At age 11, Quincy Jones found his purpose when he felt compelled to touch the piano at a local recreation center. It was a small gesture that set him on his way to a hugely successful music career.
The first instrument he learned was the trumpet, and it didn't take him long to be good enough to play in jazz bands. From there, he went on to:
- Collaborate with Frank Sinatra;
- Compose film scores for movies and TV shows;
- Produce hit songs for Lesley Gore;
- Work with Michael Jackson on three albums, including "Thriller," the best-selling album ever;
- Organize the recording of "We Are the World," which brought together more than 40 of the top rock and pop stars of the 1980s.
- And write popular songs.
"Soul Bossa Nova," the song referenced in this tribute, came out in 1962. More than three decades later, it was used in the opening dance scene in the 1997 film "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery."
You can go here to watch Jones conducting an amazing group of jazz musicians playing "Soul Bossa Nova" on "Late Night with David Letterman."
Or to hear the song as the soundtrack to 1960s videos, go here.
"The Many Lives of Q" is a BBC documentary about Jones' life and career. You can find it presented in short segments on YouTube. Here's a link to Episode 1, which is intriguing enough to make you want to want to keep watching all seven episodes.
The image in the thumbnail for this episode is a photo of Jones in 1980, attributed to the Los Angeles Times and available on Wikimedia under the license CC BY 4.0.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
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