A Personal Tribute to the departed — Legendary Quincy Jones
I must admit that I am nowhere qualified to write this piece considering that the maestro in question had already made a mark on the global stage even before I was born.
I can recall my first album, first in terms of having forked out the money to buy the LP, was “Off The Wall” by another legend, Michael Jackson. At the time, little did I know he was himself a protege of yet a bigger Legend in the person of Quincy Jones who I refer to as “Uncle Q” for the purpose of this post.
“Uncle Q” Right on Cue — The Past, Present and Future…
Having grown up, I was privileged to meet the man himself while working in the United Arab Emirates — yes, I must admit, I kind of crashed the party when I heard he would be visiting the American University of Sharjah in September 2013 — whilst in the UAE in search of an “Arab Psy” as captured in my article “Oppan Gangnam Style.”
Talking about a Champion for Yesterday, Today, and “Tomorrow” — the clip below speaks to the latter… Yes, it’s the youngster (back in the day), Tevin Campbell… See what you’ll get (after this clip) if and/or when you probe Wikipedia…
Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age… In 1989, Campbell collaborated with Quincy Jones performing lead vocals for “Tomorrow” on Jones’ album Back on the Block and released his Platinum-selling debut album, T.E.V.I.N. The album included his highest-charting single to date, “Tell Me What You Want Me to Do”, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As for family, you may well follow this link for some insight …
Meet Quincy Jones 7 kids, including his famous actress daughter, Rashida (aged 48) whose siblings include Jolie, 71, Rachel, 61, Martina, 58, Quincy III, 56, Kidada, 50, and Kenya, 31. This is according to Hello Magazine.
From Music to Film, Documentary and Beyond…
Besides being behind, and propping up the stars we are all aware about including the likes of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, George Benson … countless others…
Jones is the co-producer, with Michael Jackson, of the albums Off the Wall (1979) Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987) as well as being the producer and conductor of the charity song “We Are the World”. His career spans six decades in the entertainment industry and during that period he has achieved a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991.
In a recent article by Roxanne Fequiere (Nov. 4, 2024) “We Are the World” Doc Remembers the Iconic Night Orchestrated By Quincy Jones, a quote from Lionel Richie, Producer of The Greatest Night in Pop read “By 7 o’clock in the morning, we became a family…” Read more about it here: “We Are the World” Doc Remembers the Iconic Night Orchestrated By Quincy Jones — Netflix Tudum
Another one is the Color Purple Soundtrack — based on a 2023 film directed by Steven Spielberg with a screenplay by Menno Meyjes — an adaptation of the original book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker — starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, and Rae Dawn Chong — and the Music by Quincy Jones Production and others — distributed by Warner Bros.
It was also the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams opted featuring Quincy Jones.
The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age period drama film that was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes. It is based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker and was Spielberg’s eighth film as a director, marking a turning point in his career as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known.
As I pen down this piece, the tributes haven’t stopped coming in — come to think of it, why should they?
Quincy Jones: Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Barack Obama lead tributes — BBC News
Like I started off with, I am one of the least qualified to qualify a legend such as “Uncle Q” so I’ll catch up with you as soon as I catch my breath…
Meanwhile, suffice it to say “Rest in Power” (RIP), Legend, Quincy Jones
