Quincy Jones Says He Refused To Work With Elvis Presley Because He Was Racist

[Boogiedown]

This is a terrific interview in which Quincy shoots from the mouth. I like that and mostly trust his quick comments [ with proper suspicion] over someone who has to prethink/gauge everything they are about to say.

Its too bad that the title of the thread is what it is...that was only a brief answer to a question of many that were quite diversified ....This comment was not explored in the interview enough to be singled out, but that is today's obsession isn't it. Let's taint every possible thing we can ....And shame on the interviewer to not say ,"now wait a minute that's quite a charge you've made , especially in these tender times, maybe you'd like to elaborate on your disparity?"

As far as Quincy's claim to refuse to work with Elvis:

from wiki

Jones played second trumpet in the studio band that supported 21-year-old Elvis Presley in his first six television appearances

.....

so "refuse" is apparently an incorrect recollection.

It also strikes me that Quincy is saying he was told by someone else [Tommy Dorsey] that Elvis was a racist ...he just heard it and that was good enough for him ....did he experience it [?] ...we all 'hear' things.....and apparently Elvis was such a racist that he wouldn't let Jones share the stage with him six times...

Interesting that this is coming from Tommy Dorsey .....maybe he is jealous of the changing of the guard ...feels threatened by Elvis and the resulting change in musical trends, maybe he is saying things to Quincy who is doing the arranging for his show ...doing so so Quincy won't favor Elvis, be drawn to him .....maybe maybe maybe as to his motives .

Here is Elvis on Tommy Dorsey's show , proceeded by Dorsey's band/dancers ....that stage doesn't seem very integrated, if Dorsey was so concerned about the issue, maybe he should've started there. And apparently Quincy wasn't bothered by this either ....or not enough to mention it this time around , lol.




Elvis had his own regular producer for the second half of his career , during the time when Quincy had grown big, so I'm doubting there was even an approach to Quincy to somehow do work with Elvis in this regard.



Having said all that , it also wouldn't surprise me that Elvis might have been a bit of a punk early on, in his rockabilly years. If so, I prefer to think his world experiences broadened him. Racist is too strong a word to apply to somebody just 'cause someone told you so once along the way, ...

Elvis had a home in Hawaii and he remained rooted in the South, he made his home there ....With fame, Elvis didn't distance himself by setting up respite in a place meant for the elite , say in some place like Bel Air or ....Martha's Vineyard.

Back to Elvis' long time friend and producer: Felton Jarvis. Besides Elvis, he worked with many other acts, these include Fats Domino , Charley Pride, and Gladys Knight and the Pips, so incorporate that into the mix however one sees fit.

Fascinating interview ...probably the highlight is Quincy revealing he's putting together a new book specifically in order to put out some truth !!!
What a life he's lived! And of course what stories...


[added: re-watching the Dorsey TV show ,I bet that is Quincy seen charging forward with his trumpet]