Quincy Jones Reveals Ray Charles Got Him Hooked On Heroin At 15

Source: Paul Morigi / Getty

Quincy Jones is an icon living and in a recent interview shared more about some of our favorite music legends. He also spoke about working in the music industry and how his career developed. According to The Jasmine Brand, in a recent interview he got candid when speaking about his relationship with Michael Jackson as well as spending time with Ray Charles.

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Jones recalls the day him and Charles were at a hotel and the topics of Malcolm X and heroin came up. He said, “Ray Charles was 17, I was 14. He taught me how to read music in braille. He was… In front of the Majestic hotel in Detroit; we used to call him ‘Detroit Red.’ [He] had his Italian suits on – that’s why when Spike Lee did Malcolm X, I said, ‘Malcolm couldn’t walk around the Blue Zoot’s marching down the street, he’s a dope dealer.’ He [Ray Charles] got me hooked for five months, at 15. After we’d finish the Washington Social club and a couple of other ones, we’d all go down to Jackson street to the Elks club. When they’d finish playing, everybody would go into a corner, Ray would let me get in the corner, and they had it on their thumb. I just snuck in a line and got me a little hit.”

Jones admits to falling down nearly five flights of steps because he was so high. During the interview he also talked about being a father figure to Jackson and how he feels about the kind of music that is out today. Jones said about the sound of music today that, “It represents the generation, as all of them do. But you know, there’s a whole crop of young people, including Kendrick Lamar and Chance that are something else. Your music can never be more or less than you are as a human being, so you start to work on the human being.” Jones currently has a documentary on Netflix and fans love the fact that he continues to share stories from the past.

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