As we get older, we start to care a little less about what people think about us. It's a road that ultimately leads to grandmas asking to speak to the manager because their coffee was a bit too hot, but it also leads us to speak the truth a little more too.
Quincy Jones has had a long and successful
career in music, but now he's 84 and he doesn't seem to be worrying too much about what people think about him.
In a recent lengthy interview with Vulture he dished the dirt on a lot of people without holding back one bit. “All I’ve ever done is tell the truth,” Jones said from his Belair mansion. “I’ve got nothing to be scared of, man.”
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First up on the chopping block was
Michael Jackson, who Jones had known and worked with since the 70s. But while people are rarely going to say anything bad about Jackson (in the realm of music, anyway), Jones was fine to knock him down a peg or two. When he was asked if there's anything people don't understand about him, he said:
"I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs. [Donna Summer’s] 'State of Independence' and 'Billie Jean'. The notes don’t lie, man. He was as Machiavellian as they come."
"Greedy, man. Greedy. “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” — Greg Phillinganes wrote the c section. Michael should’ve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldn’t do it."
He then went on to describe how he would tell Jackson to stop having plastic surgeries, to which the singer would claim it was because of a skin disease, which Jones said was "bullshit".
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The interviewer, David Marchese, then moved on to other musical legends, focusing on The Beatles. While they have their detractors, many believe that they were one of the best and most influential bands in history. Jones, however, wasn't quite as complimentary. In fact, when he was asked his first impression of them, he said that "they were the worst musicians in the world".
"That they were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing motherfuckers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it."
As if that wasn't harsh enough, he then went on to describe a studio session that Ringo almost completely ruined:
"I remember once we were in the studio with George Martin, and Ringo had taken three hours for a four-bar thing he was trying to fix on a song. He couldn’t get it.
"We said, “Mate, why don’t you get some lager and lime, some shepherd’s pie, and take an hour-and-a-half and relax a little bit.” So he did, and we called Ronnie Verrell, a jazz drummer."
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"Ronnie came in for 15 minutes and tore it up. Ringo comes back and says, “George, can you play it back for me one more time?” So George did, and Ringo says, “That didn’t sound so bad.”
"And I said, “Yeah, motherfucker because it ain’t you.” Great guy, though."
There's something kind of magical about imagining this scene unfold, with a member of one of the biggest bands ever being completely owned by the older musical legend. There's plenty more to this bonkers interview, with him even claiming to know who killed JFK (mobster Sam Giancana, apparently).
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But amidst all this, he does give some more straightforward thoughts about the U.S today:
"We’re the worst we’ve ever been, but that’s why we’re seeing people try and fix it. Feminism: Women are saying they’re not going to take it anymore. Racism: People are fighting it. God is pushing the bad in our face to make people fight back."
Well, there you have it. While a lot of his comments will annoy a lot of people, it's hard not to take someone of his stature a little bit seriously. Not too sure he knows about who killed JFK though...
