Music legend Quincy Jones dies aged 91

Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic ‘Thriller’ album to collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.

Jones’ publicist Arnold Robinson confirmed he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the 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.”

Jones’ career, which spans more than 70 years, saw him achieve 28 Grammy award wins out of 80 nominations. He was one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood, amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American song.

For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who did not have some connection to him.

He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine. 

Jones kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for Roots and In the Heat of the Night, organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of ‘We Are the World’, the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote ‘We Are the World’ and was among the featured singers, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.” 

In a career which began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honours likely go to his productions with Michael Jackson: ‘Off the Wall’, ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped set off the explosive talents of Jackson as he transformed from child star to the “King of Pop.”

On such classic tracks as ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’, Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For ‘Thriller’, some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing ‘Beat It’ and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.

‘Thriller’ sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has contended with the Eagles’ ‘Greatest Hits 1971-1975’ as the best-selling album of all time.

“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016. “The tracks don’t just all of a sudden appear. The producer has to have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.”

The list of his honors and awards include 28 Grammys, two honorary Academy Awards and an Emmy for Roots. He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy and a Kennedy Center tribute for his contributions to American culture.

He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones and a 2018 film by daughter Rashida Jones.

The father of seven, was married three times to Jeri Caldwell, Ulla Andersson and Peggy Lipton.