Last night’s Oscars paid tribute to one of the titans of 20th Century music and culture: Quincy Jones, who died in November last year, aged 91.
Flanked by a retinue of backup dancers, Queen Latifah sang a spirited version of Ease On Down The Road, one of the songs from The Wiz, the 1978 Motown remake of The Wizard Of Oz, which starred Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
She was introduced by Whoppi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, who starred in The Color Purple, which was produced by Jones. “When we talk about Black excellence, we’re talking about Quincy,” Goldberg said.
“Quincy was love, lived out loud in human form. And he poured that love into others and into his work. My life changed forever and for the better after meeting him. He actually discovered me for The Color Purple, which was my first film,” Winfrey said, to which Goldberg added: “Me, too.”
Queen Latifah delivers a beautiful tribute to Quincy Jones with her rendition of 'Ease On Down The Road' from #TheWiz at the #Oscars. pic.twitter.com/hSWJLLIGxMMarch 3, 2025
Goldberg also reminded the audience of Jones’ huge achievements in the world of cinema. “In 1967, Quincy Jones was the first Black composer nominated in the original song category for The Eyes Of Love in the film Banning.
"1967 was the first time. Just keep that in mind. And Quincy was also nominated that year for original music score for In Cold Blood.
"He received seven Oscar nominations for The Wiz, In Cold Blood, For Love Of Icy and The Color Purple, which me and her we’re part of.”
Jones was never honoured at the Oscars, though he did receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy in 1995. The Grammys were another matter – he scooped 28 over a glittering seven-decade-long career that encompassed genres from jazz and soul to hip hop and funk and, lest we forget, the little matter of producing the best-selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Incidentally, the Oscar for Best Original Score last night went to a Brit: Daniel Blumberg, for his work on The Brutalist. Blumberg is far from a household name but those with long memories of Naughties indie may well remember the bands he fronted way back then: Cajun Dance Party and Yuck. The boy, you have to say, done good.
