We lost one of music's greatest and most successful record producers of all time when Quincy Jones passed away Sunday Night (November 3rd) at the age of 91.
While it may be his association with Michael Jackson that is responsible for billions of people around the world knowing his name, us "music people" had been familiar with Quincy's work long before that.
Besides guiding "the gloved one" into the stratosphere, Jones also worked with artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Cosby, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, James Ingram, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Donna Summer and Little Richard.
He produced Lesley Gore's chart-topping hit "It's My Party" in 1963, as well as nearly everything she recorded for Mercury Records, who ultimately promoted him to Vice President of the label.
During the course of his career, Jones was nominated for 80 Grammys ... and won 28. His motion picture scores were also highly honored ("In Cold Blood," "The Color Purple," "For Love Of Ivy" and dozens more), as were his TV themes. (Two of my favorites are "Sanford And Son" and "Hikky Burr" from "The Bill Cosby Show," an early outing for the comedian who played a High School Gym Teacher in the series. (I can only tell you that the song was MUCH better than the television program!)
And let's not forget his 1962 flop single "Soul Bossa Nova" ... which ultimately became Austin Powers' theme song decades later. (We first heard it in the Woody Allen film "Take The Money And Run.") When Jones released it as a single in 1962, it bubbled under in Music Vendor only, peaking at #135. (Billboard and Cash Box ignored it altogether), once again proving that Quincy was light years ahead of his time.
With Jackson, he resurrected Michael's career as a solo artist. They worked together on the "Off The Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad," all albums that were setting sales records at the time. ("Thriller" remains the second biggest selling album in history ... the very biggest if you consider that this album presented all "new" music while the only title that ranks higher is "The Eagles' Greatest Hits, 1971 - 1975," a compilation of previously released material.) The two first worked together on the soundtrack to "The Wiz."
They also worked together on "We Are The World," the biggest fund-raising single in history, where Jones famously posted the sign "Check Your Ego At The Door" as a virtual Who's Who of recording artists stopped by to drop their one-liners into this epic track.
And let's not forget for a minute that he ALSO married Peggy Lipton ... Julie Barnes of "The Mod Squad"!!! ... and gave the world a couple of beautiful daughters, including the striking Rashida Jone" who has starred on hit after hit after hit on television.
Time restraints prevented me from running a more fitting tribute to this great innovator ... but we've received numerous comments that will continue to run in the days to come. Feel free to send your thoughts here as well. (kk)
As always, you'll find a beautiful tribute by Joe Marchese ...
https://theseconddisc.com/2024/11/04/in-memoriam-quincy-jones-1933-2024/
