Quincy Jones has seen it all.
The legendary musician/producer sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and talked about his experiences in Hollywood with racism and more.
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“They didn’t use Black composers in films. They only used three-syllable Eastern European names, Bronislaw Kaper, Dimitri Tiomkin. It was very, very racist,” he recalled. “I remember I would be at Universal walking down the hall, and the guys would say, ‘Here comes a “shvartze” in Yiddish, and I know what that means. It’s like the N-word.”
Talking about the protests inspired by the murder of George Floyd last year, Jones said, “It’s been coming a long time, man. People have been turning their heads the other way but it’s all the same to me — misogyny, racism. You have to be taught how to hate somebody. It doesn’t come naturally, I don’t think. I don’t think so, unless you’ve been trained. I just think it’s such a bad habit. These racists, oh my God.”
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The 88-year-old also looked back on his career, including working with Elvis Presley.
“I was writing for [orchestra leader] Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said, ‘I don’t want to play with him.’ He was a racist mother — I’m going to shut up now,” he revealed.
