Benny [Carter] opened the eyes of a lot of producers and studios, so that they could understand that you could go to blacks for other things outside of blues and barbecue. He's a total musician. He was the pioneer, he was the foundation. He made it possible for that doubt to be taken away.
Quincy JonesThe climate in the '50s and '60s for black performers or black people in the entertainment business was atrocious. It was atrocious.
Quincy JonesThereโs nothing in the world worse than having an opportunity that youโre not prepared for. Good luck usually follows the collision of opportunity and preparation - itโs a result of that collision. Youโve got to be prepared. So, make your mistakes now and make them quickly. If youโve made the mistakes, you know what to expect the next time. Thatโs how you become valuable.
Quincy JonesWe got into all the trouble you could ever imagine. We figured that if the Jones boys and all the gangsters ran Chicago, we had our own territory now. All the stores, all the crime, we were in charge of everything, my stepbrother and my brother.
Quincy Jones