death of quincy jones

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says she died surrounded by her family at her home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles on Sunday night.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother, Quincy Jones,” the family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life she lived.” He survived and knows there will never be another like him.”

Jones rose from running gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the heights of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who didn’t have at least one record to his name, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to it.

Jones corresponded 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 the Roots and In the Heat of the Night, hosted President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration and We Are Oversaw The World’s All-Star Recording. Charity record for famine relief in Africa, 1985.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote We Are the World and was one of the featured vocalists, called Jones a master orchestrator.

Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson

In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honors probably go to his productions with Jackson: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad were albums nearly universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped establish Jackson’s explosive talent as he transformed from child star to King of Pop. On classic tracks like Billie Jean and Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Jones and Jackson created a global soundscape from 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 an eerie voiceover on the title track.

Thriller sold over 20 million copies in 1983 alone and competes 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 performs well, it must be your ‘fault’ too,” Jones said in a 2016 interview with the Library of Congress. “Tracks do not appear suddenly. The producer must have the skill, experience, and ability to guide the vision to completion.

His list of honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography Q, which includes a then-high 27 Grammys (now 28), an Honorary Academy Award (now two), and an Emmy for Roots. He also received the Legion d’Honneur of France, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy, and a tribute from the Kennedy Center 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 his daughter Rashida Jones. His memoir made him a best-selling author.

(with AP input)