Everyday Creation
The truth about us — that's what Everyday Creation is about. As humans, we're amazingly creative. Consider what we do: We make music and design buildings; we cook, we dance, we invent things. The list goes on. There's another part of our creativity, and that's divine Creation. It doesn't have to be religious. Just consider the awe we feel when we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose. That's when we know that there's something bigger afoot, and it's more profound than we imagined. Lastly, there's another type of creation worthy of attention, and that is our ability to direct our words, thoughts and actions toward creating a better life for ourselves and others and, along the way, making the world a little better. You'll find at least one of these types of creation in every episode.
Everyday Creation
The Many Achievements of Q, aka the Legendary Quincy Jones
At age 11, Quincy Jones found his purpose when he felt compelled to touch the piano at a local recreation center. It was a small gesture that set him on his way to a hugely successful music career.
The first instrument he learned was the trumpet, and it didn't take him long to be good enough to play in jazz bands. From there, he went on to:
- Collaborate with Frank Sinatra;
- Compose film scores for movies and TV shows;
- Produce hit songs for Lesley Gore;
- Work with Michael Jackson on three albums, including "Thriller," the best-selling album ever;
- Organize the recording of "We Are the World," which brought together more than 40 of the top rock and pop stars of the 1980s.
- And write popular songs.
"Soul Bossa Nova," the song referenced in this tribute, came out in 1962. More than three decades later, it was used in the opening dance scene in the 1997 film "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery."
You can go here to watch Jones conducting an amazing group of jazz musicians playing "Soul Bossa Nova" on "Late Night with David Letterman."
Or to hear the song as the soundtrack to 1960s videos, go here.
"The Many Lives of Q" is a BBC documentary about Jones' life and career. You can find it presented in short segments on YouTube. Here's a link to Episode 1, which is intriguing enough to make you want to want to keep watching all seven episodes.
The image in the thumbnail for this episode is a photo of Jones in 1980, attributed to the Los Angeles Times and available on Wikimedia under the license CC BY 4.0.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Sheldon:
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.980
Quincy Jones was the Tom Brady of music.
00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:05.840
Or maybe it would be more accurate to
00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:08.500
call Tom Brady the Quincy Jones of football.
00:00:09.200 --> 00:00:11.540
Jones was the Greatest of All Time.
00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.615
He was a musician. He wrote music and
00:00:14.615 --> 00:00:15.115
television
00:00:15.495 --> 00:00:15.995
scores.
00:00:16.295 --> 00:00:19.015
He produced some of the most successful songs
00:00:19.015 --> 00:00:21.115
and albums of the 20th century,
00:00:21.415 --> 00:00:22.795
and he herded cats.
00:00:23.815 --> 00:00:26.455
Jones died November 3 at his home in
00:00:26.455 --> 00:00:28.635
the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.
00:00:29.490 --> 00:00:31.190
No cause of death was given.
00:00:31.810 --> 00:00:33.190
He was 91.
00:00:34.050 --> 00:00:35.810
The Song of the Day is paying tribute
00:00:35.810 --> 00:00:38.230
to the singers, songwriters and musicians
00:00:38.690 --> 00:00:40.870
who died in 2024.
00:00:41.955 --> 00:00:44.195
He was 11 when he and his brother
00:00:44.195 --> 00:00:46.615
broke into a rec center looking for food.
00:00:47.395 --> 00:00:49.895
He found a stand up piano instead.
00:00:50.835 --> 00:00:52.535
In a BBC documentary,
00:00:52.995 --> 00:00:54.775
"The Many Lives of Q,"
00:00:55.480 --> 00:00:58.280
he said that God's whispers made him touch
00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.760
it. He went from a life of crime
00:01:00.760 --> 00:01:02.060
to a life of music.
00:01:03.080 --> 00:01:05.900
The first instrument he learned was the trumpet.
00:01:06.440 --> 00:01:09.435
He started out playing with jazz bands. He
00:01:09.435 --> 00:01:12.715
worked with Frank Sinatra from 1958
00:01:12.715 --> 00:01:14.495
until Sinatra's death.
00:01:15.435 --> 00:01:19.455
Jones began composing for movies in 1964
00:01:19.515 --> 00:01:20.415
with "The Pawnbroker."
00:01:21.410 --> 00:01:23.410
He went on to score "In the Heat
00:01:23.410 --> 00:01:26.130
of the Night," "In Cold Blood" and "The
00:01:26.130 --> 00:01:27.110
Color Purple."
00:01:27.890 --> 00:01:29.750
He wrote the themes for television
00:01:30.050 --> 00:01:32.470
shows "Sanford and Sons," "Ironside"
00:01:32.930 --> 00:01:34.790
and two Cosby shows.
00:01:35.775 --> 00:01:38.655
His reputation as a music producer grew in
00:01:38.655 --> 00:01:39.795
the 1960s.
00:01:40.575 --> 00:01:42.195
He produced four million-
00:01:42.255 --> 00:01:44.355
seller singles for Lesley Gore.
00:01:44.975 --> 00:01:47.855
He met Michael Jackson in 1978
00:01:47.855 --> 00:01:50.835
and produced three of his albums, including "Thriller,"
00:01:51.410 --> 00:01:53.670
the best-selling album of all time.
00:01:54.530 --> 00:01:55.030
Maybe
00:01:55.330 --> 00:01:58.050
his greatest achievement was getting more than 40
00:01:58.050 --> 00:02:00.930
of the biggest rock and pop stars into
00:02:00.930 --> 00:02:03.890
a studio and, for one night, leaving their
00:02:03.890 --> 00:02:06.610
egos at the door to record "We Are
00:02:06.610 --> 00:02:07.215
the World."
00:02:08.175 --> 00:02:08.995
He wrote
00:02:09.375 --> 00:02:12.335
"Soul Bossa Nova" in 1962
00:02:12.335 --> 00:02:14.515
during the Brazilian music craze.
00:02:14.895 --> 00:02:16.515
He said it took 20 minutes.
00:02:17.375 --> 00:02:20.095
The song lives on as the opening dance
00:02:20.095 --> 00:02:21.955
scene of "Austin Powers:
00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:24.280
International Man of Mystery."
Kate:
00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:28.020
That was Song of the Day creator Sheldon
00:02:28.020 --> 00:02:28.520
Zoldan.
00:02:28.980 --> 00:02:31.880
And I'm Kate Jones, host of Everyday Creation.
00:02:32.660 --> 00:02:34.760
Thank you for joining us today.
