by Rolling Stone / Gavin Edwards
Quincy Jones, now 81 years old, has been not just an eyewitness to the evolution of 20th century music but one of its biggest players. He started as a jazz trumpeter and an arranger, and went on to be a bandleader, a film composer and a producer. Along the way, he worked with Ray Charles, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Paul Simon and Michael Jackson, to name a few. He produced the world’s best-selling album (Michael Jackson’s Thriller) and the all-star charity single “We Are the World.” He’s been nominated for 79 Grammys, winning 27 of them. His seven children include actress Rashida Jones: “She’s a sweet little thing, so smart,” he brags.
Do you have a memory of Michael Jackson as a musician?
We started to work on The Wiz when he was about 19. He said, “I need a producer for my album,” seeing if I had a personal interest in working with him. I said, “Michael, I don’t want to talk about nothing but the film.” But I was trying to find things that he hadn’t done before. I had this song “She’s Out of My Life” that Tommy Bahler wrote when his wife left him. I was saving that for Sinatra, but I said, “I want to try this with Michael, ’cause he’s never had a real life experience, a genuine relationship with a woman.” I saw him at the Oscars one year – he was doing “Ben,” this romantic love story to a rat! So I gave the song to him, and every time we recorded it, he cried.
Source: Rolling Stone / Gavin Edwards / MJ-Upbeat.com
Michael Jackson is truly the king. Every time i listen his songs i feel like he is still alive. Definitely one of the best pop music stars ever been born!