Since the news broke that the legendary Quincy Jones died at 91, tributes have been pouring in from those who knew him and looked up to him.
Paul McCartney remembered Quincy in a lengthy tribute, which reads:
Dear Quincy Jones has passed and left those of us who knew him feeling sad.
He was supremely talented, and I felt privileged to have known him for many years. He was friends with George Martin, the Beatles’ producer and, between the two of them, produced some very fine music.
Quincy or ‘Quince’ or ‘Q’, as he was known, always had a twinkle in his eye and had a very positive, loving spirit which infected everyone who knew him. His work with Michael Jackson is, of course, legendary and he had so many other strings to his musical bow.
My main recollections of him were always the private moments that we shared, and I will never stop thanking Nancy for always arranging to visit him when we were in Los Angeles. These visits were fun and inspiring.
His long career stretches back to the early days when he was a trumpet player, then a band leader, then a producer of many great records. But it is as a friend I would like to remember him. We always had fun in his presence and his legend will continue through the years, but it is those private moments we were lucky enough to have with the great man that I will always remember fondly.
We send our love and sympathies to his family and all his many friends.
– Paul
Stevie Wonder penned a tribute for Rolling Stone, which reads in part: “He’s touched every single genre. It brings tears to my heart to think about how and where he came from and to know that he was able to grow through all of it. When I look at life every day and I think about how ignorant and irresponsible that people who don’t get it can be, I’m motivated to continue to talk about life, sing about it, and write about it, because that’s what Quincy did. He connected with people who had those great talents, and he was able to bring out of them the best.” Read more here.
Elton John says, “Nobody had a career as incredible as Quincy Jones. He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him.”
New Order, who Quincy signed to his label Qwest in the US, paid tribute, writing, “Very sorry to hear about the passing of our old label boss and collaborator, Quincy Jones. We were on his label Qwest for many years, he did a great remix of Blue Monday in 1988. We send all our condolences and thoughts to his family, he was a true legend!”
Founding/former New Order bassist Peter Hook also posted a tribute of his own, saying, “It’s so sad to hear about Quincy Jones. When he signed us to his label, he made us feel so welcome – inviting us to dinner at his home every time we were in town. He made us big in America. He was so humble & sweet that you immediately fell in love with him. And to this day I still got a lovely message from him every year on Christmas and birthday cards! A musical genius and a great, lovely man. He will be sorely missed. RIP.”
Dr. Dre called Quincy “the reason why I decided to become a record producer,” and continues: “His records were my go-to when I started engineering. All of the time that I spent hanging out with him was priceless and I love how open he was- the advice he gave me, the conversations we had have helped me in my life and career. Forever inspired by the incomparable Quincy Jones.”
Will Smith, who worked with Quincy on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, called him “the true definition of a Mentor, a Father and a Friend.” He adds, “He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”
The Weeknd wrote the foreword to Quincy’s 2022 autobiography 12 Notes on Life and Creativity and shared that foreword on social media, in which he calls Quincy “the reason why I even do music in the first place.”
My fans know how important Quincy was to the fabric of my music. I was given the opportunity to write a foreword to his book and tried to capture what he meant to me as a human. Let’s celebrate his life today❤️ pic.twitter.com/aUhMabzf8x
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) November 4, 2024