The Phone Call Between Quincy Jones and Paul McCartney Following Jones’ Scathing Comments About the Beatles

The late legendary music producer, songwriter, and composer Quincy Jones established his entire career on sticking to his guns, whether in the studio or in his speech, which is why the phone call between Jones and Paul McCartney following Jones’ scathing comments about the Beatles is somewhat surprising. (But to be fair, it wasn’t necessarily more surprising than what Jones had to say about the Fab Four in the first place.)

While it’s unclear whether the press really fabricated Jones’ comments or he simply wanted to smooth things over with an old pal, his subsequent chat with Macca proved there was no bad blood between the musicians in either case.

The Producer Didn’t Mince His Words About The Fab Four

Highly educated, technically proficient jazz musicians denouncing their more ragtag, rock ‘n’ roll counterparts is certainly nothing new. Miles Davis did it with the Steve Miller Band. Years later, Quincy Jones did the same thing with the Beatles. The producer’s scathing comments about the Fab Four in a 2018 interview with The New Yorker caused quite a stir, and it’s easy to see why. Jones’ hot take was piping hot.

When asked about his first impressions of the Liverpudlian quartet, Jones said he thought they were “the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing motherf***ers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it. 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?’ George did, and Ringo says, ‘That didn’t sound so bad.’ I said, ‘Yeah, motherf***er, because it ain’t you.’ Great guy, though.”

Quincy Jones and Paul McCartney’s Subsequent Phone Call

Ringo Starr might have received the brunt of Quincy Jones’ harsh commentary, but Paul McCartney certainly wasn’t immune to the producer’s criticism, either. The same year Jones’ New Yorker article came out, McCartney responded to the incident in an interview with GQ. “I love this guy,” the ex-Beatle said with a laugh. “He’s totally out of his tree. But the great thing was, he rang me after this. I’d only heard about it, and I’d thought, I’m not sure if it’s true. The joke is, I love Quincy, even after this.”

McCartney said he was enjoying a glass of wine while he cooked dinner at home when Jones called him to apologize. Per McCartney, Jones said, “‘Paul, I didn’t really say that thing. I don’t know what happened man, I never said that. You know I love you guys!’ I said, ‘If you had said that, you know what I would have said? F*** you, Quincy Jones!’ And he laughed. I said, ‘You know I would say to that: F*** you, Quincy Jones, you f***ing crazy motherf***er!’ So, actually, we just had a laugh.”

“He’s an old guy,” McCartney continued. “I don’t know what it was. But I don’t think I’m the worst bass player he’s ever heard. Or maybe he’s never heard bad bass players. He’s talking all of this jazz and musicianship, and he’s an arranger and stuff. This is like Buddy Rich saying Ringo couldn’t drum. Because, coming from Buddy Rich’s sensibility, Ringo can’t drum. But coming from our sensibility, Buddy Rich is a load of s***. But God bless him.”

Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage