This Could Not Be Much Better

I graduate from the University of Washington in June and today I found out who my commencement speaker will be...let me give you some hints:

1. He has been nominated for 79 Grammys.
2. He has won 29 Grammys.
3. He was the producer for the largest selling album of all time [worldwide totals].
4. He is tied as the most nominated African-American in the history of the Academy Awards [seven nominations].
5. Wrote songs for Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, and Ray Charles.
6. Discovered Lesley Gore and produced "It's My Party."
7. Organized and produced "We Are The World."

and most importantly...
8. He wrote the Sanford & Son theme song...

Here's the info:

Quincy Jones, a distinguished musician, composer, producer, arranger and conductor for more than six decades, will be the University of Washington commencement speaker June 14 in Husky Stadium.

Jones, who was raised in Seattle, also will receive an honorary doctorate from the UW. The awarding of this degree was approved today by the board of regents.

Quincy Jones -- Sanford & Son Theme
From Quincy Jones: 20th Century Masters.

Quincy Jones -- Soul Bossa Nova
From the Big Band Bossa Nova album.

Quincy Jones -- Soul Bossa Nova [Dim's Space a Nova]
From the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Quincy Jones -- Something's Cookin'
From the soundtrack to the original The Italian Job staring Michael Caine.

The Father of Rock Is Dead

Rock/Pop/Soul music has a lot of key leadership position that have been filled:

"The King" of Rock: Elvis Presley
Godfather of Soul: James Brown
King of Pop: Michael Jackson

and some lesser known ones:

Grandfather of Grunge: Neil Young

If Elvis is the "King," who is the "Queen?" Doing a quick Google search, I find that Freddie Mercury's band Queen is actually Queen of Rock...not exactly what I was going for here...the other name that I see a few times is Tina Turner, which is not a name I would have thought of at first but the more you know about her career and her early early music the label of "Queen of Rock" makes sense.

Tina Turner is forever connected to her ex-husband Ike Turner. Mr. Turner died today at the age of 76. I'll let MSNBC sum up why, although Tina may be the Queen of Rock, Ike was the Father of Rock:

Turner, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is credited by many rock historians with making the first rock ’n’ roll record, “Rocket 88,” in 1951. Produced by the legendary Sam Phillips, it was groundbreaking for its use of distorted electric guitar.

But as would be the case for most of his career, Turner, a prolific session guitarist and piano player, was not the star on the record — it was recorded with Turner’s band but credited to singer Jackie Brenston.

And it would be another singer — a young woman named Anna Mae Bullock — who would bring Turner his greatest fame, and infamy.

Ike Turner -- Rocket 88
This version comes from the Sun Records collection The Blues Came Down From Memphis.