Quincy Jones, Legendary Music Producer Who Worked With Michael Jackson And Frank Sinatra, Passes Away At 91
Legendary musician Quincy Jones has died at the age of 91. His publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed to AP News that the American music producer, composer, arranger, and conductor passed away on Sunday, November 3, at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by 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 to the publication. “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.”
With 28 wins out of 80 Grammy nominations since 1961, Jones is the second most-awarded artist of all time. The music icon has won the gold gramophone for Producer of the Year three times and has bagged two Grammy Awards each for both Album and Song of the Year.
Jones beat death in 1974 when he was only 41 years old. The music legend has a brain aneurysm and underwent brain surgery but was informed soon after that he had a second aneurysm ready to explode. He underwent surgery again and this time he was told he had a one in a hundred chance of surviving.
Another instance where Jones was lucky to survive occurred when he was a teenager, driving with a group of friends to a rodeo in Yakima. A trailway bus hit their vehicle, killing everyone but Jones. Speaking to GQ in 2018, Jones detailed that the incident left him traumatized for life, and as a result, he never learned to drive.
Born on March 14, 1933, the Chicago native first rose to fame as a trumpet player in bands for jazz music icons including Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.
As a producer and arranger, Jones was a prominent force behind the success of several music giants, including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, and Aretha Franklin. He produced Jackson’s celebrated 1982 classic Beat It and also worked on the pop star’s Thriller and Bad.
Jones’s solo endeavor Body Heat peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. He released 13 Hot 100 songs and numerous Top 20 albums.
Besides his musical prowess, Quincy Jones’ cultural reach extended to attending state dinners with figures like Picasso, celebrating birthdays of personalities like Nelson Mandela, and retreating to Marlon Brando’s island in the South Pacific to recover from a breakdown. Jones oversaw President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration celebration and supervised the all-star recording of We Are the World, the iconic 1985 record for famine relief.
He is survived by children Rashida Jones, Kidada Jones, Kenya Kinski-Jones, Quincy Jones III, Jolie Jones Levine, Martina Jones, and Rachel Jones. He is also survived by several grandchildren as well as his godson Quincy Brown.
ALSO READ: Tito Jackson, Original Jackson 5 Member & Brother Of Late Michael Jackson, Passes Away At 70
