Quincy Jones Was Glad He Never Worked With ‘Racist’ Elvis Presley

Quincy Jones worked with nearly every star, including Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, and Miles Davis. However, he was glad to have skipped this one person—Elvis Presley. Quincy, who died days ago at 91, was considered the late king of Rock ‘n’ Roll racist and was vocal about this.

Sources have also backed up this claim in the past since an incident in Boston in 1957, where he allegedly made racist comments while filming “Jailhouse Rock’s” music video. He denied the allegation, saying those who know him well would never agree to such utterances.

Why Quincy Jones thought Elvis Presley was racist

Quincy narrated an encounter with Elvis from when he was writing for Tommy Dorsey. Elvis walked into the studio, and Tommy refused to play with him because he was racist. Tommy had worked with Elvis via the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show, which may have been the origin of their feud.

Quincy never had a direct experience to prove Tommy’s accusations, but he recalled seeing Otis Blackwell coaching Elvis to sing on many occasions. Otis was the star behind Elvis’ biggest hits and his signature mannerisms, and he had to give up his writing credits for the singer.

Quincy Jones called out racism in the industry

Quincy did not shy away from the topic of racism while he was alive, as it was a big problem in the music industry. He once narrated hearing some guys hurl racist slurs at him in Yiddish while he walked down the hall at Universal Studios.

He also met a producer at the studio to discuss Gregory Peck’s Mirage, and his host turned to music supervisor Joe Gershenson in shock, saying he did not know Quincy was a “negro.” The late legend was a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, which started in 2013 but became popular after the 2021 protests.