The ShadowMusic Web Community

There have been a few posts (a few?!!!) on here over the years comparing the Shadows to the Beatles and generally discussing the musicianship of the two groups. With this in mind, I just found an interesting piece on Yahoo!


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/quincy-jones- ... 18135.html


Quincy Jones has been spilling tea left, right and centre about all his showbiz buddies and [b]The Beatles were among them.

The legendary music producer, who is promoting a new Netflix documentary and US television special, has said that the British band ‘were the worst musicians in the world’ in an interview with New York Magazine.


“They were no-playing motherf**kers,” Jones said. “Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it.”

The 84-year-old then recalled the time he had put together an arrangement for the song “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” for Starr’s 1970 solo debut album Sentimental Journey, which George Martin produced.

I remember once we were in the studio with George Martin, and Ringo 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, ************ because it ain’t you.” Great guy, though.


Sorry, but I have to smile.

This story was reported in both The Guardian and the Independent this week.

If QJ had stayed in his original role as the go-to arranger for crossover jazz albums and composer of cult tunes like Soul Bossa Nova, the odds are that few would now remember him. It was his lionised involvement with black artistes in the second half of his career which has turned him into someone who - for all his talent (which is prodigious) - has started to believe his own PR.

Anyone who thinks it "clever" to impugn the musicianship of the Beatles (and especially Ringo) has made himself impossible to take seriously. To criticise any of the Fab Four on the basis that they could not hold their own in a symphony orchestra or the Basie Big Band is to miss the point by a mile or two.

There have been rumours re the Beatles but probably ill founded. I don't think you can really fairly compare the two bands. The Shadows were a well travelled and gigged band and you have to admire Hank's ability to remember all those tunes.

Having heard Mr Jones' (so-called) music, I don't think he is in a position to criticise anybody.

This has been discussed at length on other fora which I use...

Poor old bloke's suffering from Buddy Rich syndrome...bitter old jazz players who struggled to earn money playing jazz after rock'n'roll came out...and hated playing as session musicians on rock records....

Yes, that's why they went to America and took the Yanks by a storm, the like of which was seen neither before nor since.
Wonder how he rated the Monkeys' musicianship.... well they must obviously have been better than The Beatles.
Sad old man, pityfully far past his sell-by-date and the saddest part is he doesn't even realise he's making himself look so stupid.

Quincy Jones isn't right in the head for a while now,nothing good to say about anyone.

He has publicly apologised for the things he said in the interview, I've seen the news item somewhere else recently...he is also getting on in years an it's possible he may be losing his facilities, so to speak..

Although much of what he said about the Beatles etc was controversial, I believe he got into more trouble in America making accusations etc whilst talking about JFK's death, Mafia etc in the same interview...