Music legend Quincy Jones has given an all-encompassing interview dragging some of the most well-renowned musicians of all time, including the Beatles.
The producer behind classics such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, spoke to Vulture and had a lot to say about The Beatles in particular.
He was asked what his first impressions of the British band were and he didn’t hold back one bit.
“They were the worst musicians in the world,” he said.
“They were no-playing motherfuckers.”
He went onto call Paul McCartney, “the worst bass player I ever heard,” and didn’t even want to get started on Ringo Starr.
He further recalled the time he was in the studio with George Martin and Ringo who, “had taken three hours for a four-bar thing he was trying to fix on a song.”
“He couldn’t get it. We said, “Mate, why don’t you get some lager and lime, some shepherd’s pie, and take an hour-and-a-half and relax a little bit.” So he did, and we called Ronnie Verrell, a jazz drummer. Ronnie came in for 15 minutes and tore it up. Ringo comes back and says, “George, can you play it back for me one more time?” So George did, and Ringo says, “That didn’t sound so bad.” And I said, “Yeah, motherfucker because it ain’t you”.”
He does think that he’s a “great guy though,” so there’s that.
The Beatles weren’t the only ones he came for during the interview. He also spoke about his frequent collaborator Michael Jackson, accusing him of stealing songs.
“I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff,” he said.
He stole a lot of songs. [Donna Summer’s] ‘State of Independence’ and ‘Billie Jean.’ The notes don’t lie, man.
He dished plenty of secrets during the interview but given the time he’s been in the industry, he’s most likely got even more to tell.
