My father was a carpenter, a very good carpenter. He also worked for the Jones boys. They were not family members, we weren't related at all. They started the policy racket in Chicago, and they had the five and dime store. Quincy Jones More Quotes by Quincy Jones More Quotes From Quincy Jones The only music I don't like is bad music. Quincy Jones bad-music I tell my kids and I tell proteges, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because its not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever. Quincy Jones humility forever kids You cannot get an A if you're afraid of getting an F. Quincy Jones ifs I was reading Omar Khayyam, Kahlil Gibran, Rumi, L. Ron Hubbard, all sorts of philosophy. Bebop cats are like that. Curious. I wanted to know about everything. Quincy Jones cat reading philosophy You have to know that your real home is within. Quincy Jones real self-esteem home Editing while you're writing is like strangling the baby in the crib. Quincy Jones editing writing baby The climate in the '50s and '60s for black performers or black people in the entertainment business was atrocious. It was atrocious. Quincy Jones climate black people When you're over the hill, that's when you pick up speed. Quincy Jones hills speed inspirational All the jazz guys had interracial relationships, and even the ladies did. Over the years, interracial relationships have been a hip, almost defiant thing, a way of saying "Nobody can put a boundary around me." Quincy Jones jazz guy boundaries Arts is just as important as military defense, you know? Emotional defense is just as important. Quincy Jones emotional military art You want your parents to say, "Hey, I'm proud of you." When you don't hear that, you learn to compensate. You say, "Hell, I don't need their approval. If I get my music right, I'll have everyone else's approval." I didn't understand it then, but I now know that's what happened to me. Quincy Jones hell proud parent Everybody has their idiosyncrasies. Quincy Jones idiosyncrasies Thank God, 50 years ago I learned that our entire business is all based on two things; a great song and a great story. Film, television, if you don't have that story, nothing else matters. You don't call anybody else or direct anybody. The same with a song. A great song can make the worst singer in the world a star. Quincy Jones stars song years I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young, every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every night club, listened to every band that came through, because in those days we didn't have MTV, we didn't have television. Quincy Jones mtv night people I found this out over the years, that racism is a thinly veiled disguise over economics and money. It really is. Quincy Jones economics racism years I got a scholarship to Seattle University and I was writing arrangements for singers and everybody. But the music course was too dry and I really wanted to get away from home. Quincy Jones dry home writing I got in the school band and the school choir. It all hit me like a ton of bricks, everything just came out. I played percussion for a while, and stayed after school forever just tinkering around with different things, the clarinets and the violins. Quincy Jones different forever school Every country can be defined through their food, their music and their language. That's the soul of a country. Quincy Jones language soul country I'm a tremendous believer and supporter in hip-hop and rap. Quincy Jones hips rap hip-hop There's power in the collective. If you don't believe me, just watch a symphony orchestra with a conductor and 120 people who are thinking about exactly the same thing at the same moment - no babies, no stock markets, no mortgages. Just 32nd notes. Quincy Jones baby believe thinking
