Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Jazz #Soul #Stevie Wonder – 1980s

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the new series of musical legends and now we explore the life and music of the incredible Stevie Wonder, whose songs have played a massive role in our lives for the last fifty years..

Music Legends Stevie Wonder – 1980s

We are now in the 80s and not only will we share some of his outstanding music over the next couple of decades.

Hotter Than July (1980) became Wonder’s first platinum-selling single album. The album included “I Ain’t Gonna Stand for It,” and the sentimental ballad, “Lately”. Wonder wrote “Master Blaster Jammin’” as an ode to reggae icon Bob Marley. The song has a reggae feel and was number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart for seven weeks, reaching #5 on Billboard’s Pop Singles Chart and #2 on the UK Singles Chart.

Stevie Wonder, a social activist, campaigned to have the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrated as a holiday in the US. The song, “Happy Birthday,” from the album was written for the cause. The song was a big hit in the US and peaked at #2 in the UK. Wonder performed this song in a medley at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in London for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

“Ebony and Ivory,” a duet by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, was a #1 hit in the US and the UK in 1982. This song is about the ebony (black) and ivory (white) keys on a piano with overtones dealing with integration and racial harmony on a human level. In 2013, Billboard Magazine ranked this song as the 69th biggest hit of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

That same year Wonder also released his greatest hits compilation Original Musiquarium I, which featured the No. 1 R&B/top 5 pop single “That Girl,” as well as additional hits “Ribbon in the Sky” and “Do I Do,” featuring jazz great, Dizzy Gillespie.

“I Just Called to Say I Love You,” written by Stevie Wonder, is from the 1984 Gene Wilder film The Woman in Red. This song won both a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Original Song and was a number one hit in both the US and the UK.arXter 

Like so much of Wonder’s work, the song appealed to a wide audience, paving the way for it to become Motown’s biggest international hit of all time. The single also won Wonder an Academy Award for Best Song. Wonder accepted the award in the name of Nelson Mandela and was subsequently banned from all South African radio by the Government of South Africa.

In the latter half of the 1980s Stevie Wonder released two more albums. Square Circle, in 1985, which featured the historic track “Part-Time Lover,” the first song to ever reach No. 1 on the pop, R&B, adult contemporary and dance charts. This was followed in 1987 by the album Characters featuring two No. 1 R&B hits—”Skeletons” and “You Will Know.”

Stevie Wonder was also a part of the iconic “We Are The World,” the African Famine Relief video/recording, and the AID’s inspired “That’s What Friends Are For.” And to round the decade off, he collaborated with Michael Jackson with “Get It” and with Julio Iglesias “My Love”. As a final honour of the 1980s he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

To finish off the post today “Part Time Lover” and we look forward to seeing you again next week with the next part of the Stevie Wonder story.

Buy the music of Stevie Wonder: Amazon

Additional sources: Wikipedia

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Jazz #Soul #Stevie Wonder – The 1970s

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the new series of musical legends and now we explore the life and music of the incredible Stevie Wonder, whose songs have played a massive role in our lives for the last fifty years..

Music Legends Stevie Wonder – The 1970s

Last week we enjoyed the music from Stevie Wonder’s teenage years as he established himself at the Motown label.. and now time for the 1970s.

In 1971, Wonder negotiated a new contract with Motown that gave him almost total control over his records and greatly increased his royalty rate.

This concession was unheard of at the time, but it was the impetus that Stevie Wonder needed to produce an outstanding body of work in the next few years. For the first time Stevie received the credit for writing or co-writing every track on the Where I’m Coming From album producing a top ten single ‘If you Really Love Me’.

‘Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You),‘ an emotionally rich jazz-soul opus that highlighted Wonder’s pioneering work in synthesized/electronic sounds. It was the first single from Wonder’s Music of My Mind album (1972). This song chronicles the relationship he had with his first wife, singer-composer Syreeta Wright, and features Stevie Wonder as a virtual one-man band. The song peaked at #33 on the Billboard Pop charts.

Stevie Wonder’s fans were not to be disappointed with the next album released at the end of 1972. Talking Book contained some of his most popular tracks including ‘Superstition’ and ‘You are the Sunshine of my Life’ both of which hit #1. The release of the album coincided with a tour with the Rolling Stones broadening his appeal from R&B to pop, and it was instrumental in the success of both those iconic songs.

Stevie Wonder’s ‘You are the sunshine of my life’ won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (1973) and was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. This song was Stevie’s third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number one on the Easy Listening chart. Rolling Stone ranked this song #281 on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Innervisions’ released in 1973, featured ‘Higher Ground’ (No. 4 on the pop charts) as well as the distinctively stylish ‘Living for the City’, (No. 8). Both songs reached #1 on the R&B charts. Popular ballads such as ‘Golden Lady’ and ‘All in Love Is Fair’ were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole.

Innervisions generated three more Grammy Awards, including “Album of the Year.” The album is ranked # 23 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of the early 1970s.

Unfortunately in August 1973, Stevie Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina when the car he was riding in hit the back of a truck. He was in a coma for four days but despite this serious setback he was back and performing for his European tour in early 1974 in venues from Cannes to London. In March 1974 he returned to the US and played a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden.

Immediately after this he returned to the studio and album Fulfillingness’ First Finale appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the # 1 You Haven’t Done Nothin, which railed against President Richard Nixon and featured The Jackson 5, and the Top Ten Boogie on Reggae Woman. The album won two Grammy awards, one for Best Album and the other for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The next milestone in Stevie Wonder’s career was the double album with EP set Songs in the Key of Life, released in September 1976, which many consider to be not only his most legendary project but also one of the greatest albums of all time. The theme of the tracks covered elements of life in America in the 1950s including ethnic diversity and love in all its varying shades of light and dark. The album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at #1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks and the album had two pop/R&B #1 singles.

‘I Wish‘ single from the album focuses on Stevie’s childhood from the 1950s into the early 1960s. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts.

Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year and two other Grammys bringing Stevie Wonder’s total for the 1970s to fifteen. The album ranks 57th on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

To end the post today ‘Isn’t she lovely’ another well known composition from the album Songs in the Key of Life. This song, which celebrates the birth of his daughter Aisha, was not released as a single in the US but received major air play across the country and around the world. Stevie Wonder performed this song “live” for Queen Elizabeth II at her “Diamond Jubilee Concert,” where he modified the lyrics to refer to the Queen.

Buy the music of Stevie Wonder: Amazon

Additional sources: Wikipedia

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Jazz #Soul #Stevie Wonder – The Early Years

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the new series of musical legends and now we explore the life and music of the incredible Stevie Wonder, whose songs have played a massive role in our lives for the last fifty years..

Music Legends – Stevie Wonder – The Early Years.

When we listen to the timeless quality of Stevie Wonder’s music it is hard to remember that in fact he was a child prodigy, and that many of his iconic hits were recorded when he was just a young teenager of 12 years old. He is considered to be the most successful and commercial musical performer of the last fifty years. He signed to Motown at the age of 11 and recorded throughout most of his career.

Some of his more memorable songs are You are the Sunshine of my Life, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Uptight and For Once in my Life.

He has recorded more than 30 U.S. Top Ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards making him one of the most awarded male solo artists. One Academy Award Best Original Song  for The Woman in Red He has sold over 100 million records worldwide and is one of the top 60 best-selling artists.

His life has not been just about music with his active involvement in political causes and in 2009 he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Stevie Wonder the early years.

He was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13th 1950 in Michigan, the third of six children of Calvin Judkins and songwriter Lula Mae Hardaway. He was born prematurely with an eye disorder associated with pre-term babies and this condition was accelerated when he received too much oxygen in an incubator that led to blindness.

His mother and father split up in 1954 and Lula Hardaway took all the children to Detroit. Stevie was introduced to musical instruments at an early age including the piano, harmonica and drums. He was soon performing as part of a duo, Stevie and John on street corners and occasionally at parties and dances.

Stevie was only 11 years old when he was discovered by Ronnie White of the Motown band The Miracles when he performed his own composition called Lonely Boy. This was followed by an audition with the founder of Motown, Berry Gordy who signed the young musician to a five year record deal under the name of Little Stevie Wonder. With his royalties being paid into a trust fund until he was 21 years old and with a weekly amount to cover expenses and tuition, Stevie began his amazing career.

“Fingertips” (1963) was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the US since 1952. This piece, originally, was a jazz instrumental recorded for Wonder’s first studio album, “The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie.” Little Stevie Wonder was just 12 years old. Stevie Wonder 

However, at thirteen years old, Stevie’s voice was beginning to change and his next few recordings were not successful. This put the Motown executives in a dilemma and there was talk of cancelling his recording contract. Despite some exposure in two films where Stevie appeared as himself in 1964, things did not appear to be getting any better.

However Sylvia Moy songwriter and the first woman to write and produce for Motown acts, persuaded Berry Gordy to give him another chance. This would lead to a successful collaboration between Sylvia and Stevie.

This included the tracks Uptight and My Cherie Amour.

“Uptight (Everything’s Alright” was a true Motown classic in the sense that it defined the Motown sound in its glory. Its strength lay in the sophistication of the musical arrangement. Stevie’s voice had developed into the voice we know today and his harmonica playing was superb. This song was the first Stevie Wonder hit single to be co-written by the artist and it peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in early 1966, at the same time reaching the top of the Billboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks.

Following this new surge in his career, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including With a Child’s Heart, Blowing in the Wind, a Bob Dylan cover, co-sung by his mentor, producer Clarence Paul and the jubilant I Was Made to Love Her. The 1968 album For Once in My Life offered even more successful singles with the title track, Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day and You Met Your Match, with Wonder serving as co-writer on all three songs. Rather than rest on his laurels, the hard-working Wonder, who would go on to study classical piano, pushed to improve his musicianship and song writing capabilities.

“For Once In My Life” was written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden in 1966 for Motown Records’ Stein & Van Stock publishing company, and first recorded by Barbara McNair. Stevie’s up tempo version of this song, recorded in 1967, was highly successful, peaking at number-two on both the Billboard Pop Singles and Billboard R&B Singles charts and was a top-three hit in the UK in late 1968 and early 1969.

Buy the music of Stevie Wonder: Amazon

Additional sources: Wikipedia

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Musician #Producer #Humanitarian Quincy Jones Part Five – 1990s and Beyond

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the series on the life and music of producer, conductor, arranger, composer,entertainment all rounder and humanitarian Quincy Jones.

Entertaiment and Music Legend – Quincy Jones Part Five – 1990s and Beyond

We now head into the 90s with Quincy Jones not only producing and performing music but capitalising on his position in the industry to implement programmes and initiatives to bring about social change and also establish recognition for the contributions made by African American musicians..

One of these was a massive ongoing project ‘The Evolution of Black Music’. For many years Quincy had been accumulating material on the history of black music going back over four hundred years and had looked into hundreds of books and records on the subject. Quincy produced three charts showing European classical music, the history of black music and then third, a year by year record of sociological events. He described the project in an interview in The Dispatch in 1975.

‘When all three are lined up, you can see when Frederick Douglass founded the Northern Star Newspaper and the type of music going then – the end of the minstrel period – and you can look over here and see Schumann and Chopin. You can go straight across and start to tie things together. You can see how ragtime was influenced. A fusion of African, American and European music became ragtime. And then things got turned upside down and it goes through another metamorphosis and influences Stravinsky and Copeland’.

Another 15 years down the line and the project had developed further. “My lifetime project, though,” Jones confessed to Ritz, “involves putting this whole Afro-American thing together into a single, cohesive musical expression. I’ve been working on it for 20 years, and I may need another 20 to get through. It’s a symphony, it’s an opera, it’s a minstrel review and a big band bash. I don’t know what it is, except there it is, keeping me up, invading my dreams.” Every time he felt ready to tackle the massive project, he admitted, a new job came along.

Although the project was not complete in 1989 Quincy did produce the Grammy award winning album Back on the Block which traced the lineage of bebop and rap with the help of an incredible line up of artists including Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane and Melle Mel. Quincy Jones Productions 

Another long term project for Quincy was to persuade Miles Davis to revive some of the music that he had recorded in the 60s which had been arranged by Gil Evans. Miles had always resisted Quincy’s requests until he became ill in 1991 with pneumonia. Following this illness he finally agreed to perform the classics at a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the resulting album Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux was to be his last.

Both these legends had played a major part in the evolution of post-World War II music and 45 years later the two brought their love of big band music to the stage in a fitting tribute. Here is Springsville live from Montreux courtesy of JazzBreakTV

Miles David died in the United States a few months after this performance aged 65.

When not performing or producing music for his record label Qwest, Quincy was also enjoying television successes. The Quincy Jones Entertainment Company produced the NBC Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a weekly talk show hosted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Also hitting the screens was a biography of the black Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Quincy Jones Broadcasting and Time Warner bought the New Orleans Television station, WNOL.

Apart from the award winning Back on the Block, Quincy also produced Q’s Jook Joint in 1995 as a celebration of his 50 years in the business. The album featured of many of his friends and collaborators from those years such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Here is Stevie Wonder with Let the Good Times Roll. Quincy Jones Productions

Quincy was also the subject of a documentary in 1990 Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones where he opened up about his childhood challenges and his own relationships with his children. There were also interviews with the artists that he had worked with including Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. In 2001 Quincy published his autobiography. Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones.

Musician, composer, producer, arranger, and pioneering entrepreneur Quincy Jones has lived large and worked for five decades alongside the superstars of music and entertainment — including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Charles, Will Smith, and dozens of others. Q is his glittering and moving life story, told with the style, passion, and no-holds-barred honesty that are his trademarks.

You will find all the awards and accolades that Quincy Jones achieved in his life to date in part one of the series. William Price King Meets Quincy Jones Part One

There is no doubt that our music today would be very different if it had not been infused and energized by the amazing talent and genius of Quincy Jones.

He continues to be a huge influence and inspiration for young musicians and a force for social justice and change. We look forward to enjoying his talent and contributions to music and society for many years to come.

He is a remarkable man and musical legend and to end this series here is Quincy Jones and friends in 2017 at the jazzopen stuttgart

Buy Quincy Jones Music: Amazon

Sources and information and news for Quincy Jones.
Wikipedia
Biography Quincy Jones
Website Quincy Jones

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Musician #Producer #Humanitarian Quincy Jones Part Four – 1980s

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the series on the life and music of producer, conductor, arranger, composer,entertainment all rounder and humanitarian Quincy Jones.

Entertaiment and Music Legend – Quincy Jones Part Four – 1980s

Quincy Jones has now been at the peak of his musical career for the last 20 years having worked with the top artists in the industry.

In 1979 Quincy had produced Off The Wall with Michael Jackson for Epic Records. The two men had become friends after working on The Wiz together. They recorded the album between December 1978 and June 1979 and released it in the August. Michael Jackson had collaborated with other songwriters and composers such as Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

He had also written three of the tracks himself including the Grammy winning Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough. Five singles were released from the album becoming chart hits and over 8 million copies were sold. This cemented Michael Jackson as an International superstar and Quincy Jones as the most sought after record producer in Hollywood.

In 1980 his album The Dude won three Grammy awards. Collaborators on the album included vocalist James Ingram on two of the tracks; Just Once and One Hundred Ways. Razzmatazz with vocals by Patti Austin reached No. 11 in the UK singles chart and received a great deal of play time in the US… The album won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Instrumental Arrangement (Accompanying Vocalists).

Here is Patti Austin with Razzmatazz.

Quincy now settled in for the next ten years as head of his own label Qwest and putting his own releases on the back burner he focused on producing for other artists.

This included one of the bestselling singles of all time. We Are The World is a charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album of the same name We Are The World. Quincy had used his influence to draw in most of the top American recording artists of the day to raise funds for the victims of Ethiopia’s famine. When asked how he had managed to make this multi-talented cast of singers work harmoniously he explained that he had taped a notice on the door at the entrance. “Check Your Ego At The Door”.

It sold in excess of 20 million copies and is one of less than 30 singles to have sold at least 10 million copies worldwide.

Quincy and Michael Jackson worked together again in 1982 on the bestselling album Thriller with 40 million sold. Six of the singles were in the Top Ten including Billie Jean and Beat It.

In 1987 they teamed up again for Michael Jackson’s 7^th studio album Bad and Michael not only composed nine of the eleven tracks but also received co-producer credit for the whole album alongside Quincy. The album received six Grammy nominations and won two. It was to be the successful team’s final collaboration.

One of the most successful singles… Billie Jean from the album Thriller.

On hearing of Michael’s death, Quincy said the following:

‘”For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the ’80s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Another star that Quincy continued to work with during the 80s was Frank Sinatra and in 1984 they produced L.A. Is My Lady. After their long and successful artistic partnership Quincy had to say this about this megastar.

“Frank Sinatra took me to a whole new planet. I worked with him until he passed away in ’98. He left me his ring. I never take it off. Now, when I go to Sicily, I don’t need a passport. I just flash my ring.”

Here is Frank Sinatra with the Quincy Jones Orchestra L.A. Is My Lady.

In 1985 a film arrived in the cinemas that was to take the world by storm; Stephen Spielberg’s adaptation of the novel, The Colour Purple. Starring Whoopi Goldberg and Opray Winfrey the movie received eleven Oscar Nominations. Quincy Jones wrote the score for the film and he also co-produced the musical adaptation of the novel which opened at The Broadway Theater in New York in 2005 The other producers were Scott Sanders, Harvey Weinstein and Oprah Winfrey. It was nominated for five 2006 Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score. In the same year the show was nominated for eleven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

In 1989, Quincy Jones was presented with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. With a wonderful career and many accolades and awards behind him, Quincy was playing is way into the 1990s with so much more to come.

To end this chapter in Quincy Jones story here is Miss Celie’s Blues from The Colour Purple.

Buy Quincy Jones Music: Amazon

Sources and information and news for Quincy Jones.
Wikipedia
Biography Quincy Jones
Website Quincy Jones

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Musician #Producer #Humanitarian Quincy Jones Part Three – 1970s

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the series on the life and music of producer, conductor, arranger, composer,entertainment all rounder and humanitarian Quincy Jones.

Entertaiment and Music Legend – Quincy Jones Part Three – 1970s

Quincy Jones has been making a name for himself in the music industry as a soloist, composer and arranging music for some of the top stars in the business. Quincy had huge success on the silver screen and his work on the emerging television top shows was to follow.

For those of you who watched television in the 70s, the show Ironside was one of the most popular dramas on both sides of the Atlantic. Running from 1967 to 1975 its distinctive theme music is still very recognisable today. This was the first time that a theme song was synthesizer based.

Quincy also composed the theme tunes for Sanford and Son, and The Bill Cosby Show.

Behind the scenes Quincy was also beginning to make his mark as a social activist and was a firm supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. In particular Operation Breadbasket which was aimed at promoting economic development in the inner cities. After Dr. King’s death in Memphis on April 4^th 1968, Quincy served on the board of Reverend Jesse Jackson’s People United to Save Humanity.

In 1969 at age 36, he signed a contract as a recording artist with A&M records and won a Grammy for best jazz instrumental on his first album with the label, Walking in Space.

Whilst he may have been up there with the stars of the music industry, Quincy Jones was also on his way to the moon. In the July of 1969 his arrangement of Frank Sinatra’s recording of Fly Me to the Moon with the Count Basie orchestra was the first music played by Buzz Aldrin on the first lunar landing mission.

The Grammy nominations continued with Quincy being nominated in 1970 for Best Original Score for The Lost Man and MacKenna’s Gold, in 1971 for Best instrumental arrangement, composition and Jazz performance for the album Gula Matari. In 1972 Quincy was nominated and won the award for Best Pop Instrumental performance for the album Smackwater Jack.

In 1971 Quincy was the first African American to be named as musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. This appointment illustrated the impact his promotion of appreciation of African-American music and culture was having on the industry. He helped establish the IBAM (Institute for Black American Music and proceeds from events were donated toward the establishment of the Annual Black Arts Festival in Chicago.

One of the major projects of the IBAM was the CBS television special co-produced by Quincy in 1973. Duke Ellington, We Love You Madly featured performers such as Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee and Count Basie with Quincy Jones leading the 48 strong orchestra.

His next Grammy win was for the best instrumental arrangement for the track Summer In The City in 1973.

His career had been intense and also very exhausting and in 1973 Quincy decided to take a break from producing sound tracks for Hollywood and take explore a new direction in his music.

One of the areas that Quincy had not yet showcased his talent was as a vocalist, and in 1973 he debuted his voice on You’ve Got it Bad with Valerie Simpson. The song stayed at the top of the charts for most of the summer

The follow up album in 1974, Body Heat sold over a million copies, staying in the top five in the charts for over six months. Hit songs from the album included Everything Must Change and If I Ever Lose This Heaven.Paul Grey

This title was a little too prophetic as in the August of 1974 Quincy Jones at just 41 years old suffered a near-fatal cerebral aneurysm. Over the next six months he underwent two very delicate operations to repair the blood vessels in his brain and recuperation.

Thankfully following this, Quincy was back at work and concluded his contract with A & M records with the albums Mellow Madness, I Heard That and The Dude.

Taking more control of his recording commitments was achieved by the founding of Qwest Productions in 1975. He continued to arrange and produce with singers such as Frank Sinatra and in 1977 wrote the score for the iconic mini-series Roots.

In 1978 he produced the soundtrack for The Wiz, the musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Here is Everybody Rejoice to end this part of the Quincy Jones story and his return to full recovery.

Buy the movie: Amazon

Buy Quincy Jones Music: Amazon

Sources and information and news for Quincy Jones.
Wikipedia
Biography Quincy Jones
Website Quincy Jones

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Musician #Producer #Humanitarian Quincy Jones Part Two 1960s

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to the series on the life and music of producer, conductor, arranger, composer,entertainment all rounder and humanitarian Quincy Jones.

Entertaiment and Music Legend – Quincy Jones Part Two

Behind every successful singer with hit songs is usually and extraordinarily talented and skilled musician and arranger. Quincy Jones is as comfortable in front of the band as he is behind the scenes.

Quincy Jones was only in his late teens when he went on the road with band leader Lionel Hampton to Europe and he was to say later that it completely revised his opinion of racism in the United States.

“It gave you some sense of perspective of past, present and future. It took the myopic conflict between just black and white in the United States and put it on another level because you saw the turmoil between the Armenians and the Turks, and the Cypriots and the Greeks, and the Swedes and the Danes, and the Koreans and the Japanese. Everybody had these hassles, and you saw it was a basic part of human nature, these conflicts. It opened my soul, it opened my mind.”

Working with an established musician like Lionel Hampton opened many doors for Quincy and he opted to live in New York in the heart of the music business. All through the 1950s he worked as a freelance arranger for Tommy Dorsey, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington and his friend and collaborator Ray Charles.

As an example of the work that he was producing in collaboration with some of the greats. Sarah Vaughan with the Quincy Jones Orchestra and the classic ‘Misty‘ in 1958 for Mercury Records.

He also toured the Middle East and South America as a trumpeter and musical director for the Dizzie Gillespie band and on his return recorded his first album as a band leader for ABC Paramount Records which was released in 1956. It was considered a masterpiece of arranging and band leading. Over a short period of time the recordings evolved into a re-invention of big band music.

Quincy used complex harmonies and rhythms that gave a younger and more vibrant sound that attracted a new generation of listeners as well as impressed the old hands. The pieces were also technically demanding for five or six players but took on epic proportions when performed by 20 musicians.

In 1957, Quincy settled in Paris where he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen, and worked as a music director for Barclay Disques, Mercury Records’ French distributor. In 1958 Jones was invited by Princess Grace to arrange a benefit concert at the Monaco Sporting Club, featuring Frank Sinatra.

Here is Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones.

He took to the road again as Musical Director of Harold Arlen’s jazz musical Free and Easy which closed back in Paris in 1960. Musicians who had been part of the tour included Art Farmer, Zoot Sims, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Art Blakey, and Hank Jones. Quincy took the newly formed band back on the road with families in tow and wowed audiences in Europe and the States. However, the overheads were astronomical and eventually they had to disband the orchestra. This left Quincy deeply in debt.

“We had the best jazz band on the planet, and yet we were literally starving. That’s when I discovered that there was music, and there was the music business. If I were to survive, I would have to learn the difference between the two.”

Mercury Records stepped in and helped Quincy out with a loan and he went to work for them in New York as music director. He went on to be appointed vice-president of the label and was the first African-American to hold that position in a white-owned company. As well as producing albums and writing arrangements for his own artists, he also worked with other artists including Andy Williams, Peggy Lee and Aretha Franklin. He still continued to work with Frank Sinatra, arranging conducting the album It Might As Well Be Swing.

The exceptional Peggy Lee with the Quincy Jones Orchestra in 1961 – As Time Goes By.

Into the early 60s and still under thirty years old, Quincy was working with top artists as an arranger. Joining his growing list of stars was the young Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. Quincy also released his own solo recordings including Walking In Space, You’ve Got It Bad and I Heard That! His Soul Bossa Nova has been used as the theme music for a number of films and television shows as well as the 1998 World Cup.

One of the most prolific singers that he worked with in the early sixties was Lesley Gore. Born Lesley Sue Goldstein, she recorded the iconic It’s My Party in 1963 at age 16 and went on to have hits with You Don’t Own me and California Nights. Quincy produced all of her four million-selling singles in the first half of the 60s including ‘The Look of Love in 1965.

In 1964 Frank Sinatra hired Quincy to arrange and conduct his second album with Count Basie, It Might As Well Be Swing. |He followed this by conducting and arranging the singer’s live album with The Basie Band, Sinatra at the Sands (1966).

Frank Sinatra was not the only member of the Rat Pack that Quincy was to work with when he arranged and conducted the trio along with Johnny Carson with the Count Basie orchestra at a charity benefit in 1965. The event was broadcast in movie theaters around the country before being released on DVD.

In 1964, it was time for Quincy to turn his attention to a then mainly white dominated sector of film scores and his first major motion picture project for Sidney Lumet was The Pawnbroker. The film that starred Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Morgan Freeman. Apart from being Quincy’s first film score it was also the first American film to tell the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of a survivor and also one of the first to show nudity.

Quincy Jones and the main theme from The Pawnbroker

Following the success of his debut into the movie industry, Quincy left Mercury Records and moved to Los Angles. His career as a composer was established rapidly with films such as The Slender Thread, In The Heat of the Night, MacKenna’s Gold, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and The Getaway. He has written the scores for over thirty major motion pictures.

This success led to he and his song writing partner, Bob Russell becoming the first African Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for The Eyes of Love from the film Banning. The same year Quincy was also the first to be nominated twice in the same year for Best Original Score for the film In Cold Blood. Quincy Jones Productions

Buy Quincy Jones Music: Amazon

Sources and information and news for Quincy Jones.
Wikipedia
Biography Quincy Jones
Website Quincy Jones

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.

 

Smorgasbord Music Column – William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Musician #Producer #Humanitarian Quincy Jones Part One

It is nine years since William Price King joined Smorgasbord to share music across the genres. We continue in 2023 with series sharing the lives and music of some of the great names in music over the last century

Welcome to a new series on the life and music of  producer, conductor, arranger, composer,entertainment all rounder and humanitarian Quincy Jones.

Entertaiment and Music Legend – Quincy Jones Part One

Before we take a look at his life and music perhaps I could just briefly cover some of his lifetime achievements. This extraordinary man has not just been awarded the accolades heaped upon him by the music industry but has given back to the business, its artists and to those outside of music who have needed his help. It is extremely difficult to include all the achievements of this remarkable all round entertainer and advocate for his fellow man, but I hope you will enjoy finding out more about him.

Despite being centre stage as a performer, Quincy Jones has excelled in most of the areas of popular music for over 65 years. He is a record producer, conductor, arranger, composer, musician, television producer, film producer, instrumentalist, magazine founder, entertainment company executive, children’s activist and humanitarian

He has received 79 Grammy nominations and 27 Grammy Awards. He was nominated for 7 Oscar Academy awards and he received The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1994. He has composed sound tracks for movies from the early 60s including for The Slender Thread, In The Heat of the Night, MacKenna’s Gold, The Italian Job and They Call Me Mr. Tibbs.

Here is the theme song from the soundtrack of The Colour Purple in 1985, although his own album is available here is the version by Itzhak Perlman on his album Perlman. You can buy the original soundtrack at the link at the end of the post.

Quincy has collaborated with the best in the business including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Celine Dion. He has also invested time and funding to provide young musicians the opportunity to develop their own careers through education and community outreach.

In 2008, Quincy Jones was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and in 2009 made a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Later that year he was honoured with a Clinton Global Citizen award for Leadership in Philanthropy. In 2013 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and honoured in 1014 by the French by being made Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and is the first musician also be made Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur.

Away from music he has devoted much of his life to social change and philanthropy.

In May 2000 the Quincy Jones Professorship of African American Music was established at Harvard University in Massachusetts with a grant of $3 million from Time Warner. In January 2001 he received the first Ted Arison Award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, named for the man who created the organization.

He is founder of the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation which is a non-profit organisation that has built more than 100 homes in South Africa with an aim to connecting young people with technology, education, culture and music. In 2004 he helped launch the We Are the Future project, which gives children in poor and conflict-ridden areas a chance to live their childhoods and develop with a sense of hope.

In 2001, Jones became an honorary member of the board of directors of The Jazz Foundation of America. He has worked with The Jazz Foundation to save the homes and the lives of America’s elderly jazz and blues musicians, including those who survived Hurricane Katrina.

Quincy Jones is saluted at the 2001 Kennedy Center Honors by Stevie Wonder, Patti Austin and James Ingram. However, the star of the performance is the legendary Ray Charles who sings the old World War I song “My Buddy” – and makes it his own tribute to Quincy. ioSan

Jones and his friend John Sie, founder of Liberty Starz, worked together to create the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

In this first post I just want to touch on his early life as that is already well documented in Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones which won a Grammy in the best spoken word album category.

You can buy his autobiography and his other books from his author’s site: Amazon

Quincy’s early influences.

Born in 1933 on the South Side of Chicago as Quincy Delight Jones Jnr. to Sarah and Quincy Delight Jones snr, he was to get an early introduction to music by his mother who sang religious songs. He was also lucky enough to be able to hear a neighbour Lucy Jackson playing her stride piano (jazz piano style that was developed in the large cities of the East Coast, mainly New York, during the 1920s and 1930s) through the walls of their adjoining houses. Listening to the music was not enough and so Quincy would head next door and began his musical career in earnest.

Unfortunately his mother Sarah suffered a breakdown when Quincy and his brother were very young and she was institutionalised. His father eventually remarried to Elvera who had three children with another three arriving in following years after moving to the Northwest.

Quincy attended Garfield High School in Seattle and developed his early love of music by studying the trumpet and music composition and arranging. He met a new classmate, Charles Taylor whose mother was Evelyn Bundy, one of Seattle’s first jazz-band leaders. This opened up doors for Quincy and at fourteen, he and Charles were playing in the National Reserve Band.

This was also the age when he met Ray Charles who was then himself only 16 years old. After watching Ray perform, Quincy introduced himself and considers him to be an early inspiration for his own career. Combined with a strong and empowering family environment and an inherited work ethic from his father, Quincy was now set on his future in music.

A great track from the Quincy Jones album “Back on the Block” released in 1989. Performed by Ray Charles and Chaka Khan. I’ll Be Good To You. Quincy Jones Productions

At eighteen Quincy won a scholarship to Seattle University along with another star in the making, Clint Eastwood. After the first semester however, Quincy transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston on another scholarship. The course work was tough and Quincy was studying 10 subjects related to performing, arranging and composing. To cover his expenses he played at what he terms ‘a real dive’ locally called Izzy Ort’s Bar & Grille where he was influenced by alto player Bunny Campbell and pianist and arranger Preston Sandiford.

His studies came to an end when he was offered the practical experience of touring as a trumpeter with the legendary Lionel Hampton. Lionel was a jazz pianist, percussionist, actor and bandleader and had worked with the best including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker.

This was a great start to Quincy’s professional career and it also offered him the opportunity to demonstrate his talent for arranging songs. This lead to him moving to New York where he worked freelance arranging songs for artists such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn and his old and now close friend Ray Charles.

Frank Sinatra sings I Only Have Eyes For You with the Count Basie Orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones. Count Basie on the piano.Frank Sinatra  

Buy Quincy Jones Music: Amazon

Sources and information and news for Quincy Jones.
Wikipedia
Biography Quincy Jones
Website Quincy Jones

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

 

As always William would love to receive your feedback… thanks Sally.