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Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

New Clear Days was The Vapors's 1980 debut album containing the UK hit single "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the chart in February 1980. A remix of "News at Ten" (named after the well known ITV news programme), went to No. 45 in July of that year. A third single, a re-recording of "Waiting for the Weekend" which included a horn section, failed to chart.

The title is a pun on Nuclear - nuclear weapons and power stations being major issues at that time. The album cover shows a rather grimy television screen displaying a BBC TV weather forecast. Among the symbols for clouds is one centred over London which is, upon closer examination, a mushroom cloud. In addition, one of the temperature symbols has been replaced with one warning of radiation and the weatherman glows.

"News at Ten", a cynical examination of the generation gap and the fear of ending up as complacent as the parent he despises for his conformism, was expected to be a hit on the back of the success of "Turning Japanese"; its poorer performance was blamed in part by the long-running strike at the BBC's Top Of The Pops which meant it received very little media exposure. There was also a marked reluctance by BBC Radio 1 - then the nation's premier radio station - to play a song named after an ITV programme.

Apart from the three singles, the best known other track is "Sixty Second Interval". Its ambiguous lyrics have been interpreted alternately as concerning the short cease-fires agreed between armies during wars to allow each to attend to their wounded in the no-man's land between them. The song was the inspiration behind the long-running "Sixty Second Interview" feature of the UK's Metro (Associated Metro Limited) free newspaper given away at public transport stations.

"Letter from Hiro", the album's lengthy melancholy finale, concerns the sense of powerlessness a boy feels as events push towards World War II, and towards the inevitable ending of his friendship with his more patriotic Japanese penpal ("And when the sun was rising somewhere in the East, and when a flag meant more to Hiro than to me"). The song concludes with the playing of a traditional Japanese tune on a cymbalum.

The American and Canadian releases omitted both "Cold War" and "America" in favor of the single "Prisoners". The CD reissue by Captain Oi! consisted of the original UK track listing, with eight bonus tracks: "Prisoners", "Sunstroke", "Here Comes The Judge" (live), "News At Ten" (single version), "Wasted", "Talk Talk", "Waiting For The Weekend" (single version), and "Billy".

Track listing[link]

• All Songs Written By David Fenton (EMI Music Publishing).

1. "Spring Collection" 2:52
2. "Turning Japanese" 3:44
3. "Cold War" 3:57
4. "America" 2:22
5. "Trains" 3:26
6. "Bunkers" 3:54
7. "News at Ten" 3:18
8. "Somehow" 3:33
9. "Sixty Second Interval" 3:52
10. "Waiting for the Weekend" 3:07
11. "Letter from Hiro" 6:23

Track listing 1980 LP Canada Release - Liberty/United Records[link]

1. "Turning Japanese"
2. "Sixty Second Interval"
3. "Waiting for the Weekend"
4. "Spring Collection"
5. "Letter from Hiro"
6. "News at Ten"
7. "Somehow"
8. "Prisoners"
9. "Trains"
10. "Bunkers"

References[link]

Personnel[link]

• David Fenton: Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocal
• Edward Bazalgette: Lead Guitar
• Steve Smith: Bass, Backing Vocal
• Howard Smith: Drums, Percussion

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Honey Singh
Background information
Also known as	Yo Yo Honey Singh
Born	(1984-03-15) March 15, 1984 (age 28) Hoshiarpur
Origin	punjabi
Genres	Desi Hip Hop Music Producer
Occupations	Rapper, Singer, Music Producer and Film Actor.
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Mafia Mundeer,
Associated acts	Diljit Dosanjh, Gippy Grewal , Jassi Sidhu , Malkit Singh, Amrinder Gill
Website	YoYoHoneySingh.com www.facebook.com/theyoyosingh

Honey Singh also known as Yo Yo Honey Singh^[1] is a Punjabi rapper, singer and a film actor. He started as a session and recording artist, and became a Bhangra producer.^[2]

Promotion[link]

Honey Singh has received the ETC award for the Best sound in 2006 for his song Glassi and the PTC award for the Best Folk Pop Award 2009 for Rebirth and PTC PUNJABI Best Music Director 2011.^[3]

It has been reported that he has been paid the highest fees ever for a song (as of 2012) of 70 lakh (US$139,700) for a song in the film Mastaan.^[4]

Early life[link]

He was born on 15 March 1984 in Hoshiarpur.^[5] While in the UK, he studied music at the Trinity School.

Career[link]

It is reported that Honey Singh prefers to sing in his native language Punjabi rather than English, Spanish and French.^[6] The Punjabi album International Villager was released on 11 November 2011 (11-11-11).^[7] The track Gabru from International Villager featuring singer J-Star topped Asian music charts (including world iTunes and the official BBC asian charts) ^[8][9]

He has performed at many college festivals including at Ansal Institute of Technology and Ramjas College, Delhi.^[10]

Bollywood[link]

He became popular after his debut music featuring Gagan Sidhu for the title track of the movie called Shakal Pe Mat Ja released on November 18, 2011. The Central Board of Film Certification suggested removing the abusive language contained in the title track of the movie.^{[citation needed]}

Honey Singh also acted in Punjabi Movie Mirza- The Untold Story^[11]

Honey Singh is now the highest paid music star^[12] pop artiste in Bollywood. Honey Singh has charged Rs. 70 lakh^[13] for a song in a film titled Mastaan, starring Naseeruddin Shah and his younger son, Vivaan. It is the biggest amount paid to a song artist in Bollywood to date.

Also Song Angreji Beat sung by Gippy Grewal & Yo Yo Honey Singh, originally from Honey Singh's Album International Villager released in November 2011, will be used in the film Cocktail.^[14]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Movies[link]

Filmography[link]

Feature films as Actor

Awards[link]

• The ETC award for the Best sound in 2006 for Glassi
• The PTC award for the Best Folk Pop Award 2009 for Rebirth
• PTC PUNJABI Best Music Director 2010 for song Desi Daroo^[17]
• PTC PUNJABI Best Music Director 2011 for album The Folkstar^[18][19]
• PTC PUNJABI Best Music Director 2012 for album I.V.(International Villager)^[20]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official Facebook Page of Honey Singh
• Official Twitter Account

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

Billy Eckstine
Background information
Birth name	William Clarence Eckstine
Also known as	Mr. B
Born	(1914-07-08)July 8, 1914 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	March 8, 1993(1993-03-08) (aged 78) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, trumpet
Years active	1940s–1990s
Associated acts	Dizzy Gillespie Charlie Parker Sarah Vaughan

William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993)^[1] was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music. Eckstine's recording of "I Apologize," MGM Pop Single, (1948) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

Biography[link]

Eckstine's grandparents were William F. Eckstein and Nannie Eckstein, a mixed-race, lawfully married couple who lived in Washington D.C.; both were born in the year 1863. William F. was born in Prussia and Nannie in Virginia. His parents were William Eckstein, a chauffeur and Charlotte Eckstein. He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania a State Historical Marker is placed at 5913 Bryant St, Highland Park, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to mark the house where he grew up.^[2] Later moving to Washington, D.C., Eckstine began singing at the age of seven and entered many amateur talent shows. He attended Armstrong High School, St. Paul Normal and Industrial School, and Howard University.^[3] He left Howard in 1933, after winning first place in an amateur talent contest.^[4] He married his first wife, June, in 1942; she too was a vocalist. After their divorce he married actress and model Carolle Drake in 1953, and remained married until his death. He was the father of five children and two step children, including Ed Eckstine, who was a president of Mercury Records, Guy Eckstine, who was a Columbia and Verve Records A&R executive and record producer, and singer Gina Eckstine.^[3]

An influence looming large in the cultural development of soul and R&B singers from Sam Cooke to Prince, Eckstine was able to play it straight on his pop hits "Prisoner of Love", "My Foolish Heart" and "I Apologize". He had originally planned on a football career, but after breaking his collar bone, he made music his focus. After working his way west to Chicago, Eckstine joined Earl Hines' Grand Terrace Orchestra in 1939, staying with the band as vocalist and, occasionally, trumpeter, until 1943. By that time, he had begun to make a name for himself through the Hines band's radio shows with such juke box hits as "Stormy Monday Blues" and his own "Jelly Jelly."

In 1944, Eckstine formed his own big band and made it a fountainhead for young musicians who would reshape jazz by the end of the decade, including Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Fats Navarro. Tadd Dameron and Gil Fuller were among the band's arrangers, and Sarah Vaughan gave the vocals a contemporary air. The Billy Eckstine Orchestra was the first bop big-band, and its leader reflected bop innovations by stretching his vocal harmonics into his normal ballads. Despite the group's modernist slant, Eckstine hit the charts often during the mid 1940s, with Top Ten entries including "A Cottage for Sale" and "Prisoner of Love". On the group's frequent European and American tours, Eckstine, popularly known as Mr. B, also played trumpet, valve trombone and guitar.

Dizzy Gillespie, in reflecting on the band in his 1979 autobiography To Be or Not to Bop places it in perspective: "There was no band that sounded like Billy Eckstine's. Our attack was strong, and we were playing bebop, the modern style. No other band like this one existed in the world."

After a few years of touring with road-hardened be-boppers, Eckstine became a solo performer in 1947, and seamlessly made the transition to string-filled balladry. He recorded more than a dozen hits during the late 1940s, including "My Foolish Heart" and "I Apologize." He was one of the first artists to sign with the newly-established MGM Records, and had immediate hits with revivals of "Everything I Have Is Yours" (1947), Richard Rodgers’ and Lorenz Hart’s "Blue Moon" (1948), and Juan Tizol’s "Caravan" (1949).

Eckstine had further success in 1950 with Victor Young’s theme song to "My Foolish Heart" and a revival of the 1931 Bing Crosby hit, "I Apologize". However, unlike Nat "King" Cole (who followed him into the pop charts), Eckstine’s singing, especially his exaggerated vibrato, sounded increasingly mannered and he was unable to sustain his recording success throughout the decade.^{[citation needed]}

While enjoying success in the middle-of-the-road and pop fields, Eckstine occasionally returned to his jazz roots, recording with Vaughan, Count Basie and Quincy Jones for separate LPs, and he regularly topped the Metronome and Down Beat polls in the Top Male Vocalist category: He won Esquire magazine's New Star Award in 1946; the Down Beat magazine Readers Polls from 1948 to 1952; and the Metronome magazine award as "Top Male Vocalist" from 1949 to 1954.

His 1950 appearance at the Paramount Theatre in New York City drew a larger audience than Frank Sinatra at his Paramount performance.

Among Eckstine's recordings of the 1950s was a 1957 duet with Sarah Vaughan, "Passing Strangers", a minor hit in 1957, but an initial No.22 success in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] Even before folding his band, Eckstine had recorded solo to support it, scoring two million-sellers in 1945 with "Cottage for Sale" and a revival of "Prisoner of Love". Far more successful than his band recordings, these prefigured Eckstine’s future career.

The 1960 Las Vegas live album, No Cover, No Minimum, featured Eckstine taking a few trumpet solos as well. He recorded several albums for Mercury and Roulette during the early 1960s, and he appeared on Motown for a few standards albums during the mid to late 1960s. After recording sparingly during the 1970s for Al Bell's, Stax/Enterprise imprint, Eckstine (although still performing to adoring audiences throughout the world), made his last recording, the Grammy-nominated Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter in 1986.

Eckstine made numerous appearances on television variety shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Nat King Cole Show", "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson, "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Art Linkletter Show," "The Joey Bishop Show," "The Dean Martin Show", "The Flip Wilson Show", and "Playboy After Dark". He also performed as an actor in the TV sitcom "Sanford and Son", and in such films as Skirts Ahoy, Let's Do It Again, and Jo Jo Dancer.

Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a "B" over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a "Mr. B. Collar." In addition to looking cool, the collar could expand and contract without popping open, which allowed his neck to swell while playing his horns.."^{[citation needed]} The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Legend has it that his refined appearance even had an effect on trumpeter Miles Davis. Once, when Eckstine came across a disheveled Davis in the depths of his heroin excess, his remark "Looking sharp, Miles" served as a wake-up call for Davis, who promptly returned to his father's farm in the winter of 1953 and finally kicked the habit.^[5]

In 1986, Billy recorded his final album Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter. Eckstine died on March 8, 1993, aged 78.

Tributes[link]

His friend Duke Ellington recalled Eckstine's artistry in his 1973 autobiography Music is My Mistress: "Eckstine-style love songs opened new lines of communication for the man in the man-woman merry-go-round, and blues a la B were the essence of cool. When he made a recording of Caravan, I was happy and honored to watch one of our tunes help take him into the stratosphere of universal acclaim. And, of course, he hasn't looked back since. A remarkable artist, the sonorous B." ... "His style and technique have seen extensively copied by some of the neocommercial singers, but despite their efforts he remains out front to show how and what should have been done."

Quincy Jones was quoted in Billboard: "I looked up to Mr. B as an idol. I wanted to dress like him, talk like him, pattern my whole life as a musician and as a complete person in the image of dignity that he projected. ... As a black man, Eckstine was not immune to the prejudice that characterized the 1950s." Jones is quoted in The Pleasures of Jazz: "If he’d been white, the sky would have been the limit. As it was, he didn’t have his own radio or TV show, much less a movie career. He had to fight the system, so things never quite fell into place."^{[citation needed]}

Lionel Hampton: "He was one of the greatest singers of all time. ... We were proud of him because he was the first Black popular singer singing popular songs in our race. We, the whole music profession, were so happy to see him achieve what he was doing. He was one of the greatest singers of that era ... He was our singer."^[6]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Billy Eckstine at the African American Registry
• Billy Eckstine at Allmusic
• Billy Eckstine at the Internet Movie Database
• Billy Eckstine at Find a Grave

Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones attending an after-party of a tribute to his work at Life Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA on October 1, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr.
Also known as	Leigh Warren
Born	(1933-03-14) March 14, 1933 (age 79) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Rhythm and blues, funk, soul, big band, swing, bossa nova, jazz, hip hop, rock and roll
Occupations	Musician, conductor, producer, arranger, composer, film composer
Instruments	Trumpet, French horn, drums, vocals, piano synthesizer
Years active	1951–present
Labels	Columbia, Mercury, Qwest
Associated acts	Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Sarah Vaughn, Aaliyah,[1] Michael Jackson, Rod Temperton, The Brothers Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Van Halen, Dinah Washington, Dean Martin, 2Pac, Patti Austin, Tevin Campbell, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, Trey Songz
Website	quincyjones.com

Jones in 2004 at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, conductor, arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations,^[2] 27 Grammys,^[2] including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is particularly recognized as the producer of the album Thriller, by pop icon Michael Jackson, which has sold more than 110 million copies worldwide,^[3] and as the producer and conductor of the charity song “We Are the World”.

In 1968, Jones and his songwriting partner Bob Russell became the first African Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song "The Eyes of Love" from the Universal Pictures film Banning. That same year, he became the first African American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for Best Original Score for his work on the music of the 1967 film In Cold Blood. In 1971, Jones would receive the honor of becoming the first African American to be named musical director/conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. He was the first African American to win the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1995. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African American, each of them having seven nominations. At the 2008 BET Awards, Quincy Jones was presented with the Humanitarian Award. He was played by Larenz Tate in the 2004 biopic about Ray Charles, Ray.

Early life[link]

Jones was born in Chicago, the oldest son of Sarah Frances (née Wells), an apartment complex manager and bank executive who suffered from schizophrenia, and Quincy Delight Jones, Sr., a semi-professional baseball player and carpenter.^[4] He sometimes ate rat as a child^[5][6] Jones discovered music in grade school at Raymond Elementary School on Chicago's South Side and took up the trumpet. When he was 10, his family moved to Bremerton, Washington and he attended Seattle's Garfield High School. It was in Seattle that Jones, 14, first met a 17-year-old Ray Charles^[7] and developed musically under the tutelage of Robert Blackwell.

His brother, Richard Jones, is a federal district court judge in Seattle, and has presided over several very high-profile cases, including the notorious Green River Killer Gary Ridgway. ^[8]

In 1951, Jones won a scholarship to the Schillinger House (now Berklee College of Music) in Boston, Massachusetts. However, he abandoned his studies when he received an offer to tour as a trumpeter with the bandleader Lionel Hampton. While Jones was on the road with Hampton, he displayed a gift for arranging songs. Jones relocated to New York City, where he received a number of freelance commissions arranging songs for artists like Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, and his close friend Ray Charles.

Musical career[link]

In 1956, Jones toured again as a trumpeter and musical director of the Dizzy Gillespie Band on a tour of the Middle East and South America sponsored by the United States Information Agency. Upon his return to the United States, Jones got a contract from ABC-Paramount Records and commenced his recording career as the leader of his own band.

In 1957, Quincy settled in Paris where he studied composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. He also performed at the Paris Olympia. Jones became music director at Barclay Disques, the French distributor for Mercury Records.

During the 1950s, Jones successfully toured throughout Europe with a number of jazz orchestras. As musical director of Harold Arlen's jazz musical Free and Easy, Quincy Jones took to the road again. A European tour closed in Paris in February 1960. With musicians from the Arlen show, Jones formed his own big band, called The Jones Boys, with 18 artists—plus their families—in tow. The band included jazz greats Eddie Jones and fellow trumpeter Reunald Jones, and organized a tour of North America and Europe. Though the European and American concerts met enthusiastic audiences and sparkling reviews, concert earnings could not support a band of this size, and poor budget planning made it an economic disaster; the band dissolved and the fallout left Jones in a financial crisis. Quoted in Musician magazine, Jones said about his ordeal, "We had the best jazz band in the planet, and yet we were literally starving. That's when I discovered that there was music, and there was the music business. If I were to survive, I would have to learn the difference between the two." Irving Green, head of Mercury Records, got Jones back on his feet with a personal loan and a new job as the musical director of the company's New York division, where he worked with Doug Moody, who would later go on to form Mystic Records.

His 1960s breakthrough and rise to prominence[link]

In 1964, Jones was promoted to vice-president of the company, thus becoming the first African American to hold such an executive position in a white-owned record company.^[9] In that same year, Quincy Jones turned his attention to another musical arena that had long been closed to blacks—the world of film scores. At the invitation of director Sidney Lumet, he composed the music for The Pawnbroker. It was the first of his 33 major motion picture scores.

Following the success of The Pawnbroker, Jones left Mercury Records and moved to Los Angeles. After his score for The Slender Thread, starring Sidney Poitier, he was in constant demand as a composer. His film credits in the next five years included Walk, Don't Run, In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, A Dandy in Aspic, Mackenna's Gold, The Italian Job, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Lost Man, Cactus Flower, and The Getaway. In addition, he also composed "The Streetbeater," which became familiar as the theme music for the television sitcom Sanford and Son, starring close friend Redd Foxx.

In the 1960s, Jones worked as an arranger for some of the most important artists of the era, including Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Dinah Washington. Jones's solo recordings also garnered acclaim, including Walking in Space, Gula Matari, Smackwater Jack, You've Got It Bad, Girl, Body Heat, Mellow Madness, and I Heard That!!.

He is well known for his 1962 tune "Soul Bossa Nova", which originated on the Big Band Bossa Nova album. "Soul Bossa Nova" was a theme for the 1998 World Cup, the Canadian game show Definition, the Woody Allen film Take the Money and Run and the Mike Myers movie Austin Powers in Goldmember, and was sampled by Canadian hip hop group Dream Warriors for their song, "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style".

Jones was also responsible for producing all four million-selling singles for Lesley Gore during the early and mid-sixties, including "It's My Party" (UK #8; US #1), "Judy's Turn To Cry" (US #5), "She's A Fool" (also a US #5) in 1963, and "You Don't Own Me" (US #2 for four weeks in 1964). He continued to produce for Lesley until 1966, including the Greenwich/ Barry hit "Look of Love" (US #27) in 1965.

Jones's 1981 album The Dude yielded multiple hit singles, including "Ai No Corrida" (a remake of a song by Chaz Jankel), "Just Once" and "One Hundred Ways", the latter two featuring James Ingram on lead vocals and marking Ingram's first hits.

In 1985, Jones scored the Steven Spielberg film adaptation of The Color Purple. He and Jerry Goldsmith (from Twilight Zone: The Movie) are the only composers besides John Williams to have scored a Spielberg theatrical film. After the 1985 American Music Awards ceremony, Jones used his influence to draw most of the major American recording artists of the day into a studio to record the song "We Are the World" to raise money for the victims of Ethiopia's famine. When people marveled at his ability to make the collaboration work, Jones explained that he'd taped a simple sign on the entrance: "Check Your Ego At The Door".

Starting in the late 1970s, Jones tried to convince Miles Davis to re-perform the music he had played on several classic albums that had been arranged by Gil Evans in the 1960s. Davis had always refused, citing a desire not to revisit the past. In 1991, Davis, then suffering from pneumonia, relented and agreed to perform the music at a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The resulting album from the recording, Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux, was Davis' last released album (he died several months afterward) and is considered an artistic triumph.^[10]

In 1993, Jones collaborated with David Salzman to produce the concert extravaganza An American Reunion, a celebration of Bill Clinton's inauguration as president of the United States. In 1994, Salzman and Jones formed the company Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment (QDE) with Time/Warner Inc. QDE is a diverse company which produces media technology, motion pictures, television programs (In the House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and MADtv), and magazines (Vibe and Spin).

In 2001, he published his autobiography, Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones. On July 31, 2007, Jones partnered with Wizzard Media to launch the Quincy Jones Video Podcast.^[11] In each episode, Jones shares his knowledge and experience in the music industry. The first episode features Jones in the studio, producing "I Knew I Loved you" for Celine Dion, which is featured on the Ennio Morricone tribute album, We All Love Ennio Morricone. Jones is also noted for helping produce Anita Hall's CD, Send Love, which was released in 2009.

Work with Michael Jackson[link]

While working on the film The Wiz, Michael Jackson asked Jones to recommend some producers for Jackson's upcoming solo record. Jones offered some names, but eventually asked Jackson if he would like for him to produce the record. Jackson replied that he would, and the result, Off The Wall, has sold approximately 20 million copies and made Jones the most powerful record producer in the industry. Jones's and Jackson's next collaboration Thriller has sold a reputed 110 million copies and has become the highest-selling album of all time.^[12] Jones also worked on Michael Jackson's album Bad, which has sold 45 million copies. Bad was the last time the pair would work together in the studio, although an audio interview with Jones features on the 2001 special editions of 'Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.

In a 2002 interview, when Jackson was asked if he would ever work with Jones again he replied, "The door is always open".^{[citation needed]} However, in 2007, when NME.COM asked Jones a similar question, he said "Man, please! We already did that. I have talked to him about working with him again but I've got too much to do. I've got 900 products, I'm 74 years old."^[13]

Following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, Jones said:

Work with Frank Sinatra[link]

Jones first worked with Frank Sinatra when he was invited by Princess Grace to arrange a benefit concert at the Monaco Sporting Club in 1958.^[15] Six years later, Sinatra hired him to arrange and conduct Sinatra's second album with Count Basie, It Might as Well Be Swing (1964). Jones conducted and arranged 1966's live album with the Basie Band, Sinatra at the Sands.^[16] Jones was also the arranger/conductor when Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Johnny Carson performed with the Basie orchestra in St. Louis, Missouri, in a benefit for Dismas House in June 1965. The fund-raiser was broadcast to a number of other theaters around the country and eventually released on DVD.^[17] Later that year, Jones was also the arranger/conductor when Sinatra and Basie appeared on The Hollywood Palace TV show on October 16, 1965.^[18] Nineteen years later, Sinatra and Jones teamed up for 1984's L.A. Is My Lady, after a joint Sinatra-Lena Horne project was abandoned.^[19]

Brazilian culture[link]

Jones is a great admirer of Brazilian culture and a film on Brazil's Carnival is among his recent plans: "one of the most spectacular spiritual events on the planet";^[20] Simone, whom he cites as "one of the world´s greatest singers",^[21] Ivan Lins,^[22] Milton Nascimento and Gilson Peranzzetta, "one of the five biggest arrangement producers of the world"^[23] stand as close friends and partners in his recent works.

Media appearances[link]

Jones had a brief appearance in the 1990 video for The Time song "Jerk Out". Jones was a guest star on an episode of The Boondocks in which he and the main character, Huey Freeman, co-produced a Christmas play for Huey's elementary school. He appeared with Ray Charles in the music video of their song 'One Mint Julep' and also with Ray Charles and Chaka Khan in the music video of their song "I'll Be Good to You".

Quincy Jones hosted an episode of the long-running NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live on February 10, 1990 (during SNL's 15th season [the 1989–1990 season]). The episode was notable for having 10 musical guests^[24] (the most any SNL episode has ever had in its 30-plus years on the air): Tevin Campbell, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, rappers Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel, Quincy D III, Siedah Garrett, Al Jarreau, and Take 6, and for a performance of Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" by The SNL Band (conducted by Quincy Jones himself).^[24] Jones also impersonated Marion Barry in the then-recurring sketch, "The Bob Waltman Special". Quincy Jones would later be producer for his own sketch comedy show, FOX's MADtv.

Jones appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures film Fantasia 2000, introducing the set piece of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Two years later he made a cameo appearance as himself in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Jones during NASA's 50th anniversary gala, 2008.

On February 10, 2008, Jones presented at the Grammy Awards. With Usher he presented Album of The Year to Herbie Hancock.

On January 6, 2009, Quincy Jones appeared on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly to discuss various experiences within his prolific career. Also discussed was the informal notion of Jones becoming the first minister of culture for the United States — following the pending inauguration of the 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama. Carson Daly indicated the U.S. as being one of the only leading world countries, along with Germany, to exclude this position from the national government. This idea has also been subject to more in-depth discussion on NPR^[25] and the Chronicle of Higher Education.^[26]

On December 12, 2009, Jones performed at a private reception for USAA employees at the Alamo Dome, in San Antonio, TX.

On February 5, 2011 Quincy Jones appeared on CBS's Late night show with David Letterman.

Awards and recognition[link]

Discography[link]

Personal life[link]

Jones in December 2010

Jones has been married three times and has seven children:

• to Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966; they had one daughter, Jolie Jones Levine.
• to Ulla Andersson from 1967 to 1974; they had two children, Martina Jones and son Quincy Jones III;
• to actress Peggy Lipton from 1974 to 1990; they had two daughters, actresses Kidada Jones and Rashida Jones.
• Jones also had a brief affair with Carol Reynolds and they had a daughter, Rachel Jones.
• Jones dated and lived with actress Nastassja Kinski from 1991 until 1995. In February 1993, their daughter Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones was born.^[27]

For the 2006 PBS television program African American Lives, Jones had his DNA tested; the results found that through his patrilineal line (Y DNA), he is of European ancestry, and through his matrilineal line (mt DNA) he is of West African/Central African ancestry of Tikar descent.^[28] In a BBC interview, Jones said he had discovered that his father was half Welsh.^[29] The series revealed that Jones' family hails from an area in Cameroon known for its music. On hearing the information, Jones said: "I would have never guessed." On his mother's side, Jones is a descendant of Betty Washington Lewis, president George Washington's sister.^[30]

Jones has never learned to drive, citing an accident in which he was a passenger (at age 14) as the reason.^[31]

Social activism[link]

Jones's social activism began in the 1960s with his support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jones is one of the founders of the Institute for Black American Music (IBAM), whose events aim to raise enough funds for the creation of a national library of African American art and music. Jones is also one of the founders of the Black Arts Festival in his hometown of Chicago. In the 1970s Jones formed The Quincy Jones Workshops. Meeting at the Los Angeles Landmark Variety Arts Center, the workshops educated and honed the skills of inner city youth in musicianship, acting and songwriting. Among its Alumni were Alton Mc Clain who had a hit song with Alton Mc Clain and Destiny, and Mark Wilkins who co-wrote the hit song "Havin' A Love Attack" with Mandrill and went on to become the National Promotion Director for Punk / Thrash record label Mystic Records. For many years, he has worked closely with Bono of U2 on a number of philanthropic endeavors. He is the founder of the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, a nonprofit that connects youths with technology, education, culture and music. One of the organization's programs is an intercultural exchange between underprivileged youths from Los Angeles and South Africa.

In 2004, Jones helped launch the We Are the Future (WAF) project, which gives children in poor and conflict-ridden areas a chance to live their childhoods and develop a sense of hope. The program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Glocal Forum, the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation and Hani Masri, with the support of the World Bank, UN agencies and major companies. The project was launched with a concert in Rome, Italy, in front of an audience of half a million people.

Jones supports a number of other charities including the NAACP, GLAAD, Peace Games, AmfAR and The Maybach Foundation.^[32] Jones serves on the Advisory Board of HealthCorps. On July 26, 2007, he announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president. But with the election of Barack Obama, Quincy Jones said that his next conversation "with President Obama [will be] to beg for a secretary of arts,"^[33] prompting the circulation of a petition on the Internet asking Obama to create such a Cabinet-level position in his administration.^[34][35]

In 2001, he became an honorary member of the Board of Directors of The Jazz Foundation of America. Jones worked with The Jazz Foundation of America^[36] to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians including those who survived Hurricane Katrina.

Jones and his friend John Sie, founder of Starz Entertainment, worked together to create the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the founding of which was inspired by Sie’s granddaughter, Sophia, who has Down syndrome.^[37]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Quincy Jones

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quincy Jones

• Official Quincy Jones Website
• Quincy Jones Discography at iMusic.am
• Archive of American Television interview
• Mix Interview: Quincy Jones
• American Masters - Quincy Jones: The Story of an American Musician
• Quincy Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Association for Computing Machinery Video Interview with Quincy Jones
• Quincy Jones speech on the importance of Cultural Diplomacy throughout the world, Beijing, China, May 26, 2006
• Quincy Jones's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Video clip of Quincy Jones's speech on education at the American Film Institute for the 2006 ACM Computers in Entertainment Scholarship Awards (November 4, 2006)