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With the news of the sad passing of music titan Quincy Jones, we look back at the pearls of wisdom that he gave Esquire back in 2009.
You have to find your own joy, don’t you?
I’m probably the only one in the world you can name that’s worked with Billie Holiday, Louie Armstrong, Ella, Duke, Miles Davis, Dizzy, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Tony Bennett. I’m the only one.
“Fly Me to the Moon” was played on the moon by Buzz Aldrin.
Cherish your mistakes and you won’t keep making them over and over again. It’s the same with heartbreaks and girls and everything else. Cherish them and they’ll put some wealth in you.
“We Are the World”? I said, “I want the best choir I ever heard.”
We learned a lot of things. We made $63 million. We sent $1 million worth of food to see how it went. They just dumped it on the desert. It spoiled. Hey, it could have been worse than that. We could have sent all the food over there.
I’m studying Arabic now, and Mandarin. Open the door to them, and they’ll open it to you.
Soon as it rains, get wet.
When you chase music for money, God walks out of the room.
Bono and I had a twenty-five-minute meeting with the pope for Third World debt relief. The paper said because of that trip we got billions for Mozambique, Bolivia, and the Ivory Coast. Two raggedy-ass musicians — Irish rock ‘n’ roller and a brother from Chicago. We were haaaaappy. Like a fox eating sauerkraut.
Marlon Brando was nanotechnology. Nanotechnology that’s one billion times faster than the computers we have now. That’s Marlon.
They doubted me on Michael Jackson for Thriller. I found the power in being underestimated. It’s the greatest place to be.
Sinatra didn’t have any gray. He either loved you or rolled over you with a truck in reverse.
I’m proud of everything I ever made.
You wanna see my heart? Look at my daughters.