🤔 Quincy Jones is the founder of VIBE magazine?

spoiler alert: YES

I truly didn’t know that people didn’t know that.

Quincy Jones, who died Sunday November 3 at 91, is one of the most brilliant and prolific producers in the history of American music — and he is also the founder of VIBE magazine.

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Yesterday I posted a short thread over at what I will call Twitter until its lame cybertruck wheels fall off. The responses were many, and they where aghast. I’m not judging folks who didn’t know. I’m judging our media culture for allowing such a hole in its universe.

Is it recency bias? The lack of digital and tangible archives? The eternal minimization of Black media? Please tell me. I’m finally completing a book and accompanying projects about my amazing and tumultuous tenures at Vibe, and I hope it helps.

I wish I had more time to talk about the great Quincy Jones right now, but it’s ELECTION DAY (I know you voted!) and I have things to do and places to go. I did write a bunch about Jones in my Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, and a place I dwelled was on a song Donna Summer covered in 1982: “State of Independence.” The song was produced by Jones — and there’s even some recent-ish “Billie Jean” scandal attached. More on that, here.

Here are some Shine Bright excerpts. The song still brings tears to my eyes.

And on that note, I’m heading back into gorgeous weather that is far too warm for autumn.

In music,

Danyel

P.S. … extra points if you can guess the role I had in my high school production of The Wiz 👀