Quincy Jones recorded more than 2,900 songs and more than 300 albums. He also wrote more than 1,000 original compositions, including both pop hits and more than 50 film and television scores. The producer and musician has won 28 Grammy Awards, second only to Beyoncé in all of popular music. He co-founded Vibe magazine, met with the Pope, and has been received by presidents. Music took him all over the world. Let’s take a look at five fascinating facts about Quincy Jones, one of history’s most successful, and certainly greatest, music producers.
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[RELATED: 7 Songs You Didn’t Know Quincy Jones Wrote for Other Artists]
1. Jones Broke Into an Armory to Play a Piano
Growing up on the South side of Chicago, Jones later said he didn’t see a white person until he was 11. He was introduced to piano by a neighbor, Lucy Jackson. His mother was institutionalized when he was seven, and his father moved them to Bremerton, Washington, in 1943. It was here where he discovered his future. He broke into an Armory to play the piano. He started learning percussion, trombone, Bb baritone horn, sousaphone, french horn, and ultimately, the instrument he considered the main one, the trumpet. Jones began playing in bands and became immersed in be-bop. At 14, he met Ray Charles, who was two years older. They developed a lifelong friendship as well as a musical relationship.
2. He Produced “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore
His first real job was playing trumpet in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. They played 70 straight nights without a day off. Jones realized music was what he was meant to do. He moved to New York City, where the be-bop scene was thriving. Jones wrote for anyone who would pay, leading to jobs with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dinah Washington. He then moved to Paris, France, to study composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger. She drove home the fact there are only 12 notes, and he should really investigate what everyone else has done with those 12 notes. Jones took it to heart, arranging over 200 sessions in France.
He returned to New York City and took a job with Mercury Records. He released an album called Big Band Bossa Nova featuring the song “Soul Bossa Nova.” The song would be used in many movies and television shows through the years. Jones then produced an unknown 16-year-old girl from New Jersey named Lesley Gore. “It’s My Party” hit number 1, and they would have 17 more hits.
3. His Music Was the First to Be Played on the Moon
Frank Sinatra called Jones to ask if he would work with him as an arranger. The Count Basie Band backed up the crooner, and Jones’s arrangements were some of Sinatra’s biggest hits. As they worked in Las Vegas, the black members of the orchestra were often not allowed to stay in the same hotels in which they were appearing. Sinatra took a stand against this policy and insisted everyone be treated equally. From then on, the musicians were allowed to stay together. On May 19, 1969, astronauts on Apollo 10 took a small tape recorder and played “Fly Me to the Moon” back to Earth from more than 150,000 miles away.
4. Jones Wrote the Theme to Sanford and Son
In Quincy, the 2018 NETFLIX documentary, Jones said, “After my time with Frank, I wanted to move out of New York and get into L.A. film scoring. I didn’t see black’s names on the screen, you know, as composers. There weren’t any black composers at all. So, I just took that chance. I said, ‘I don’t know, maybe I won’t make it out there, but I’m going.”
He scored many films and television shows, including The Pawnbroker, In Cold Blood, Ironside, The Getaway, The Italian Job, The Out-of-Towners, The Lost Man, and Body Heat. He wrote a song called “The Streetbeater” “in about 20 minutes” that was used as the theme song for the Redd Foxx sitcom Sanford and Son.
5. And Oh Yeah: Jones Produced the Biggest-Selling Album of All Time
While working on the production of The Wiz, Michael Jackson asked Jones if he could recommend a producer. Jones was impressed by Jackson’s discipline on the movie set. It hit him that he was the person to produce the future “King of Pop.” The first result was Off the Wall. It was the biggest-selling black record in history (how do you top that?).
The next album was Thriller. It sold an estimated 70 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling album ever. In 1985, Jones produced “We Are the World,” which became the biggest-selling single of all time and raised $63 million for famine relief in Africa.
Many artists have sampled his music through the years, and Jones has worked with many hip-hop artists such as Kool Moe Dee, Ice T, Melle Mel, and Big Daddy Kane. Jones said in Quincy, “There’s a strong kinship between hip-hop and be-bop. I could feel it, and that’s why I tried the fusion of the two, and it was so natural.”
A Melodic Message and Mission
In 1999, Jones addressed the United Nations. “I see the power of music as a tool to reach the hearts and minds of millions of people,” he said. “And since my voice carries louder and farther than those of a few others, I have a special responsibility to sing a melody about poverty eradication to end the suffering caused by extreme poverty. And I have been hungry. I know what it feels like, and I don’t care how much money I make or the suits I wear; I never forget that feeling of what it feels like when you miss the meals, and you haven’t eaten for three days.”
President Bill Clinton said, “When Quincy decided that he wanted to be more of a citizen with more impact, not only in the United States, but around the world, he goes after that the same way he goes after music. He understands that it’s only through politics that you can address some of the problems that he cares about.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
