there is no debate on that......here is a list of Quincy Jones accomplishments years before he even met Michael Jackson
1.) Quincy had already learned how to play the trumpet at the age of 11
2.) had written his first musical composition at the age of 14
3.) as a teenager, joined Lionel Hampton's r&b/blues band as a trumpeteer
4.) at 23, he became musical director of Count Basie's world travelling band
5.) received first award of merit as an arranger in 1956
6.) studied composition and theory of Nadia Boulanger in france, one of 20th centuries greatest music tutors
7.) First musical score he mastered was Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", the same Stravinsky MIchael Jackson talked about allot and I'm sure he learned about from Quincy Jones
8.) in the early 1960s, Quincy became the first black vice president of a major music label at Mercury Records
9.) Scored for both Frank Sinatra and Count Basie's Ochestra
10.) won his first Grammy award in the 60s for arranging one of Count Basie's compositions with BAsie being remembered as one of the best jazz artists of all time
11.) entering the 1970s, Quincy was the most sought after musical producer/arranger in the recording industry
12.) completed musical scores for countless movies and tv shows.....the music you hear in those Austin Powers movies "Soul Bosa Nova".....Quincy Jones scored that
13.) First black person to serve as musical arranger for the Grammy Awards in 1973
14.) Co-produced a musical special for one of the music's great luminaries in Duke Ellington in the early 70s
15.) Musical scored for the mini series "Roots" in 1977
16.) would use his music to champion social activism throughout the globe
allll that happened before he started working with Michael Jackson and I left allot of stuff out
and after they stopped working, Quincy's career did not end their
even in the 80s, he produced two grammy award winning albums with "The Dude" in 1981 and "Back on the Block" in 1989 for which he won a total of 8 Grammys for, and scored for the movie "The Color Purple" and for the tv series "In The Heat of the Night"
in the 90s, he co-produced several hit tv shows including "The fresh prince of bel-air"
was the musical arranger for President Clinton's presidential inauguration
Founded "Vibe" magazine in the mid 90s
began addressing world debt relief for several struggling nations who owed high interest money to the international monetary relief fund
throughout his storied career, he scored 33 major films and dozens of tv shows, arranged over 500 recordings, nominated for over 75 grammys, winning 27 total, several oscar nominations, won an emmy award, received the highest jazz honor from the national endowment of the arts
his career has spanned over 6 decades and he knows about the changing scope of music and the origin of musical expressions better than anyone I've ever seen......
his resume clearly indicates he has earned the right to be recognized as the greatest musical producer of all time and he would have earned that distinction if he and Michael Jackson never worked together....yes, their collaboration together was Quincy's most celebrated moments, but he was already the best during the time black music and its representatives were being shunned by the restrictions placed w/in the entertainment and music field.....
he never needed to or tried to take credit for the success he and MJ shared together....that's a myth that's been put out their over recent times
and the reason is Quincy is speaking out more about his contribution to Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad is because for the past 5 years, the insinuation has been presented publically that he did not really contribute....
this was not an issue when their collaboration was actually taking place, there was never any debates about who was doing what......that's what's so unfortunate about where things stand now and how history is being changed to fit narratives.....
