The Late Quincy Jones Was One of the Funniest Interview Subjects of All Time
Enough about who killed John F. Kennedy, Michael Jackson’s musical kleptomania and Marlon Brando’s insatiable sexual appetite — have you ever listened to Brazilian music?
The legendary music mogul Quincy Jones passed away yesterday at the age of 91, leaving behind an unmatched legacy in the entertainment business. Along with shaping the sound of popular music for most of the past century, the late Jones made many key contributions to American comedy that tend to go underappreciated when compared to his work as a songwriter, composer and record producer. For instance, while best known for his work with titans such as Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, Jones was one of the quiet giants of 1990s TV comedy, producing shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and MADtv that shaped an entire generation’s sense of humor.
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However, for my money, Jones’ greatest work of comedy genius (besides fathering Rashida) came in 2018 when he agreed to a lengthy, no-fucks-given interview with Vulture’s David Marchese wherein he careened between outrageous anecdotes about entertainment and politics like he was performing free form jazz:
Shortly after Jones’ publicist announced the passing of the pop-culture giant yesterday, fans on Twitter began posting their favorite lines from the chaotic interview to be scattered amongst the more serious eulogies. Along with his better-known digs on the musicianship of The Beatles, Jones’ comments about Sinatra’s mob connections and their role in the Kennedy assassination (along with outright naming the alleged presidential killer) stuck out as some of the most comedic answers to even the most run-of-the-mill interview questions, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Jones didn’t shy away from posthumously embarrassing many of the legendary figures whose legacies are so closely intertwined with his own either — on the topic of the late Jackson’s much-publicized cosmetic surgeries and claims of Vitiligo, Jones bluntly stated of his revered collaborator, “I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man. He’d always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bullshit.”
Though, Jones empathetically added, “He had a problem with his looks because his father told him he was ugly and abused him. What do you expect?”
Besides calling out President Kennedy’s real assassin by name, my favorite quote from the interview is when Jones asks Marchese to guess who could sing and play guitar as well as the great Jimi Hendrix, then answering the question himself by naming the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Jones then quickly pivoted to wax political about the state of civil rights in America before mentioning that he used to date Ivanka Trump.
With so many names dropped, so many fascinating behind-the-scenes facts revealed and so few fucks given, Jones is, without a doubt, the most entertaining man to ever give an interview to Vulture. Rest in peace to the GOAT.
