records they would have if they were marooned on a desert island. I would take eight versions of this song, including the one recorded by Mountain with a solo to die for from Leslie West.

RO: What is Jack up to in 2010 and how is his health? [Bruce had a near-fatal liver transplant in 2003].

HS: Jack probably would not want to embark on a six-month world tour of one-night stands, but he doing OK. I saw him last night at the famous Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London where he was backed by a phenomenal band called The Blues Experience. He laughed and joked his way through the set and played like a demon.

Jaw Bone Press, 320 pp., $19.95. For more on the book, visit www.jawbonepress.com.