A visual guide to Quincy Jones’s iconic, tell-all Vulture interview
On the Beatles, Hillary Clinton, and who killed JFK.
In a new interview with Vulture, Quincy Jones says a lot of things. To better sort through them, The FADER has chosen to illustrate some chosen quotes with photos of Jones pulling his signature Getty move, which is a complicated mix of a thumbs up and a pointing.
Enjoy below, and please learn something while you're here.
On who killed JFK
"[Chicago mobster Sam] Giancana. The connection was there between Sinatra and the Mafia and Kennedy. Joe Kennedy — he was a bad man — he came to Frank to have him talk to Giancana about getting votes."
On Marlon Brando
"He was the most charming motherfucker you ever met. He’d fuck anything. Anything! He’d fuck a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye."
On the Beatles
"That they were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing motherfuckers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it. I remember once we were in the studio with George Martin, and Ringo had taken three hours for a four-bar thing he was trying to fix on a song. He couldn’t get it. We said, 'Mate, why don’t you get some lager and lime, some shepherd’s pie, and take an hour-and-a-half and relax a little bit.' So he did, and we called Ronnie Verrell, a jazz drummer. Ronnie came in for 15 minutes and tore it up. Ringo comes back and says, 'George, can you play it back for me one more time?' So George did, and Ringo says, ;That didn’t sound so bad.' And I said, 'Yeah, motherfucker because it ain’t you.' Great guy, though."
On why people don't like Hillary Clinton
"It’s because there’s a side of her — when you keep secrets, they backfire...This is something else I shouldn’t be talking about."
On the Trump family
"I used to date Ivanka, you know...Yes, sir. Twelve years ago. Tommy Hilfiger, who was working with my daughter Kidada said, 'Ivanka wants to have dinner with you.' I said, 'No problem. She’s a fine motherfucker.' She had the most beautiful legs I ever saw in my life. Wrong father, though."
On feminism and racism
"Feminism: Women are saying they’re not going to take it anymore. Racism: People are fighting it."
On Ireland and U2
"When I go to Dublin, Bono makes me stay at his castle because Ireland is so racist. Bono’s my brother, man. He named his son after me."
Is U2 still making good music?
[Shakes head.]
On what you know
"You know how they do; you know your country."