Your Survival Guy and Gal watched The Greatest Night in Pop this weekend. Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson were the ones to get it started, but Quincy Jones, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 91, put it all together. It’s a walk down memory lane for pop music fans of the 70s and 80s.
The Wall Street Journal’s Hannah Karp and Gareth Vipers discuss Jones’s life, writing:
Quincy Jones, a voracious music lover and jazz musician who played myriad instruments, scored more than 30 films and produced some of the world’s most popular records, has died. He was 91.
He died peacefully late Sunday at his Bel-Air home, surrounded by family, said his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” his family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Racking up 80 Grammy nominations and 28 wins over his career, Jones produced Michael Jackson’s albums “Off the Wall,” “Bad” and “Thriller,” the second-best-selling album of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. He forged his connection with Jackson after helping produce the music for “The Wiz,” the Broadway adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” that starred the pop singer and singer Diana Ross. Jones also devoted much of his life to social causes, pioneering a model of celebrity activism when he produced the song “We Are the World” in 1985, conducting 46 big-name artists to perform it to raise money for Ethiopian famine relief.
They conclude:
All the while, he continued composing his own hits such as 1962’s bubbly “Soul Bossa Nova,” which got a second wind in the Austin Powers films, and arranging music for the likes of Frank Sinatra. U2’s Bono credited Jones with bringing out the best in artists he produced “by making everyone around him want to be themselves.”
While recording with Michael Jackson, whom Jones called “Smelly” because he referred to music he liked as “smelly jelly,” Jones said they would know they’d struck gold on a song when they both felt goosebumps. But Jones struggled to pare down their excess material, with Jackson constantly protesting: “Oh no, that’s the jelly.”
Jones had a son and six daughters, including actresses Rashida Jones and Kidada Jones, who entered the spotlight when she dated Tupac Shakur.
Dreaming of Queen Mary 2, MJ, and YOU
Earlier this month, the ocean liner Queen Mary 2 was anchored in Newport. “I know you,” I thought to myself, remembering the Atlantic crossing we made on her in May of this year. It was a seven-day crossing. Returning from France by air last weekend in a matter of hours felt like a time warp.
In the book The Only Way to Cross: The Golden Era of the great Atlantic express liners—from the Mauretania to the France and the Queen Elizabeth 2 by John Maxtone-Graham, we learn about what once was the only way to cross, and the ships that made it happen. Even if it’s not the only way to cross today, it was a trip worth taking.
As you plan your retirement life and take the trips you want to take, I want you to focus on how you generate the income to make it happen. Too often, investors think about how much income they need and then buy investments to fit the bill. They end up with a portfolio littered with garbage. That’s no way to invest in bonds.
Your number one goal when it comes to income generation, Your Survival Guy way, is with a safe and predictable stream of income. As you know, we’ve been through some nasty markets so far this century, and like clockwork, lesser quality assets (if I can even call them assets) end up on the rocks, ruining investment lives for generations.
When it comes to quality, you need to start with Dick Young’s North Star, the T-Bill. This is your Queen Mary 2—built to handle the rough and tumble seas. And the food in the Queen’s Grill is incredible so consider your own crossing.
In my expert opinion, you can live out your dreams with less yield and more safety. Too often, investors sacrifice principal for a few basis points and sink the ship. Unfortunately, they learn this lesson, like a food allergy, after the fact.
Landing in South Hampton, England, we spend four days in London at the Dorchester. If you’re there, check out the Chiltern Firehouse and MJ: The Musical. You won’t be disappointed.
Action Line: I believe you’ll find you can live quite comfortably off your portfolio with a manageable risk level. When you’re hoping for higher income that isn’t safe, it’s time to look at the man in the mirror. Email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com
