History Music / QuincyJones

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra, Music/CountBasie, Music/DizzyGillespie, Music/DukeEllington, Music/MilesDavis, Music/SarahVaughan, Music/DinahWashington... it would almost be quicker to list great musicians he ''hasn't'' worked with. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to get Jackson signed onto Creator/EpicRecords, producing his solo albums ''Music/OffTheWall'', ''Music/{{Thriller}}'', and ''Music/{{Bad}}''.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra, Music/CountBasie, Music/DizzyGillespie, Music/DukeEllington, Music/MilesDavis, Music/SarahVaughan, Music/DinahWashington... it would almost be quicker to list great musicians he ''hasn't'' worked with. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}".

Jones has seven children, a few of whom are famous in their own right -- his son with Ulla Andersson (also named Quincy) is also a record producer, and his daughters with Peggy Lipton, Creator/{{Rashida|Jones}} and Kidada, are actresses. He is the topic of Rashida Jones's Grammy-winning documentary, ''Quincy''.

* CareerEndingInjury: He was forced to quit playing the trumpet after suffering an aneurysm. The doctors had to implant a steel plate which they feared could come loose if he were to play again. He has since turned to producing music.

* DreamTeam: He released ''Back on the Block'' in 1989. The album featured the crème de la crème of the black pop, R&B, soul, jazz and rap scenes, for its time. Over 100 contributors are cited throughout the liner notes, including Music/MilesDavis, Ella Fitzgerald, Music/SarahVaughan, Music/RayCharles, Music/BarryWhite, [[Music/GrandMasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive Melle Mel]], Music/HerbieHancock, Rod Temperton and Greg Phillinganes (best remembered for all of the synth work on Music/MichaelJackson's ''Music/OffTheWall'' and ''Music/{{Thriller}}''; Phillinganes also developed a lot of Music/StevieWonder's synths during the 70s and 80s) and even Jesse Jackson.

He has some surprising connections in the music world. In particular, his Creator/WarnerBrosRecords imprint, Qwest, was the U.S. distributor for English AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) from 1985 until the label's initial closure in 2000. Jones, a fan of the band, caught onto their growing popularity among urban black listeners in the 80's, with their 1983 single "Confusion" being especially popular among breakdancers, and scored a deal with the Manchester quartet to give them far greater levels of US distribution than what they had previously received on the comparatively small American branch of Creator/FactoryRecords. Jones also produced the 1988 remix of the band's SignatureSong "Blue Monday", gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary, and supervised the production of the 1995 US release of the GreatestHitsAlbum ''(the best of) [=NewOrder=]'' (which was given a significantly different tracklist than the 1994 British release to make it stand out more from their earlier compilation ''Music/{{Substance|NewOrderAlbum}}'', which was still in print at the time).

Another fairly leftfield connection of Jones' (at least to modern audiences) is with actor and rapper Creator/WillSmith. Jones, who served as the executive producer of and musical composer for ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', met Smith at a house party in 1989 and suggested that he audition for the show based on a junked spec script for a pilot that would've starred Music/{{Prince}} associate Morris Day. Smith had already been suggested to appear on the show by co-creator Benny Medina, but was reluctant to take up the role due to his lack of acting experience; it was Jones' recommendation that encouraged Smith to audition for the show, which in turn led to the rapper becoming one of the most famous black TV actors since Creator/BillCosby, paving the way for him to become a major Hollywood actor independent of his music career. So if there's anyone to thank for Will Smith's acting fame, it's Quincy Jones.

* RearrangeTheSong: He owned Music/NewOrder's record label and remixed their song "Blue Monday" into "Blue Monday 1988".

* RearrangeTheSong: He owned Music/NewOrder's record label and remixed their song "Blue Monday" into "Blue Monday 1988".

----

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}".

He has some surprising connections in the music world. In particular, his Creator/WarnerBrosRecords imprint, Qwest, was the U.S. distributor for English AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) from 1985 until the label's initial closure in 2000. Jones, a BigNameFan of the band, caught onto their growing popularity among urban black listeners in the 80's, with their 1983 single "Confusion" being especially popular among breakdancers, and scored a deal with the Manchester quartet to give them far greater levels of US distribution than what they had previously received on the comparatively small American branch of Creator/FactoryRecords. Jones also produced the 1988 remix of the band's SignatureSong "Blue Monday", gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary, and supervised the production of the 1995 US release of the GreatestHitsAlbum ''(the best of) [=NewOrder=]'' (which was given a significantly different tracklist than the 1994 British release to make it stand out more from their earlier compilation ''Music/{{Substance|NewOrderAlbum}}'', which was still in print at the time).

Another fairly leftfield connection of Jones' (at least to modern audiences) is with actor and rapper Creator/WillSmith. Jones, who served as the executive producer of and musical composer for ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', met Smith at a house party in 1989 and suggested that he audition for the show based on a junked spec script for a pilot that would've starred Music/{{Prince}} associate Morris Day. Smith had already been suggested to appear on the show by co-creator Benny Medina, but was reluctant to take up the actor due to his lack of acting experience; it was Jones' recommendation that encouraged Smith to audition for the show, which in turn led to the rapper becoming one of the most famous black TV actors since Creator/BillCosby, paving the way for him to become a major Hollywood actor independent of his music career. So if there's anyone to thank for Will Smith's acting fame, it's Quincy Jones.

Another fairly leftfield connection of Jones' (at least to modern audiences) is with actor and rapper Creator/WillSmith. Jones, who served as the executive producer and co-creator of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', met Smith at a house party in 1989 and suggested that he audition for the show based on a junked spec script for a pilot that would've starred Music/{{Prince}} associate Morris Day. Smith had already been suggested to appear on the show by co-creator Benny Medina, but was reluctant to take up the actor due to his lack of acting experience; it was Jones' recommendation that encouraged Smith to audition for the show, which in turn led to the rapper becoming one of the most famous black TV actors since Creator/BillCosby, paving the way for him to become a major Hollywood actor independent of his music career. So if there's anyone to thank for Will Smith's acting fame, it's Quincy Jones.

He has some surprising connections in the music world. In particular, his Creator/WarnerBrosRecords imprint, Qwest, was the U.S. distributor for English AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) from 1985 until the label's initial closure in 2000. Jones, a BigNameFan of the band, caught onto their growing popularity among urban black listeners in the 80's, with their 1983 single "Confusion" being especially popular among breakdancers, and scored a deal with the Manchester quartet to give them far greater levels of US distribution than what they had previously received on the comparatively small American branch of Creator/FactoryRecords. Jones also produced the 1988 remix of the band's SignatureSong "Blue Monday", gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary, and supervised the production of the 1995 US release of the GreatestHitsAlbum ''(the best of) [=NewOrder=]'' (which was given a significantly different tracklist than the British release to make it stand out more from their earlier compilation ''Music/{{Substance|NewOrderAlbum}}'', which was still in print at the time).

Another fairly leftfield connection of Jones' is with actor and rapper Creator/WillSmith. Jones, who served as the executive producer and co-creator of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', met Smith at a house party in 1989 and suggested that he audition for the show based on a junked spec script for a pilot that would've starred Music/{{Prince}} associate Morris Day. Smith had already been suggested to appear on the show by co-creator Benny Medina, but was reluctant to take up the actor due to his lack of acting experience; it was Jones' recommendation that encouraged Smith to audition for the show, which in turn led to the rapper becoming one of the most famous black TV actors since Creator/BillCosby, paving the way for him to become a major Hollywood actor independent of his music career. So if there's anyone to thank for Will Smith's acting fame, it's Quincy Jones.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". He has some surprising connections in the music world. His Creator/WarnerBrosRecords imprint, Qwest, was the U.S. distributor for AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) for many years. Jones also gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary. All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years, and a record 80 Grammy Award nominations (with 28 wins).

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". He has some surprising connections in the music world. His Creator/WarnerBrosRecords-distributed Qwest label was the U.S. distributor for AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) for many years. Jones also gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary. All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years, and a record 80 Grammy Award nominations (with 28 wins).

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". He has some surprising connections in the music world. His Creator/WarnerBrosRecords-distributed Qwest label was the U.S. distributor for AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) for many years. Jones also gushed about the band in the 1993 ''[=NewOrderStory=]'' documentary. All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". He has some surprising connections in the music world. His Creator/WarnerBrosRecords-distributed Qwest label was the U.S. distributor for AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) for many years. All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". He has some surprising connections in the music world. His Creator/WarnerBrosRecords Qwest label was the U.S. distributor for AlternativeDance band Music/NewOrder (and its predecessor Music/JoyDivision) for many years. All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933), also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr., also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in 1933 in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower'', ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr., also known as "Q", is an American record producer, composer, and musician. Born in 1933 in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, he started out in jazz and got his big break in film scores, starting with ''Film/ThePawnbroker''. Among the films he's scored include ''Film/InColdBlood'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Film/CactusFlower, ''Film/TheOutOfTowners'', ''Film/TheColorPurple'', and many more. During this time period he started branching out into collaborating and arranging with the day's biggest artists, including Music/FrankSinatra. One of his longest and most-publicized collaborations was with Music/MichaelJackson, which started with ''Film/TheWiz''. Jones would go on to produce much of Jackson's following discography, including the famous "Music/{{Thriller}}". All in all, Jones's career has spanned over sixty years and many, many Grammy Awards.