The person that really "made" MJ wasn't at the memorial. Quincy Jones.

[R. P. McMurphy]

I'm referring to Quincy Jones. He produced, Bad, Thriller and Off the Wall.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8f6077bGsu61P4mX9plC7B0jpow

Those were the albums that made MJ a Superstar. Those were enough to define his musical career.

Here's the Wiki link on Quincy Jones:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones

Think about it. Quincy Jones produced MJ's best work and some of Frank Sinatra's best work along with a bunch of others. I wonder how much of a media event his memorial service will be?

[Lamar Mundane]

I'm referring to Quincy Jones. He produced, Bad, Thriller and Off the Wall.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8f6077bGsu61P4mX9plC7B0jpow

Those were the albums that made MJ a Superstar. Those were enough to define his musical career.

Here's the Wiki link on Quincy Jones:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones

Think about it. Quincy Jones produced MJ's best work and some of Frank Sinatra's best work along with a bunch of others. I wonder how much of a media event his memorial service will be?


I once read a great story about Quincy Jones taking Tupac Shakur to a Frank Sinatra concert. It was awesome, but I haven't been able to find it again.

[xanthous]

I found this. (http://www.bvnewswire.com/2009/07/02/quincy-jones-not-attending--jackson-s-funeral/)

[dropzone]

Oprah skipped it, too. (relying on my Second Head to explain, or just comment on things) Oprah is a right handsome woman. Q's daughter is SMOKIN'!

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Interesting bit of trivia. Quincy hated the song, "Billie Jean," and wanted to keep it off the Thriller album. It caused a huge rift between him and Michael. Qunicy thought it sucked and would drag down the quality of the rest of the album. MJ put his foot down and got it onto the album. It ended up being a minor hit. I think they made a video out of it too.

[Serenata67]

He just couldn't handle the emotion of saying good bye to anymore of his friends. I read and article that he just wasn't emotionally able to do it.

[Gangster Octopus]

I take some exception to the idea that Quincy "made" Michael. He certainly guided, channeled and produced Michael's talent, but Michael was a natural performer and his own dancing and singing talents and his personal charisma had just as much or a lot more to do with it thna QJ.

[WordMan]

I take some exception to the idea that Quincy "made" Michael. He certainly guided, channeled and produced Michael's talent, but Michael was a natural performer and his own dancing and singing talents and his personal charisma had just as much or a lot more to do with it thna QJ.

Agreed. What I came in to say.

Dio - I am entirely prepared to believe you - do you have a cite?

[joebuck20]

I was surprised by all the stars who didn't show up - Liz Taylor, Michael Jordan, the aforementioned Oprah, as well as a bunch of people from the music industry.

[AuntiePam]

joebuck20, some of those people were supposedly going to attend the repast at the Beverly Wilshire. I heard that Liz Taylor and Diana Ross were going to be there, but I don't know if they were. Isn't Liz frail?

Speaking of the repast, the TV announcers all made a point of calling it an African-American custom. Every funeral I've ever attended has had a repast afterward. Sometimes they call it a repast, sometimes it's just "Join us in the church basement for lunch after the service." It struck me as strange that the announcers had to explain why the mourners (and 800 of their closest friends) went somewhere for dinner after the service and the memorial.

[MPB in Salt Lake]

I was surprised by all the stars who didn't show up - Liz Taylor, Michael Jordan, the aforementioned Oprah, as well as a bunch of people from the music industry.

As a victim of sexual abuse herself as a young girl, Oprah is constantly focusing on child sexual abuse on her show (which is one of the only things about her I find laudable); Despite how much she seemingly craves attention/publicity for herself and her circle of like minded "self help experts" I wonder if she truly realizes that M.J. was actually a pedophile, and so stayed away because of her personal principles. (first time for everything, I suppose)

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Agreed. What I came in to say.

Dio - I am entirely prepared to believe you - do you have a cite?
Just wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Jean) that I can find right now:
The pop star faced numerous disagreements with the song's producer. Quincy Jones did not want "Billie Jean" to appear on Thriller; he felt that the song was too weak to be part of the collection.[8] The producer disliked the demo and did not care for the song's bass line.[11] Jones wanted to cut Jackson's 29 second introduction, which Jackson insisted be kept. "I said, 'Michael we’ve got to cut that intro'", Jones later recalled. "He said, 'But that’s the jelly!'...'That’s what makes me want to dance'. And when Michael Jackson tells you, 'That’s what makes me want to dance', well, the rest of us just have to shut up."[10] Jones also wanted to change the track's title to "Not My Lover", believing that people would think the song referred to the tennis player Billie Jean King. Jackson refused to change the title and asked Jones to give him co-producing credits for the track; he felt that the demo tape sounded exactly like the finished product. In addition, Jackson wanted extra royalties. Jones granted neither and the two fell out for several days.[8][11]

I originally saw the story on some kind of behind the music thing or something, and I've seen it cited elsewhere over the years. I think the Wiki cite might be softening things a little. Other stuff I've seen made it sound like things really got heated, and that Quincy really thought it was a bad song. I cited that story to suggest that Michael might have had something to do with the success of that album himself. His instincts were certainly vindicated on that song.

[WordMan]

Cool - and interesting, if we can go with wikipedia for now. Thanks.

ETA: oh, and there is no need to convince me that Michael was central to Thriller's success.

[AuntiePam]

From a couple interviews I've seen or heard, Jones strikes me as one of those people who will attend events when they're the center of attention/up for-likely to get an award. I suppose it's difficult to be humble when you're so talented and false humility isn't an attractive trait, but still, he should have been there.

But maybe he wasn't invited and couldn't get a ticket.

[Hippy Hollow]

There was an article that appeared online for Details (http://men.style.com/details/features/landing?id=content_9937) that has QJ discussing MJ and his decision not to attend. Pretty plausible - he has sent his condolences to the family, and he chooses not to mourn with an arena full of people.

I'm a little perplexed as to why so many people seem to think that MJ was this naif pushed and prodded by various Svengalis to become the world's greatest entertainer. It would be ridiculous to state that the Jackson-Jones partnership was anything but the stuff of magic. At the same time, however, MJ has a clear idea of what he wanted to do next. He did three albums with QJ, and four with other producers. Seems to me that he was in control of his musical and artistic accomplishments.

[tumbleddown]

I was surprised by all the stars who didn't show up - Liz Taylor, Michael Jordan, the aforementioned Oprah, as well as a bunch of people from the music industry.
Dame Taylor spoke on Twitter about her decision not to be a part of the event and the reason for it (http://twitter.com/dameelizabeth).

[Freudian Slit]

Agreed. What I came in to say.

Dio - I am entirely prepared to believe you - do you have a cite?

I've been reading MJ's biography (by Randy Taraborelli) and it also contains this story, so there's that.

[R. P. McMurphy]

I take some exception to the idea that Quincy "made" Michael. He certainly guided, channeled and produced Michael's talent, but Michael was a natural performer and his own dancing and singing talents and his personal charisma had just as much or a lot more to do with it thna QJ.

The point of the OP isn't to diminish the talent of MJ but rather to point out that (in my estimation) it was QJ that took him from stardom to super stardom. What is MJ's legacy without Bad, Thriller and Off the Wall? It is sort of like asking, "Who are the Beatles without Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road and The White Album?" Great but not the same.

Back to the OP, is it just coincidence that for so many diverse artists their best work was under the direction of Quincy Jones? You have to examine those coincidences.

QJ certainly had his reasons for not attending but I don't think it had anything to do with him being a publicity hound.

I just found it a bit hollow that the guy who really put MJ over the top was not there at the memorial. I'm not dissing anybody, just making an observation.