I hope that on my tombstone it says 'Born 1933, died 2043.' I hope that's my legacy.
Interpretation
Quincy Jones expresses a wish for his legacy to reflect the years he spent contributing to the world.
In this quote, Quincy Jones conveys a desire for people to remember him not just for his achievements, but for the impact he made during his lifetime. By highlighting the dates of his birth and death, he emphasizes the importance of the journey in between, suggesting that true legacy is measured by how one lives and influences others.
In practice
During a speech at a memorial service, I might quote Quincy Jones to highlight the importance of shaping one's legacy.
Just blow in it and sound bad for about a year and then make it sound a little bit better, and you get a little band together, and then you get a few jobs. You take four guys that sound half bad, but if they're 25 percent each, they can give 100 percent, you know?
Music in movies is all about dissonance and consonance, tension and release.
When you produce an album, you're dealing with it theatrically. It has to have a structure, and the inner response to that is that the ear loves it.
You can study orchestration, you can study harmony and theory and everything else, but melodies come straight from God.
I got a scholarship to Seattle University and I was writing arrangements for singers and everybody. But the music course was too dry and I really wanted to get away from home.
I tell my kids and I tell proteges, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because it's not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever.
Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you get good at.
This was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and conventionalities. Even clothes were a hindrance and a nuisance. At last he was free. He had not realized what a prisoner he had been.
For the complete life, the perfect pattern includes old age as well as youth and maturity.
It's frightening to wake up one morning and discover that while you were asleep you went out of style.
When I decided to be a singer, my mother warned me I'd be alone a lot. Basically we all are.
The biggest mistake we make is trying to square the way we feel about something today with the way we felt about it yesterday. You shouldnβt even bother doing it. You should just figure out the way you feel today and if it happens to comply with what you thought before, fine. If it contradicts it, whatever. Life goes on.
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