Quincy Jones Calls Elvis Presley “Racist,” Reveals He “Wouldn’t Work With Him”

Published: Tuesday 25th May 2021 by Ryan

Quincy Jones is getting candid.

In a new with The Hollywood Reporter, the music legend recalls an exchange he had with Elvis Presley and revealed that he “wouldn’t work with him.”

More details below…

When asked if he had ever worked with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Jones said:

“No. I wouldn’t work with him.”

“I was writing for [orchestra leader] Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said, ‘I don’t want to play with him.’ He was a racist motherf****er. I’m going to shut up now.”

After his shocking reveal, he refused to speak anymore on the matter.

The musical maestro inaugurates The Hollywood Reporter’s Icon series with his famously candid takes on Hollywood racism and drug use.

In his career, Jones has been nominated for a total of 80 GRAMMY Awards and has won 28.

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  1. Clarks0o00ñ May 25, 2021

    Miss Quincy Jones, always spilling tea.
    He has seen it all.

    • Shayla Queen 👑 May 25, 2021

      He is a vile queen.

  2. Slick May 25, 2021

    Meh…

  3. Grapevine May 25, 2021

    Who? here, is Surprise..Hollywood, been protecting Elvis image..his, ex wife knows..she taking..that 💩 to her grave 🤐

    • jamal May 29, 2021

      BS you are just a bigmouth fool spewing hate. Elvis was not racist. QJ trying to taint Elvis great legacy because he is jealous. you and QJ Can go suck each other off.

      • wayne dean May 31, 2021

        Yes he was racist, that was a tight secret that was held from the public. i heard about this from other sources back in the 90s.

  4. True Tea May 25, 2021

    Elvis is dead…allegedly. There is no reason to speak on him being a racists now.

    • 🍭marilyn monh-O-E🍭(💫Perfectly Splendid✨) May 25, 2021

      Exactly! Don’t speak evil of the dead💅🏿💅🏿 It’s not fair to speak of him racists coz it happened in the different generations. 🤳🏿

      • Justme May 25, 2021

        Y’all sound how y’all look foolish.. it’ll be different if Elvis didn’t still his music from black people but his biggest hit wasn’t even his at first. Plus he was in an industry where he would be around all different kinds of people, so he shouldn’t have an excuse when he has seen other races outside of the stereotypical things others would have not.

      • Eric Farr May 27, 2021

        Well people still speak on Martin Luther King and he’s been dead longer then Elvis.

    • Ty May 27, 2021

      F’ that train of thought. Although a very successful artist, he was lacking in real talent and social graces towards melanated people. Rip the bandaid on what we inherently knew, but Whites refuse to acknowledge. Giving him the praises of Jesus, ,,,,,,,,,,,another fraud that’s overrated.

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        Melanated? S*** you must be a joke. Overrated?You are a joke. You don’t know s*** about talent. You are just a racist like Quincy Jones.,Elvis was the greatest.You probably haven’t even heard more than one of his songs and you are judging him. you are the fraud.

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        You are the fraud.Shut up about something you know nothing about.Fool.

  5. 🍭marilyn monh-O-E🍭(💫Perfectly Splendid✨) May 25, 2021

    Just STFU already, u are a half way dead man already. Don’t ever talk 💩 of the legendary Elvis. Y’all people even want to canceled the people who already dead💅🏿💅🏿 Hot messs🤳🏿🤳🏿

    • Slick May 25, 2021

      I agree. He’s dead been dead. Quincy just wants attention. Lame tacky and vile move.

      • Mildred May 25, 2021

        What’s tacky about it? If the man was racist he was racist. 97% of whites were back then. And it’s funny because Elvis had BLACK BLOOD running through his thieving, ped0 veins.

  6. Khiayoncé May 25, 2021

    When will he spill about his sodomizing men for power over the decades?

    • KeyLoLo May 25, 2021

      That part

    • jamal May 29, 2021

      Yeah Quincy does like it up there.

  7. citygirls May 25, 2021

    i mean we all knew this. and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him bringing it up now.

  8. Shayla Queen 👑 May 25, 2021

    And? Joe Biden is racist, still alive and is president of the United States but you won’t talk about that…

    • Slick May 25, 2021

      Lmmfao @joe Biden comment. So true. C’mon man! 😂

    • LEE L May 26, 2021

      So you skipped all over Trump to attack Biden, who at least tried to change, but Trump was elected because he is a racists. AND YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT THAT GTFOH!!!!!

      • ROBERT T BORRELLI May 29, 2021

        Are you on drugs? Sleepy Joe sponsored racist laws that pot smoker Kamala enforced that put thousands of blacks in jail for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The ‘racist’ Trump signed criminal justice reform laws that freed them. NBC is had to beg for gov’t funding every year till ‘racist’ Trump funded them for ten years. China is a racist country with very harsh shoplifting laws. When several blacks repeatedly shoplifters in China, they faced long prison terms, until the ‘racist’ Trump pulled strings to get them out of there. If you can only parrot lies that left-wing media say, my only response to you will be ‘Polly want a cracker?’

  9. Fancy BISH (FCK Maristench, Danzou The Fool & Clarksdump 🤣) 👊🏽💎💋 May 25, 2021

    Uncle Quincy said what he said! We all know this country is racist as hell and the music industry is no different! Elvis Presley essentially was created from racism – white people would rather buy a white man’s version of a black and/or black sounding song! Period! I got time today lol 🤣 Was Elvis cute and talented? Sure, my grandmother LOVED him…was he flavorful? I believe so 😂 And the machine AROUND him could’ve rubbed him the wrong way, but he still went along for the ride…and could’ve rubbed off onto him at some point in his career too, that evilness chile 💯 BTS’ new song says Usher’s name and references Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal (co-produced by Quincy), a homage to flavorful black entertainment 🤳🏽 We run this music ish creatively cause we’re the most generous with our ish despite racism…take a little from us, watch you blow up…streaming is dominated by black sounds cause the kids aren’t born racist…bye, I love everybody lol
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcbFJAcuomI

    • Lisa September 19, 2022

      And your the racist every last one of you, be gone, find something else to whine about

  10. Fancy BISH (FCK Maristench, Danzou The Fool & Clarksdump 🤣) 👊🏽💎💋 May 25, 2021

    Miss Quincy Jones can sit down now, we don’t need her we have DJ Khaled a strong Arab man who make much better music. DJ Khaled doesn’t need to chat 💩 to be relevant.

    • Fancy BISH (FCK Maristench, Danzou The Fool & Clarksdump 🤣) 👊🏽💎💋 May 25, 2021

      Once again, you have no real flavor to sustain yourself 🤣 You have to take from me 🤳🏽 Get your busted ass up outta here, you don’t count….imposter heathen lmaooooooooo….you’re the problem I was speaking about! ✅ You need me for relevancy, you’re tired of being tired of your boring self…and everybody already forgot what Fat Joe said lol🤣☕️💯🤳🏽💋

    • Keelo May 26, 2021

      F*** Elvis we knew this about him tf

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        Really? You don’t know s*** about Elvis.you are all mouth and no brains.

  11. KeyLoLo May 25, 2021

    I know some people in my hometown (they are old) who was personal friends w Elvis Their house is a landmark here bc of them. Anyway I don’t think Elvis was racist 🤷 not from the stories I have read and heard. If he was so racist why did he pay for Jackie Wilson’s funeral? And even if he was racist, who wasn’t in their time? Or Maybe he just didn’t like you Quincy…and either way all y’all evil heauxs rocked the same boat anyway so it really don’t even matter who was racist and who did what during those times…NONE OF YALL WAS INNOCENT and truth be told they gave birth to all the bullcrap that’s going on in the entertainment industry today ANYWAY 🤷

    • Manuel Beltran May 26, 2021

      Say what you want about Elvis but:

      As a mexican american, I feel that Elvis was the only white entertainer that could perform black music on an even plain with Black entertainers.

      Yes Elvis was a passive racist and he volunteered “police, FBI duty for president Nixon.

      But for those of us who love Nat King Cole and other great black entertainers of the early years they should be proud that Elvis would copy there style and live with the fact that he was a “clone” of black music.

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        Clone? He had his own style and sound. He was miles ahead of the black acts of the time.,

    • LEE L May 26, 2021

      YOU ARE CORRECT ALL OF THEM WAS RACISTS BACK THEN——

      • ROBERT T BORRELLI May 29, 2021

        “All of them” is a racist statement. Pot and kettle

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        Yes blacks were racist then and they are no different today.

  12. Sherri S Mosley May 26, 2021

    The World was different back in the 50s-60s regarding racial division. We didn’t walk in Elvis’s shoes. Makes absolutely no sense to speak ill of anyone not able to stand-up for themselves. Shame on you Quincy Jones. You inner circle says mountains of who you are and your motive to disrespect an icon admired by so many.

    • Eric May 27, 2021

      Quincy just spoke the truth. Live what he experienced back in those days.

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        you must be stupid to believe that.

      • jamal May 29, 2021

        Quincy didn’t speak truth.He spoke s***.Elvis mopped the floor with him and he is jealous.

  13. ant May 27, 2021

    jealousy is ugly… and now attacking a dead man,,,, pitiful

  14. Robert L. Morris May 28, 2021

    Some people will say anything about others who are no longer able to refute their charges to get a few headlines. Strange that during his life, Elvis worked with so many black singers and entertainers who only had praise for the King of Rock’N’Roll. Elvis performed with many other black entertainers and not one ever said anything bad about him and Quincy Jones waits 40 plus years to try and defame Elvis. Sounds like sour grapes on Quincy Jones part. More than likely, Elvis passed on the chance to work with Jones. Sounds like a hit piece by a disgruntled liar.

  15. ROBERT T BORRELLI May 29, 2021

    Afaik, Presley attended black church services in the early 50s, which was very daring and risky back then.

  16. Niki May 29, 2021

    Racism is ugly . Stop making excuses . You are either human or racist!!! No matter who you are or what side you’re on.

  17. Jamal May 29, 2021

    Quincy jones is a punk ass. He is jealous of Elvis. Nobody can touch Elvis.

  18. jamal May 29, 2021

    QJ is a blowhard.Using the race card like most to get some attention.No truth to the story. Only lemmings and fools believe that crap.

  19. jersey May 29, 2021

    Mike Tyson was a racist, Michael Jackson was a pedifile, and Kobe bryant was accused of r***, which I think he did and bill cosby was a r***** as well. Jones makes his comments on here-say from Tommy dorsy who was jealous of Elvis to begin with.
    stupid comment, just because he’s white and better then all the rest.

    • jamal May 29, 2021

      TRUE. Jones is a punk and he is washed up.

  20. Carlton C. Russell, RTR May 29, 2021

    Sure he was racist. He grew-up in Mississippi in the 30’s and 40’s. How is this a news story? He also had conservative views of women’s roles in life. You might call him a sexist by today’s standards. I’m sure now that this “surprise” revelation has come forward that Elvis was racist……..we’ll have to depose the King of Rock -N- Roll. I’m so tired of all this. The fact he might have been racist doesn’t diminish his talent. No body is perfect and everybody is a little racist.

    • Lisa September 19, 2022

      And may I whisper to you, His family were rooted in My Mississippi, and Elvis was a direct descendant of mine. So don’t go talking hearsay against him, the racists are showing their true colors here. All y’all know it all’s don’t know squat. I do,I am his cousin. Through His father, Vernon.

  21. david bodner May 31, 2021

    Elvis was native american indian who was not in favor of blacks joining in with haters of native americans . Not a racist just a man who saw thru blm ways

  22. Raymond Foster May 31, 2021

    Easy to say something like that after Elvis has been dead 44 years. Never heard this before. Have heard other Black Artists say they worked well with Elvis. They often referred to him as a Southern Gentleman. He loved Gospel and Black music. Sounds like Quincy is older and in need of some attention.

  23. TIMBO June 1, 2021

    Elvis was racist! How many black people did you see in his entourage? How many cars did he buy for black people? Ever see him hang out with or invite black people to Graceland? He grew up in MS during the Jim Crow era and adopted a white supremacist mentality early on. He took songs written by black blues musicians but hardly paid them anything yet he made millions from their songs. I believe he paid Arthur Cruduck 500 dollars.

    • Lisa September 19, 2022

      So is that what y’all mad about, you didn’t get to sing with him, or get a nice new car from him!! Y’all kill me, LMAO!

  24. Genovie T. Page June 1, 2021

    He always has something to tell about others. Why isn’t he telling something about himself.

  25. Royston Fender June 10, 2021

    I knew this from in the 70’s and it appears that he was socialized that way. But I was very surprised to come across an article in the Ebony or Right On magazine can’t remember which, which stated that Elvis was in a cart mart and he bought a black lady a brand new car then left. So it would appear that he regretted his growing up attitude and I think he later worked with black musicians. The paradoxical thing about it is that the writer of Elvis’s songs was a black man, who sent Elvis audios of the songs. I have heard one and it is incredible how they both sounded exactly alike.
    So yes he was but seemed to have change at some time during his career.

  26. LucyDowney June 24, 2021

    Wow , he doesn’t have any of own self respect so he has to go after
    A man who gave cars to black ppl n then as singer on his stage
    Gave a wheelchair to a little black girl. Who gave a car to a black lady on a car lot .
    He played in all black neighborhood . But u know better

  27. Lisa September 19, 2022

    As a direct descendant of Elvis Presley, I can promise you he was No racist.
    Quincy Jones your a liar.

  28. Sande Knight September 13, 2024

    Given Elvis’s background and limited exposure to the “World” growing up, Quincy Jones is spot on. Besides Elvis always admitted adoring his mother. Her values were his. Elvis reportedly (and obviously to my mind) never spent any time in introspection.

  29. Sande Knight September 13, 2024

    Given Elvis’s background and limited exposure to the “World” growing up, Quincy Jones is spot on. Besides Elvis always admitted adoring his mother. Her values were his. Elvis reportedly (and obviously to my mind) never spent any time in introspection carrying all his prejudices with him through life.

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