On October 15, 2001, producer Quincy Jones was guest in 'The Oprah Show'. During the show Michael called in to pay tribute to his friend. Below follows a transcript of this segment:
Oprah Winfrey: [...] He's worked with everybody from Billie Holiday to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. I mean, when you span that whole--th--that's not an era of music. That's eras. OK. Quincy doesn't know this, but there's somebody on the phone who wanted to be here today but could not. Most of the world knows him as the King of Pop. Say hello to Michael Jackson. Michael. Michael. So hi, Michael.
Michael: Hi.
Oprah: Hi. Thanks for joining us.
Michael: Oh, I'm honored. I'm very honored.
Oprah: What's it like, the experience of working with Mr. Jones?
Michael: What was it like working with--with Quincy?
Oprah: Yeah.
Michael: It's--it's very professional, very talented, and he's a musical visionary. He's been around, as you know, a very long time.
Quincy Jones: Michael?
Michael: Yes?
QJ: This is Quincy. Can I call you by the name we used to call and talk to each other by?
Michael: Yes, if you want.
QJ: Well, OK, S...
Michael: I'm scared.
QJ: Smelly. What'd he say?
Oprah: He said, `I'm scared.'
QJ: Smelly. OK.
Oprah: Now where did that come from? That...
QJ: That's very affectionate, because Michael does not use any profanity ever, right--right, Smelly?
Michael: No. P--no. That's right.
QJ: And--and so when it got good, we'd say, `That was funky.' He said, `Don't say that. It's smelly jelly,' you know. It's smelly jelly, so from now...
Oprah: You don't even use `funky'?
QJ: No. Michael doesn't say that word. If...
Oprah: No. No.
QJ: No.
Oprah: Doesn't say any--any kind of bad words at all.
QJ: No. I've heard a couple, yeah.
Oprah: Yeah. OK.
QJ: But--but not--that's...
Michael: From who?
QJ: From--from you.
Michael: Not me ...(unintelligible).
QJ: Oh, no, no.
Oprah: No. So that's why you started...
QJ: Just smelly jelly.
Oprah: That's why you started calling him Smelly.
QJ: Yes.
Michael: Yeah.
Oprah: What have you learned from Q that--that you take with you for the rest of your life, Michael?
Michael: I learned a lot. You once said something to me, Qu--Quincy. I don't know if you want it repeated. But it was just beautiful. You said, `You don't write the music. You let the write--the music write itself. Let it create itself. It's like we're just the source through which it comes.'
Oprah: Yeah. I--I've heard him say he always leaves room for God to walk in the room.
Michael: There you go.
Oprah: Yeah.
QJ: The divinity is most important.
Oprah: Well, thank you, Michael, for joining us. Thanks for taking the time to call up and say, `Hey, Q.'
QJ: I love you, Smelly.
Michael: I love you more, Quincy.
Oprah: All right. All right.
QJ: The show was great in New York.
Michael: Thank you.
Well I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I do...MJ is the BEST ...KING FOREVER:)
Oprah Winfrey: [...] He's worked with everybody from Billie Holiday to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. I mean, when you span that whole--th--that's not an era of music. That's eras. OK. Quincy doesn't know this, but there's somebody on the phone who wanted to be here today but could not. Most of the world knows him as the King of Pop. Say hello to Michael Jackson. Michael. Michael. So hi, Michael.
Michael: Hi.
Oprah: Hi. Thanks for joining us.
Michael: Oh, I'm honored. I'm very honored.
Oprah: What's it like, the experience of working with Mr. Jones?
Michael: What was it like working with--with Quincy?
Oprah: Yeah.
Michael: It's--it's very professional, very talented, and he's a musical visionary. He's been around, as you know, a very long time.
Quincy Jones: Michael?
Michael: Yes?
QJ: This is Quincy. Can I call you by the name we used to call and talk to each other by?
Michael: Yes, if you want.
QJ: Well, OK, S...
Michael: I'm scared.
QJ: Smelly. What'd he say?
Oprah: He said, `I'm scared.'
QJ: Smelly. OK.
Oprah: Now where did that come from? That...
QJ: That's very affectionate, because Michael does not use any profanity ever, right--right, Smelly?
Michael: No. P--no. That's right.
QJ: And--and so when it got good, we'd say, `That was funky.' He said, `Don't say that. It's smelly jelly,' you know. It's smelly jelly, so from now...
Oprah: You don't even use `funky'?
QJ: No. Michael doesn't say that word. If...
Oprah: No. No.
QJ: No.
Oprah: Doesn't say any--any kind of bad words at all.
QJ: No. I've heard a couple, yeah.
Oprah: Yeah. OK.
QJ: But--but not--that's...
Michael: From who?
QJ: From--from you.
Michael: Not me ...(unintelligible).
QJ: Oh, no, no.
Oprah: No. So that's why you started...
QJ: Just smelly jelly.
Oprah: That's why you started calling him Smelly.
QJ: Yes.
Michael: Yeah.
Oprah: What have you learned from Q that--that you take with you for the rest of your life, Michael?
Michael: I learned a lot. You once said something to me, Qu--Quincy. I don't know if you want it repeated. But it was just beautiful. You said, `You don't write the music. You let the write--the music write itself. Let it create itself. It's like we're just the source through which it comes.'
Oprah: Yeah. I--I've heard him say he always leaves room for God to walk in the room.
Michael: There you go.
Oprah: Yeah.
QJ: The divinity is most important.
Oprah: Well, thank you, Michael, for joining us. Thanks for taking the time to call up and say, `Hey, Q.'
QJ: I love you, Smelly.
Michael: I love you more, Quincy.
Oprah: All right. All right.
QJ: The show was great in New York.
Michael: Thank you.
Well I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I do...MJ is the BEST ...KING FOREVER:)
Blazing 'cross the evening sky
Gone too soon
Like a rainbow
Fading in the twinkling of an eye
Gone too soon
Shiny and sparkly
And splendidly bright
Here one day
Gone one night
Like the loss of sunlight
On a cloudy afternoon
Gone too soon
Like a castle
Built upon a sandy beach
Gone too soon
Like a perfect flower
That is just beyond your reach
Gone too soon
Born to amuse
To inspire to delight
Here one day
Gone one night
Like a sunset
Dying with the rising of the moon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon
His first goal in life must have been to own a candy store because he loved to play storekeeper. After Joe began giving him and his brothers a weekly allowance, he would spend every cent of it on candy and gum. He’d come home with an armful of it, take a board and two bricks and place them in the doorway to the boys’ bedroom, place a cloth over the board, lay the candy on top of it, and sell it to his brothers and sisters and friends for the same price he’d paid for it.
Michael was also a serious candy-eater and gum-chewer. Before he opened his “store,” he’d save his pennies so that he could purchase bubble gum at the concession stand at the Little League ball park behind our house. One night, however, he couldn’t find his penny for gum and he was so upset he started crying. “Mother, do you know what happened to my penny?” he asked. I knew the answer when I saw Marlon @Marlon_Jackson happily chewing away on a wad of bubble gum nearby.
Michael was also a serious candy-eater and gum-chewer. Before he opened his “store,” he’d save his pennies so that he could purchase bubble gum at the concession stand at the Little League ball park behind our house. One night, however, he couldn’t find his penny for gum and he was so upset he started crying. “Mother, do you know what happened to my penny?” he asked. I knew the answer when I saw Marlon @Marlon_Jackson happily chewing away on a wad of bubble gum nearby.