A Look Back At Celine Dion's Bond With Quincy Jones

Legendary music producer Quincy Jones passed away in his home on November 3, surrounded by his wife and children; and collaborators and admirers alike were all in mourning. Jones was 91 when he passed, and his extensive career stretched from working with icons like Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, and Celine Dion.

Jones worked on two of Dion's projects. In 2006, Dion recorded "I Knew I Loved You" as part of the "Once Upon A Time in America" soundtrack that was produced by Jones, and the 2010 recording of "We Are the World" with other stars like Janet Jackson (with archived vocals from her late brother Michael Jackson), Justin Bieber, and Miley Cyrus to aid in the relief of the earthquake in Haiti.

The "I Will Always Love You" singer paid a heartfelt tribute to her old friend on Instagram in November 2024 (via People). "Quincy touched my world as both a cherished mentor and as also as someone I looked up to for his deep impact on virtually every form of American music," she wrote. "I was privileged to work with Quincy, it was a dream come true. In our sessions, his musical intuition was nothing short of profound..." She closed out the post with the touching words of the legend, "Quincy once said, 'Music is the soul of the universe. It connects us all on a level that words alone cannot reach.' May his wisdom and joy remain with us always." Wise words of a musical genius from a musical genius. 

The original rendition of the star-studded ballad, "We Are the World" was released in 1985 by the U.S.A. for Africa, and included voices like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, and more. Quincy Jones served as one of several producers, and in a 2015 interview with Yahoo Music, he detailed why he was chosen to work on the infamous track. "I think I was chosen to produce 'We Are the World' because I had produced an album for Donna Summer a couple of years earlier," he continued, "and on that album was a track called 'State of Independence' that needed a choir. I wanted the best choir I could get, so about a third of the artists on 'We Are the World' were on that track."

With the success that the original song saw in the 20th century, it was well-known that there would be a re-release on its 25th anniversary, which would've still landed in 2010. However, what wasn't planned was the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. It was decided that all of the profits earned from the song would go towards the relief fund. Jones served as an executive producer with Lionel Richie. The updated re-release heard voices like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Celine Dion, as previously mentioned. When asked about the significance of the song to the musicians during the Yahoo interview, Jones rejoiced, "As artists, we are all just vessels for God's whispers, and I know God walked through the studio that night, a couple of times."