Quincy Jones

Composer / Producer
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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About
About this interview

In his two-and-a-half-hour  interview, Quincy Jones details his tumultuous early years and pinpoints the moment his life changed as he became interested in music. He talks about starting his music career as an arranger and discusses his quick rise in the music industry. He chronicles his television work, which includes composing music for such classics as Ironside, Roots, Sanford & Son, The Cosby Show and producing such series as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In the House. He also discusses producing the 1996 Academy Awards, making the music video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller", and producing "We Are the World." Jon Burlingame conducted the interview on November 13, 2002 in Bel Air, CA.

"The role of music in television, or movies, serves two functions: it deals with tension and release. It has a magical ability to paint the psyche emotionally. We call it sometimes 'emotion lotion,' because it hits you. Nothing hits you harder than music."

People Talking About ...
Quincy Jones
Highlights
Quincy Jones on composing the theme for Sanford & Son
Quincy Jones on MTV and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video
Quincy Jones on being an executive producer of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
On Rebop; on composing for the miniseries Roots; on the impact of Roots
Quincy Jones on his friendship with Oprah Winfrey
Quincy Jones on composing the theme and scoring for the sitcom Hey Landlord!
Full Interview

Chapter 1
On his early years growing up in Chicago (and then Washington State); on his education; on the moment when he played a piano and became interested in music; on meeting Ray Charles; on his early musical work
On joining Lionel Hampton's band at 18; on touring in Europe and Asia; on meeting and working with such music professionals as Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Mathis, and Lalo Schifrin; on working as an arranger; on moving to New York; on being signed to Mercury Records and becoming a company Vice President in 1964

Chapter 2
On first seeing television; on appearing on variety shows; on watching the filming of I Love Lucy; on composing for the feature film The Pawnbroker
On working in Los Angeles; on scoring his first Hollywood films
On composing for his first television series, the sitcom Hey Landlord!
On composing the theme and scoring Ironside; on the show's use of the Moog synthesizer
On composing for European Eye, The Pickle Brothers and The Bill Cosby Show

Chapter 3
On composing the theme and incidental music for The Bill Cosby Show; on the TV-movie Killer By Night; on composing the theme for Sanford & Son; on working on the animated show Big
On being musical director on The New Bill Cosby Show; on composing for NBC's Wednesday Mystery Movie; on producing Duke Ellington: We Love You Madly; on suffering two aneurysms in 1974

Chapter 4
On Rebop; on composing for the miniseries Roots; on the impact of Roots
On his friendship with Oprah Winfrey; on the advent of MTV; on Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video and "We Are the World"; on producing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Chapter 5
On appearing on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (which he produced); on the show's legacy; on producing In the House; on producing a series on the history of rock and roll; on producing shows, in general; on producing the 1996 Academy Awards
On Vibe; on the importance of music in television and film; on his advice to aspiring composers
Shows

Academy Awards, The

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Quincy Jones on producing the 1996 Academy Awards

Bill Cosby Show, The

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Quincy Jones on first working with Bill Cosby
Quincy Jones on composing the theme and incidental music for The Bill Cosby Show

Duke Ellington… We Love You Madly

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Quincy Jones on producing Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The

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Quincy Jones on being an executive producer of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Quincy Jones on appearing on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (which he produced); on the show's legacy

Hey Landlord!

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme and scoring for the sitcom Hey Landlord!

In the House

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Quincy Jones on producing In the House

Ironside

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme and scoring Ironside; on the show's use of the Moog synthesizer

New Bill Cosby Show, The

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Quincy Jones on working as musical director on The New Bill Cosby Show

Rebop

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Quincy Jones on the PBS series Rebop

Roots

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Quincy Jones on composing for Roots

Sanford and Son

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme for Sanford & Son
Topics

Diversity in Television

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Quincy Jones on first working on Holllywood films
Quincy Jones on the impact of Roots

Historic Events and Social Change

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Quincy Jones on first working on Holllywood films

Memorable Moments on Television

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Quincy Jones on MTV and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video

Pop Culture

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme for Sanford & Son
Quincy Jones on composing the theme and incidental music for The Bill Cosby Show

TV Theme Songs

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme and incidental music for The Bill Cosby Show
Quincy Jones on composing the theme for Sanford & Son

Underrepresented Voices

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Quincy Jones on first working on Holllywood films
Quincy Jones on the impact of Roots

We Considered

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Quincy Jones on the impact of Roots
Genres

Awards Shows

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Quincy Jones on producing the 1996 Academy Awards

Comedy Series

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Quincy Jones on working as musical director on The New Bill Cosby Show

TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials

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Quincy Jones on producing Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly
Quincy Jones on the impact of Roots
People

Bill Cosby

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Quincy Jones on first working with Bill Cosby
Quincy Jones on composing the theme and incidental music for The Bill Cosby Show
Quincy Jones on working as musical director on The New Bill Cosby Show

Redd Foxx

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Quincy Jones on composing the theme for Sanford & Son

Michael Jackson

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Quincy Jones on MTV and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video

Christopher Reeve

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Quincy Jones on producing the 1996 Academy Awards

George Schlatter

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Quincy Jones on working as musical director on The New Bill Cosby Show

Will Smith

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Quincy Jones on being an executive producer of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Oprah Winfrey

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Quincy Jones on his friendship with Oprah Winfrey

All Interviews

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