Quincy Jones, the US music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s Thriller album to collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died aged 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he died on Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air area 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 rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalogue that includes some of the richest moments in American music.
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 with him.
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 Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for Roots and In The Heat Of The Night, organised then-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”.
His production work with Jackson on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad will arguably be his greatest legacy – mega-selling albums with seemingly universal appeal.
Jones’ versatility and imagination fit perfectly with the bursting talents of Jackson as he sensationally transformed from child star to the King of Pop.
On such classic tracks as Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, Jones and Jackson drew upon 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-defying 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, helped Jackson become the first major black artist to have a video played on MTV and influenced countless performers.
“Michael had the look and the voice, and I had every sound you can think of,” Jones would explain.
The list of his honours and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography Q: 28 Grammys (out of 80 nominations), and an honorary Academy Award and an Emmy for Roots. Jones also received France’s Legion d’Honneur and the Rudolph Valentino Award from Italy.
In 2001, Jones was named a Kennedy Centre Honoree for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones, and his memoir made him a best-selling author.
Jones wrote in his book: “Despite all the Grammys and the special awards and testimonials that maturity bestows, it will always be the values you carry within yourself — of work, love, and integrity — that carry the greatest worth, because these are what get you through with your dreams intact, your heart held firm and your spirit ready for another day.”
Jones is survived by the actor Rashida Jones and five other daughters: Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; his son Quincy Jones III; his brother Richard Jones and his sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.
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