When you’re a music producer, you have to know how to differentiate between what a client is saying wants and what their songs actually are needsThat’s why Quincy Jones once had to put his foot down with Michael Jackson while they were making what is now one of Jackson’s most recognizable songs. Jones didn’t buy into the “customer is always right” mentality when it comes to music.
In fact, we have Jones’ willingness to stick to his guns to thank for some of the best music released in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
Although he started out composing jazz and movie music, Quincy Jones began to dabble in pop music. The transition was natural. He had previously worked with Michael Jackson while producing the soundtrack to The WizA 1978 musical movie featuring stars such as Jackson and Diana Ross. After Jackson asked Quincy for producer recommendations for his upcoming recordings, Jones offered to do it himself.
Jones produced some of Jackson’s most famous recordings, including Off the Wall (1979). excitement (1982), and bad (1987). The creative collaboration between Jones and Jackson clearly paid off. But it was not without conflict. In a 2018 interview with nationalJones recalls the time Jackson gave him an arrangement note for his 1979 song “Don’t Stop Until You Get Enough.”
According to Jones, Jackson wanted him to remove the violins in the intro, saying they “ruined his grooves.” Jones sang the song again, calling it “the signature line of g******.” The producer said he told Jackson: “No way. You’re not telling me what to do. That’s one of the strongest parts of the intro. Ben Wright, Motown’s arranger, wrote it.
Jones’ decision to go against his client’s requests worked in Jackson’s favor. “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” earned Jackson his first Grammy Award for R& B’s male vocal performance in 1980. The song topped the charts in countries around the world and was certified platinum five times here in the United States.
An unparalleled and, at times, tense musical collaboration
Despite the success of Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson’s three collaborative albums, their relationship soured in the late 1980s. Jones once claimed it was due to Jackson’s insecurity about Jones’ creative contributions to his albums, but the legendary producer later gave a more neutral perspective on their fallout.
Speaking about his three albums with Jackson, Jones said in a 2012 interview with New York Times“, “This has nothing to do with anyone. This is a combination of us. You’re looking at one of the most talented kids in the history of show business. Michael was very committed and detail-oriented. If you combine that with my background in arranging and composing with big bands, we didn’t have any limitations.
Despite the various accounts of Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson’s feud, the music clearly spoke for itself. The duo’s collaboration helped shape pop music in the 1980s and beyond, and served as a testament to music’s ability to transcend time and genre, and even petty grievances and ego battles.
Photo by Bob Riha Jr. / Getty Images
A source