The Associated Press reported last week that Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic Thriller album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. Jones was to have received an honorary Academy Award later this month.
In a career which began when records were still played on platters turning at 78 rpm, top honors likely go to his productions with Jackson: Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped set off the explosive talents of Jackson as he transformed from child star to the “King of Pop.” On such classic tracks as “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For Thriller, some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing “Beat It” and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.
Thriller sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has contended with the Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971-1975 among others as the best-selling album of all time.
Toto guitarist Steve Lukather's career outside Toto reached a peak in 1982 when Quincy Jones asked him to play guitar on Jackson’s Thriller. He wound up cutting parts on “Beat It,” “The Girl Is Mine” and “Human Nature,” which was written by his Toto bandmate Steve Porcaro. Lukather became one of Jones’ main studio guitarists over the next decade, and they kept in touch long into the 2000s.
He recently spoke with The Guardian about working with Jones on Micahel Jackson's iconic song, "Beat It". Following is an excerpt.
"We did it backwards: Michael's lead vocal and the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo were done with a couple of small overdubs but no click track. Jeff (Porcaro) made a click track and then a drum part, and I played a bunch of really wild guitar parts, because I knew Eddie's solo was on it – I was doing real hard rock, a quadruple-track riff."
"Quincy wasn't even there; he was at Westlake (Recording Studios) doing overdubs on 'Billie Jean' while we were fixing 'Beat It', so we'd be on the phone and he goes: 'It's too metal, you gotta calm down. I gotta get it on pop radio! Use the small amp, not so much distortion.'"
"Quincy is the only guy that can do a solo album without playing or writing anything. Somehow, no matter what he did, there was a Quincy Jones sound, even if he didn't play, sing, write or whatever. He was a director."
Read more here.
