Quincy Jones, who died November 3, 2024, leaves a musical legacy that spans decades and genres. Quincy's work with R&B artists started early on. Decades before his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy arranged a song for singer Mabel Smith, better known as Big Maybelle. Her 1955 original version of “A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On’ would become one of the biggest rock and roll hits a couple of years later for Jerry Lee Lewis.
Quincy's long association with Mercury Records put him in touch with some of the label's biggest R&B stars, especially Dinah Washington.
While at Mercury, Quincy also produced an album for Little Richard. It was a departure for the rock and roll star, an album devoted to some of Richard's favorite gospel songs.
In the seventies, Quincy Jones worked with Aretha Franklin on the album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), which included the hit single ‘Angel.’
Quincy Jones’ soundtrack for the 1972 film ‘Come Back, Charleston Blue,’ featured the talented young singer and musician Donny Hathaway.
Quincy also produced The Brothers Johnson.
In 1979, Jones produced the album Master Jam for Rufus and Chaka Khan.
It was the same year, 1979, that Quincy Jones worked with Michael Jackson on their first collaboration, the album Off the Wall.
Quincy Jones: ‘I mean, Michael's an amazing songwriter, and it is so highly personal. Usually, when you work with songwriters, and I've worked with a lot I mean, with singer songwriters, I've worked with a lot of them. So, it's funny, you know. He, he dug in.’
Quincy Jones went on to produce two more Michael Jackson albums, Thriller and Bad.
These are just a few examples of the rich musical legacy left behind by one of America's greatest trailblazers, Quincy Jones.
