The African-American community will eternally be grateful to legendary composer and producerQuincy Jones.Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” continues to haunt me, the wild and funkySanford and Sontheme,the fantastically youthfulFresh Prince of Bel-Air, our very ownThe Wiz(1978) which has widely become a community litmus test as strong as one’s ability to jump in on a line dance, and who can forget the incredibly emotional 1985 film adaptation ofAlice Walker’sThe Color Purple. The list goes on.Jones left his fingerprints on just about any household theme and title buzzing through Black homesacross the decades. His rhythm-infused music, like his groovy “Soul Bossa Nova” which was used in theAustin Powersmovies, has never lost its power to command our bodies to move; to instill an irresistible urge to tap into our littlest toe bones.
I May Be Young, But I Can Still Appreciate the Legacy of Quincy Jones
Speaking as someone younger than 30 years old in the year 2024, I can’t claim to know every title and melody that Quincy Jones laid his hands on. ButI can attest to the timelessnessof his work. In the early stages of identifying myself and understanding my family’s culture as African-American,Quincy Jones had been involved in much of what I was able to grasp about Black culture. For example, I remember hearingthe sound of Jones’ theme forSanford and Sonon a recurring radio segment, during which there was always laughter and jovial conversation between the radio hosts. But I didn’t know the context of the theme. The show was way before my time, and it’s nowhere to be found in my memories of watching the giant TV that sat in my grandmother’s family room where I spent most of my youth. Yetthe show’s theme alone became a familiar, foundational sound of my childhood, and it remains a core fragment in the soundscape of my memories.
As a child who became a fan of Michael Jacksonbecausehe died (an exclusive club), I was legitimately scared when I first watched his wildly esteemed “Thriller” music video. It haunts my dreams on occasion even now (I hold my breath through every single Halloween),not only for its spooky practical and special effects, butin large part for its familiar groove, potent harmonic choices, and classic horror sound effects. Though they culminated in a childhood trauma, these are elements which I can appreciate as a slightly older and educated musician.The entire production was a successfully terrifying marvel, and it’s no surprise Quincy Jones had anything to do with it, especially given his effectual relationship with Michael Jackson.
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Quincy Jones Defined Black Entertainment for Generations
Growing up, I learned very quicklywhich cultural staples proved one’s “Blackness”. At some point or another, most of my Black peers and I gave each other the litmus tests of “You’ve seenThe Wiz, right?” – whose music was largely arranged by Jones – and “Do you knowThe Color Purple?” – which gave Jones his debut credit as a film producer. To manage one famous lyric or iconic scene would suffice but, althoughthe film adaptations predated usby roughly twenty years, an evident lack of exposure could leave a paper-cut-sized wound in your reputation as a true African-American. Factors like households having different tastes in entertainment, or simply the adults in our families not owning copies of the films, didn’t occur to us. We just recognized thatthose were things we were supposed to have in common with each other.
The Wiz,a Black reimaginingofThe Wizard of Oz, was a movie musical I’d grown up on, and it was something that defined my affinity for musicals before I’d even reached the fifth grade. As a kid, what I knew was that the movie was entertaining to watch, that the actors reminded me of my own family members, that it creeped me out, and, ultimately, thatit was an emotional storyconsidering I had to shut it off beforeLena HorneandDiana Rosstearfully brought the whole thing home. Nevertheless,Quincy Jones’ music forThe Wizsticks with me today as a cornerstone of my music taste, as it incorporated gospel, funk, jazz, and even classical elements that became a colorful exploration of the Black sound (which I now find highly reminiscent of composer William Grant Still’s 1930 “Afro-American Symphony”).
The Color Purplewas a movie I learned to be vastly quotable thanks to my motherdropping lines on a regular basisbut rarely ever putting on the movie, which often caused me to feel left out of my own culture as a kid. Likely because I was too young to understand its themes of patriarchy, misogyny, sexuality, andthe post-Reconstruction era,I was simply too unexposed toThe Color Purpleto take part in holding my head high as a Black kid– as a Black girl – who knew nothing more than the characters’ names and that thing Celie did with her hand in that one scene. Quincy Jones served as both producer and primary composer forThe Color Purple, making history as the first composer to work underSteven Spielbergwho wasn’tJohn Williams. Of course, I didn’t pay much attention to Quincy Jones’ name, let alone recognize his role at the heart of these productions until much later.
Quincy Jones Gave Producers a Wonderful Name
When I began to study music and film,I came to appreciatethe title of “producer”(despite its vague, catch-all meaning)by way of Quincy Jones’ work. He was the star behind the star, working with the cream of the crop and granting music careers like a fairy godmother. The Netflix documentaryThe Greatest Night in Pophad officially enlightened me about the all-around guts he possessed as a shepherd of stars and an entertainment visionary.
As the story goes, Hollywood royal and civil rights activistHarry Belafontesaw a need for Black folk to help other Black folk, so he called on the newly solo-flyingLionel Richie, who instinctively called onStevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Quincy Jones. While it was without a doubt a group effort, the 1985 “We Are The World” recording session was one of the strongest examples of Quincy Jones’ determination, ambition, and problem-solving agility. He had one shotto pull off the recording session of a lifetime, which meantonly the right decisions needed to be made, and at lightning speed. Recording engineerHumberto Gaticarecalled in the Netflix documentary, “Quincy Jones was always very calm. His only concern was time,” and singerHuey Lewisreflected, “Quincy was amazing. Production is an interesting thing. You gotta be more than a great musician. You gotta be like a psychiatrist.”
The “We Are The World” recording sessiondemonstrated thatQuincy Jones knew talent andthathe knew humans. In mapping out the artists’ solos, Lionel Richie had envisioned individual booth recording sessions. However, a savvy Quincy Jones saw such a process taking forever and opted instead to have the artists stand in a circle, facing each other as they performed their solos.He kept everyone vulnerable to bring out the best results. Before the artists arrived at the session, he had written out and taped up a sign that read, “CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR.” When the performers finally started showing up, without agents or managers present and free from the public eye, they mingled as individuals, surprisingly starstruck by one another. Added to the factor that they were coming off of theAmerican Music Awardsjust hours before, energy was high before rehearsal could begin. But Quincy taggedBob Geldof, co-founder of charity supergroup Band Aid, to draw attention to the focus of the project with a speech that reflected on his experiences in Ethiopia.
Quincy Jones Was Entertainment History
Quincy Jones built a diverse repertoire of music and film that has inspired generations of entertainers and music-makers. Co-directed by his daughterRashida Jonesand documentarianAlan Hicks, Netflix’sQuincy(2018) examines his background as an instrumentalist that blossomed into his volumes of life experiences as a composer, arranger, and general culture creator amid America’s murky cultural shifts and eras. We’ll be carrying his creations in our laughs and scats, at our cookouts and reunions, and in the little bit of dancing we do down the sidewalk when we’re feeling ourselves. He wasn’t just a massive influence on entertainment.Quincy Joneswasentertainment. I may not be the most experienced musician and film lover around, but I can truthfully appreciate what an honor it was to share the world with him for a little while.
Quincyis available to stream exclusively on Netflix in the U.S.
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