Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson in 2001
Photo: Kevin Kane/WireImage

Of all the artists, producers, entertainers and celebrities who have paid tribute to Michael Jackson since his death on Thursday, perhaps the person who knows his music best is the man who launched his career as the King of Pop: Quincy Jones.

Starting with Jackson's 1979 album, Off the Wall, Jones became the singer's longtime producer, and in a revealing, intimate blog post for the Los Angeles Times, Jones wrote about Jackson's dedication to his craft, their work in the studio and how an unlikely collaboration on the set of a big-screen musical led to one of the most successful creative partnerships in pop music history.

"In 1978, [director] Sidney Lumet pulled me kicking and screaming into doing the music for 'The Wiz,' and in hindsight I'm so glad he did," wrote Jones. "As the scarecrow, Michael dove into the filming of 'The Wiz' with everything that he had, not only learning his lines but those of everyone in the cast. Prior to filming, Michael and I were working at my home and he asked if I could help find him a producer to work with him on his first solo album from Epic."

Jones didn't volunteer his services until he saw Jackson on set struggling with a line — the correct pronunciation of "Socrates." "It was that wonderment that I saw in his eyes that locked me in," Jones wrote. "I knew that we could go into completely unexplored territory, a place that as a jazz musician gave me goose bumps."

And so Jones, Jackson and songwriter Rod Temperton began work on Off the Wall.

"[Michael] was so shy he'd sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to me while I sat there with my hands over my eyes with the lights off," wrote Jones.

Jackson may have been introverted in the studio, but after working with a vocal coach, the Off the Wall album ended up going platinum four times and scoring four top-10 hits. For the follow-up album, Jackson and Jones had four months to complete their work, but after quickly falling behind schedule, they found themselves with just two months to finish the record.

"I told Michael that we needed a black rock 'n' roll tune — a black 'My Sharona' — and a begging tune for the album," Jones wrote. "He came back with 'Beat It' and Rod came back with 'The Lady in My Life.' Rod also brought in 'Thriller' and Michael sang his heart out on it. At one point during the session the right speaker burst into flames, which none of us had ever seen before. How's that for a sign?"

They completed the album just hours before it was due. They gave it a final listen and were shocked to find that it sounded terrible. Jackson himself was in tears. The team took two days off, reshaped the album and shortened the intro to "Billie Jean." Thriller ended up going platinum 28 times, making it the biggest-selling non-compilation album in history.

"There will be a lot written about what came next in Michael's life, but for me all of that is just noise," Jones wrote in conclusion. "I promise you in 50, 75, 100 years, what will be remembered is the music. It's no accident that almost three decades later, no matter where I go in the world, in every club and karaoke bar, like clockwork, you hear 'Billie Jean,' 'Beat It,' 'Wanna Be Starting Something,' 'Rock With You' and 'Thriller.' "

For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."

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• Michael Jackson's MTV Moments

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• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos

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Jamie Foxx and Clive Davis
Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

BEVERLY HILLS, California — At Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party Tuesday night, one man managed to surprise an A-list audience with two of music's biggest stars, reunite a legendary R&B group, spontaneously re-create one of hip-hop's greatest tracks and find the fantasy in Fantasia ... all in about 45 minutes.

And no, it wasn't Clive Davis.

The famed music mogul's name was on the invitation, but the night clearly belonged to Jamie Foxx, whose one-of-a-kind set had more surprise twists than an episode of "24."

The actor-turned-surprisingly-successful-singer took the Beverly Hilton ballroom's stage shortly before midnight, crooning the "Slow Jamz" hook into a diamond-studded microphone, ad-libbing lyrics and breaking into verses from some of R&B's greats.

After seamlessly segueing into "Unpredictable" and bringing out Ludacris for his verse, Foxx paused behind his piano to address the room of megastars (Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Diana Ross, to name a few) and bigwigs (Quincy Jones, L.A. Reid, Russell Simmons ... you get the point).

"Some say hip-hop killed the R&B star," he said. Then, before finishing his thought, he broke into "Warm Bed," leaving the piano and pacing the stage, sharing dirty thoughts of what he wanted to do to his girl. Suddenly, he looked out in the star-studded crowd and wondered aloud what a woman would do back. He slowly walked off the stage and eventually came to Fantasia, who was quick to play along, sitting Foxx down and seductively dancing around him. "I'm a young girl," she belted back. "And I will do young girl things."

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"I'm a grown man and you don't even know your body yet," Foxx sang back. "I'll make the back of your knees wet." He stopped himself just short of leaving her his hotel-room key, then asked for a reaction from a younger singer. "Mario, show us that sweet voice," he said, welcoming the young singer for another impromptu collaboration.

Then, just when you thought it was over, Foxx said he wanted to hear from some older men. "Ladies and gentlemen, Jodeci," he sang as the group sprinted onstage, singing Foxx's "Do What He Do." A few dozen vocal runs later, Foxx finally finished his thought: "R&B is back."

With that out of the way, Foxx moved on to a little hip-hop, and pulled some more tricks from up his sleeve. He launched into Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman," now known as the sample for "Gold Digger," so who better to make a surprise appearance than Kanye West himself?

"Get down girl, go ahead get down," West rapped, announcing between lines that he actually wants the crowd to get up. "It's reverse psychology," he deadpanned.

As Kanye finished the final verse, a glowing Foxx started pointing to the crowd, and within seconds Doug E. Fresh was on the mic, beat-boxing along to "Gold Digger." As Fresh transitioned into his most famous track, "La Di Da Di," Foxx corralled Snoop Dogg to join him, taking on Slick Rick's verses like they were his own.

"Where's Jay-Z?" Foxx yelled at one point as Kanye danced behind him. (Jigga had unfortunately already busted out.) "Sometimes your words just hypnotize me," he sang along with Snoop, summing up his performance.

"It's an honor to work with Clive Davis," Foxx said before the show, praising the man he would later imitate onstage. "From Barbra Streisand all the way to 50 Cent, he knows music."

Davis also knows how to throw a party, probably because he's been doing it for 30 years. And like every other year, Tuesday's event was a celebrity extravaganza, beginning with a red-carpet traffic jam where Ashlee Simpson trailed Kiss' Paul Stanley, Maroon 5 bumped into the Neptunes, and Carrie Underwood gushed over the Foo Fighters.

Davis' event is also known as a coming out party for some of his hottest young acts (Alicia Keys was introduced at his Grammy party a few years ago) and Tuesday night was no different.

After a hits set from Rod Stewart, Davis proudly welcomed Chris Brown, the 16-year-old Usher-in-training who danced and sang through the one-two punch of "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Run It." On his heels, Davis also introduced R&B singer Heather Headley, comparing her to a young Anita Baker and Whitney Houston.

Kelly Clarkson followed, wailing "Since U Been Gone" and slowing down for an acoustic take on "Because of You," easily the night's most vocally perfect number.

"It's an honor to perform in front of some of my favorites," she told the crowd. "I mean Mary J. Blige!"

Blige was scheduled to close the show herself, but with performances running late, she was forced to miss her set so she could rehearse for Wednesday's Grammys (see "Jamie Foxx And Kanye Go For The 'Gold,' U2 And Mary J. Team Up At Grammys").

Fantasia — who performed a Luther Vandross tribute with Anthony Hamilton after Foxx — stepped in, singing Vandross's "Power of Love" to close the night.

Celebrating 30 years of Arista, Santana and Rob Thomas also performed the label's biggest hit, "Smooth," earlier in the night, and the label's first artist, Barry Manilow, sang a medley of hits. Davis also used the event to announce some label news, stating that his J Records just signed Pearl Jam.

So perhaps Foxx can work Eddie Vedder into his show next year.

The show's over, but there's still plenty of Grammy goodness right here on MTVNews.com. Check out photos of the hottest green-carpet and onstage moments, find out what went down at the celeb-packed parties, and share your thoughts on the performers, winners and losers.

Plus watch videos of all the nominees on MTV.com and check out exclusive video footage from the big night on Overdrive.

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• Jamie Foxx
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Jay-Z (file)
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

Nearly 20 years after producing the benefit anthem "We Are the World," Quincy Jones is organizing We Are the Future, a massive charity concert in Rome featuring Jay-Z, Norah Jones and Stevie Wonder, among others.

Jones is still finalizing the lineup, but so far LL Cool J, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock and Latin star Juanes are also on board, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali, Chris Tucker, dancer Savion Glover and the casts of "Stomp" and "Cirque du Soleil," according to Jones' spokesperson.

The concert will be staged May 16 at the Circus Maximus grounds near the Colosseum, the site of Rome's ancient chariot races. Jones chose the location to make the point that children are being born into violent times. He also considered Jerusalem and a location in Jordan beside the Red Sea.

We Are the Future will benefit Jones' Listen Up Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for young victims of violence.

Organizers are expecting more than a million people at the event, which will feature 2,000 children in various indigenous costumes linking hands. Other activities are being planned to bring adversaries, such as Palestinians and Israelis, together.

Also assembling at We Are the Future will be mayors from 60 cities around the world, who will meet with children from war zones to teach them about government.

Jones hopes to broadcast the event worldwide and is already negotiating with an unnamed U.S. network and Arabic broadcaster al Jazeera.

• Jay-Z
• Norah Jones
• LL Cool J
• Quincy Jones

Snoop Dogg has recorded an undisclosed new song for the video game "True Crime: Streets of LA," a driving/action game due this fall. The soundtrack also features more than 50 original songs, including one from Westside Connection, as well as previously released material from Ice-T and the D.O.C., among others. ... New songs from Fatboy Slim ("Don't Let the Man Get You Down," which samples the Five Man Electrical Band's 1971 hit "Signs") and the X-ecutioners ("Like This") will be released September 30 on the soundtrack to the snowboarding video game "SSX 3." Previously unreleased remixes of N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star" and Placebo's "Bitter End" are also included, along with Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx tracks. ...

Quincy Jones is reaching out to many hip-hop producers for help on his next album. For the LP, Jones wants the producers to remix one of his classic cuts, and in turn he will rework one of their songs. Jones' spokesperson said it's too early to disclose the album's lineup, but revealed it will be hip-hop heavy. However, a rep for Alicia Keys said she will be involved in the project. ... Although he never made it into orbit, 'NSYNC's Lance Bass has been named as the 2003 Youth Spokesperson for World Space Week, October 4-10, by the Spaceweek International Association. Coinciding with Space Week, the certified cosmonaut is the focus of a contest called "Lance's Lab," in which students design a hypothetical space station for Bass to live in. Winners get the chance to meet Bass at an awards ceremony in early 2004. ...

Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison recorded two tracks with Otep for their next album, tentatively titled Suicide Trees. The group's second album will follow last year's Sevas Tra. ... Staind, Eve 6, Sevendust, Shinedown, Trapt, Socialburn and others will perform at the End of Summer Weenie Roast #9 concert, which is scheduled for October 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

"Here and Now," "Never Too Much" and "Superstar" are among the Luther Vandross hits that will be included on Live at Radio City Music Hall 2003, due October 14. The R&B star, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered in April, recorded the performance on Valentine's Day. ... Details have also surfaced on another anticipated live R&B collection, Raphael Saadiq: All Hits at the House of Blues, due October 14 as well. Saadiq and his 10-piece band recorded the album July 3 in Hollywood, where his Tony Toni Toné bandmates as well as D'Angelo and Devin the Dude made guest appearances. ...

Following the success of the July 30 Toronto concert to battle the fear of SARS, the government of Hong Kong has organized a four-week-long music festival between October 15 and November 9 to try to put an end to the hysteria surrounding the disease. SARS hit the region hard, killing 299 and infecting over 1,700 others. Headliners will include the Rolling Stones, who will play November 7 and 9, Carlos Santana, Craig David and Westlife. ... The inaugural Def Leppard convention, called "Lepcon," will take place in Las Vegas in May. The event will consist of a performance by tribute band Pyromania, raffles, auctions, contests and guest speakers. In addition, a couple whose relationship revolves around Def Leppard will get married at the event. It is too early to tell whether anyone from Def Leppard will be able to attend. Profits will go to the Raven Drum Foundation, which provides free spiritual therapy for those in crisis. ...

New York's DFA Records will release its first 12-inch-singles compilation on September 30. DFA Records Compilation #1 will feature tracks from Black Dice, the Juan Maclean, LCD Soundsystem and a previously unavailable CD track by the Rapture. ... Supporting their sophomore disc, You Forgot It in People, Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene will embark on a 28-date North American tour starting September 18 in Buffalo, New York, and finishing two months later on November 11 in San Diego. Opening the tour on various dates will be Arts & Crafts labelmates Stars and Broken Social Scene guitarist/bassist Jason Collet. ...

Perfecto Presents ... Paul Oakenfold: Great Wall, a double album of remixes, is due September 30. Tracks include Oakenfold's take on Madonna's "Hollywood," along with Björk and Dave Gahan remixes. ... Some Girls, the new project from Juliana Hatfield, her Blake Babies bandmate Freda Love and Heidi Gluck, will launch a monthlong U.S. club tour September 16 in Providence, Rhode Island. The trio are promoting their debut, Feel It, due Tuesday. ... The Juliana Theory are working on material for the follow-up to their major-label debut, Love. The LP is reportedly more in line with their earlier records than their recent prog-rock-driven output. ...

09.03.03

Missy Elliott is nearly done with her as-yet-untitled fifth album, which is due in November. Timbaland is once again on board as a producer. ... Meanwhile, a live version of Elliott's "Work It" will be released October 14 on Sessions@AOL, a compilation of tunes culled from the bi-weekly series on AOL Music and the Fuse television network. Coldplay, Avril Lavigne, Alicia Keys, Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton are also on the album. ...

Nelly shook his tailfeather with the man who invented the remix, so since he and P. Diddy are so chummy, maybe Puffy will make a new beat for one of the pimp-juice-drinking MC's hits. The captain of the St. Lunatics is currently soliciting producers for a remix album, which should contain reworkings of a selection of cuts from his two LPs, Country Grammar and Nellyville, the Tics' group effort, Free City, and Ali's solo debut, Heavy Starch. ... Obie Trice is pulling a Willy Wonka with the release of his debut album, Cheers, due September 23. Three copies of the LP will contain a "golden ticket" that entitles the bearer to chill with Eminem in the studio while he records his next album. ...

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke joined R.E.M. onstage in Vancouver on August 29 for their encore on "E-Bow the Letter" and "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." The next night at the same venue, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe returned the favor by joining Radiohead for an encore of "Karma Police." In addition, R.E.M. dedicated "Orange Crush" to Radiohead, who gifted their own "Lucky" to Stipe and friends. ... Neil Young's 17th annual Bridge School Benefit concert is set for October 25 and 26 at Shoreline Amphitheater outside San Francisco. Pearl Jam, who will be making their sixth appearance at the event, are the only band announced so far. ...

The Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council recently hosted a community get-together called Jam Master Jay Day in the Hollis section of Queens, New York, and now the group says it has the support of Queens councilman Leroy Comrie in its efforts to have 203rd Street named after the slain Run-DMC DJ. They have given up hope of the renaming becoming official by October 30, which is the one-year anniversary of the hip-hop icon's death. Instead, they want to have the change take place by January 21, which is JMJ's birthday. The Youth Council says it will meet with Community Board 12 in Queens in two weeks to further discuss the matter. ...

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has renamed his debut album Come Poop With Me. The comedy album now carries a release date of October 7 and features appearances by Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Horatio Sanz, Subway spokesperson Jared Fogel, members of the "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" house band and Conan himself. ... The Flaming Lips will open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the West Coast leg of their fall tour. The trek begins October 8 in Las Vegas and ends October 21 in Seattle. ...

Following a successful tour with this year's Ozzfest, Marilyn Manson will headline his own North American jaunt starting October 10 in Los Angeles. Dates run through Halloween in Dallas. ... The seventh annual MOBO Awards, an English ceremony to celebrate Music of Black Origin, will take place September 25 at Royal Albert Hall. Nominees include Beyoncé, Ashanti, Justin Timberlake and Kelly Rowland for Best R&B Act and 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Jay-Z and Joe Budden for Best Hip-Hop Act. ...

The Polyphonic Spree will kick off a North American tour September 19 in their hometown of Dallas. The outing, which will feature the Starlight Mints on the first leg and the Sleepy Jackson on the second, ends with a two-night stay November 23 and 24 in San Diego. ... The Special Goodness, Weezer drummer Pat Wilson's side project with former Rocket From the Crypt drummer Atom, are planning to issue their next record through punk staple Epitaph. "We are proud to announce that we've agreed in principle to sign with Epitaph Records," reads a posting on the band's Web site. ...

Crazy Town's last album, Darkhorse, debuted near the bottom of the Billboard albums chart, and now singer Shifty Shellshock has sunk even lower. Shellshock, a.k.a. Seth Binzer, has teamed up with Rick Solomon, who once dated actress Shannen Doherty, and producer Zack Bautzer to release "Beverly Hills Pimps and Ho's," a DVD series that shows some of Hollywood's hottest actresses in compromising positions. ... Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise have set a November 11 release date for their fourth album, Still Lovin' You. "It's more natural sounding with natural instruments and no loops," Bradley said of the music. "I'm trying to get back to the old 1975 vibe. A little country in it, but mostly R&B with a rock flavor." ...

Chris Slusarenko and Superdrag's Sam Powers will sit in with Guided by Voices for the group's upcoming tours of the U.S. and Europe, respectively, following the departure of bassist Tim Tobias, according to a post on GBV's Web site. ... No doubt spurned on by the band's overseas critical acclaim and #1 spot on the albums chart in their U.K. home, Atlantic Records has bumped up the Stateside release of The Darkness' debut album from early next year to later this month. The throwback hard rock band's Permission to Land will now hit U.S. stores on September 16. ...

Echo and the Bunnymen will launch a North American tour on October 23 in Boston. Dates run through November 7 in Anaheim, California. The band will follow the U.S. jaunt with a lengthy world tour. ... Barenaked Ladies' sixth studio album, Everything to Everyone, is due October 21. Members of the Blue Man Group guest on a song on the LP called "Shopping." ...

Ambient experts Enigma will release a new album, Voyageur, on September 30. ... Nü-ish metal band Static-X are inviting fans to show up on Thursday for the shooting of their video for "The Only," the first single from their upcoming album, Shadow Zone, due October 7. The band is seeking 20 males and 20 females 18 years of age or older, and the shoot is taking place at GMT Studios in Culver City, California. ...

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Jamie Foxx, Ashlee Simpson, Ciara, More At The Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party, 2.7.06

• Jamie Foxx
• Ashlee Simpson
• Ciara
• Mary J. Blige
• Ludacris

Grammy Parties 2006

• Britney Spears
• Kevin Federline
• Maroon 5
• Chingy
• Christina Milian