Quincy Jones, whose legendary career as a record producer, composer, musician. arranger, conductor, and musician who worked with generational talent from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson has passed away at the age of 91. Jones “passed away peacefully” Sunday night at his home in Bel Air while surrounded by his family, according to his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
Jones, whose career spanned over 70 years, influenced many genres of music and was nominated for 80 Grammys. He produced many classic albums, including the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
Quincy Jones’s Beginnings and Early Career
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 14, 1933. His earliest musical influence was his mother, Sarah, who sang religious songs around the house. In the early 1940s, the family moved to Bremerton, Washington, where he learned to play the trumpet.
At this time, he also met a pianist/singer named Ray Charles, with whom he started working with. This was the start of a lifelong collaborative friendship. Jones received a scholarship to attend the Schillinger House (later the Berklee College of Music) in Boston, graduating in 1951.
After graduation, he started touring with legendary Jazz bandleader and percussionist Lionel Hampton. He also started earning his chops as a freelancer arranger, working with such greats as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, and Charles.
He toured with Dizzy Gillespie’s band through the Middle East and South America and, in 1961, became the artist and repertoire director with Mercury Records. In three short years with the company, he was promoted to vice president, making him the first African-American man to hold that position within a white-owned record label.
Success and Quest Productions
His first pop hit was Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party,” which shot to No. 1 in 1963. He won the first of 28 Grammy Awards that year for his arrangement of Count Basie’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” He went on to compose the movie soundtracks to “The Pawnbroker” (1964), “In Cold Blood” (1967), “The Getaway” (1972), and many other film and television scores.
Another highlight of this era was his collaboration with Count Basie and Frank Sinatra on the popular record, “Sinatra at the Sands (1966),” one of several collaborations with this duo. He said of his work with Sinatra, “He took me to a whole new planet. The man was bigger than life. I worked with him until he passed away in ’98.He left me his ring. I never take it off.”
He moved to A & M Records, and during this time, he suffered a brain aneurysm in 1974. After his recovery, he continued working for A & M and started his own label. Qwest Productions. Here, he signed artists like Patti LaBelle, Lena Horne, and New Order and produced the soundtrack to the movie musical “The Wiz,” which starred Jackson and Diana Ross.
“Thriller”, “We Are the World,” and Later Years
Jones reached his commercial pinnacle when he produced Jackson’s albums “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad.” The three albums sold over 45 million units in the US alone. These collaborations led to the song“We Are the World (1985),” where he was the producer, arranger, and conductor. This fund-raising single for African famine relief brought together over 40 music superstars. Stars like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, and Ross and Jackson lent their voices to this multiplatinum-selling, four-time Grammy winner that raised millions of dollars for the USA for Africa organization.
Jomes was truly a Renaissance man as he excelled in so many different aspects of the entertainment world. From starting Vibe magazine to writing 13 books and producing the film and Broadway versions of “The Color Purple.” His life was beautifully captured in the 2018 Netflix documentary Quincy, co-directed by his daughter, Rashida Jones.
Quincy Jones is survived by his brother, Richard; two sisters, Margie Jay and Theresa Frank; and seven children: Jolie, Kidada, Kenya, Martina, Rachel, Rashida, and Quincy III.
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