Legendary songwriter, record producer, and composer Quincy Jones has passed away. He was 91.
According to his long time publicist Arnold Robinson, the man they called ‘Q’ was surrounded by his family when he died on Sunday night (11.03) at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Announcing the news via social media, Quincy’s family wrote:
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. 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.” “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Throughout his seven-decade-long career in music, Jones worked as a producer, bandleader, composer and arranger with some of the greatest names in show business.
Perhaps best known for his collaborations with Michael Jackson, Qiuncy produced three of the King of Pop’s most successful albums – including 1979’s Off the Wall, 1982’s Thriller and 1987’s Bad. Having sold an estimated 70,000,000 copies worldwide, Thriller won the Grammy for Album of the Year and is still the best-selling LP of all time.
In addition to Jackson, Jones worked with Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer, among others, and produced and conducted the 1985 charity song ‘We Are the World,’ which featured the voices of Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles, Kim Carnes, Huey Lewis, and other big-name musicians.
Throughout the course of his career, the iconic musician received 80 Grammy nominations, making him the third most nominated artist behind Beyoncé and Jay-Z, taking home 28 trophies, making him the third most-awarded person.
In addition to his Grammy awards, Jones was nominated for six Academy Awards for his composing and one for Best Picture as a producer of 1985’s The Color Purple and was presented with an honorary award in 1995. Quincy also produced the 2023 The Color Purple remake and the ’90s TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, among other projects.
Quincy Jones was married three times – to high school girlfriend Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966, Swedish photographer and actress Ulla Andersson from 1967 to 1974 and model and actress Peggy Lipton from 1974 to 1990. He had seven children, including his actress daughter Rashida Jones.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Los Angeles Times