The Producer

Quincy Jones is not Greek of course but at least 3 times he has produced works of Greeks.

First collaboration was with famous Greek singer Nana Mouskouri.
Nana, born 1934 in Crete, Greece, has sold millions of records worldwide, hosted TV shows for BBC, toured, collaborated and recorded with famous artists in a career spanning over 5 decades.

In 1962 she met Quincy Jones and recorded with him the album The Girl from Greece Sings (the cd re-issue has a different title: Nana Mouskouri in New York and 3 bonus tracks).

The Touch of Your Lips from The Girl from Greece Sings (1962)


I Get a Kick Out of You from (only available as bonus on cd re-issue Nana Mouskouri in New York)


Second time he produced for a Greek artist was in 1965. He was the producer for Manos Hatzidakis’ masterpiece Gioconda’s Smile (see older post).

Third time it was for Vangelis composition State of Independence.
The song (music by Vangelis, lyrics by Jon Anderson) was first released as a single in 1981 by Jon and Vangelis and was included in their album The Friends of Mr. Cairo (1981).
This was produced by Vangelis.




One year later Donna Summer released the album Donna Summer which included a cover of State of Independence.
This one was produced by Quincy Jones and the choir featured Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick and others.





Here's Donna Summer's cover produced by Quincy Jones


and here's Jon and Vangelis original composition from Friends of Mr. Cairo (1981)