Quincy Jones Has Accused Michael Jackson of Stealing Songs — "The Notes Don't Lie"

With the passing of award-winning record producer Quincy Jones, people are looking back at a career that could fill a thousand lifetimes. He was the first Black vice-president of Mercury Records, a position he ascended to in 1961. From there Quincy composed music for films, arranged music for artists like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and of course produced some of the best albums the world has ever heard. His death has left a huge hole in the entertainment industry.

Perhaps one of the most successful entertainers Quincy ever worked with was Michael Jackson. Not only did he help launch Michael's solo career, but Quincy co-produced three of his greatest albums: "Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad." Because of this, Michael and Quincy were very close. Naturally, the late producer had much to say about the King of Pop. Let's get into it.

Quincy Jones first worked with Michael Jackson in the 1978 movie The Wiz, where the young singer was playing the part of the Scarecrow. According to an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times written days after Michael's death, Quincy had no interest in working on the movie and was forced to do so by director Sydney Lumet. Quincy ended up feeling grateful to Sydney, as it was during this time he offered to produce Michael's first solo album.

They worked together for eight more years until a falling out occurred during the making of "Bad," Michael's followup to 1982's "Thriller." In a 2009 interview with Katie Couric, Quincy said Michael felt as if he "wasn't in touch with the market anymore." The example Quincy gave was while recording "Bad," the producer had Run DMC in the studio which bothered Michael. He thought rap was "dead," but as Quincy put it, "This was 1987 it hadn't even started." They never worked together again.

In 2018, Quincy spoke with New York Magazine where he made wild accusations about Michael. "I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff," said Quincy. He went on to say that "Billie Jean" was basically Donna Summers's "State of Independence." As Quincy put it, "The notes don't lie, man." Quincy didn't stop there, claiming that keyboardist Greg Phillinganes deserved 10 percent of the profits from "Billie Jean," because he wrote the C section. "Michael wouldn't do it."

One aspect of Michael Jackson that the public could never stop discussing was the fact that his skin tone grew progressively lighter as the performer got older. In a 1993 interview with Oprah, Michael revealed he had vitiligo. According to the Mayo Clinic, it's a "disease that causes loss of skin color in patches. The discolored areas usually get bigger with time." Michael told Oprah that he first noticed it after "Thriller" was released.

Quincy told Katie Couric that Michael used to get chemical peels, which are used to treat vitiligo. In Quincy's opinion, Michael was in denial. The entertainer didn't actually have a disease, Michael just didn't like the way he looked. He later told New York Magazine that, "He [Michael] had a problem with his looks because his father told him he was ugly and abused him."

Despite what Quincy thought was happening, science rarely lies. Michael Jackson's autopsy report confirmed that he had vitiligo. On top of that, there was a tube of Benoquin 20 percent cream found in the singer's home. This medication is used to treat vitiligo. It's unclear whether or not Quincy knew this and chose to ignore it, or perhaps he never believed it was true.