Quincy Jones Gets Oscar Tribute From Oprah, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah: ‘When We Talk About Black Excellence, We’re Talking About Quincy’

Queen Latifah hit the stage at the 97th Academy Awards with a live performance, paying tribute to the late Quincy Jones through a performance of “Ease on Down the Road.”

Jones died in November, and Latifah’s performance honored the Grammy-winning producer and film composer who collaborated with Michael Jackson. Throughout his career, Jones won 28 Grammy Awards, six of them for the 1990 album “Back on the Block.”

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg took the stage for a “The Color Purple” reunion that then led into Latifah’s performance. Jones composed the score for the 1985 film, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. “The man, our beloved Q, had an equally powerful impact on the world of film as a composer and producer,” Winfrey said.

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Goldberg emphasized Jones’ notable film achievements. “When we talk about Black excellence, we’re talking about Quincy,” Goldberg said.

“In 1967, Quincy Jones was the first Black composer nominated in the original song category for ‘The Eyes of Love’ in the film ‘Banning.’ 1967 was the first time. Just keep that in mind,” Goldberg said. “And Quincy was also nominated that year for original music score for ‘In Cold Blood.’ He received seven Oscar nominations for ‘The Wiz,’ ‘In Cold Blood,’ ‘For Love of Ivy’ and ‘The Color Purple,’ which me and her, we’re part of.”

Jones also had numerous producing credits on films and TV shows including “The Color Purple,” the Oscars, the Grammys and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

Latifah’s performance included backup singers and an energetic crowd of dancers. Jones produced “Ease on Down the Road,” sung by Jackson and Diana Ross, for “The Wiz.”

Latifah was nominated in the best supporting actress category in 2003 for her role as Matron “Mama” Morton in the best picture winner “Chicago,” for which she also received Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG nominations. The Oscar winner that year was Catherine Zeta-Jones for playing Velma Kelly, also in “Chicago.”

Latifah was recently recognized as a 2023 Kennedy Center Honors recipient and hosted the 2024 ceremony, which aired on CBS this past December. In addition to her Oscar nomination, Latifah is also a Grammy winner, having won best rap solo performance in 1995 for “U.N.I.T.Y.” along with six other nominations.

See all the Oscar winners here.