Legendary Quincy Jones, 28-time Grammy winner, dies at 91
Quincy Jones dies at 91 (Photo: Getty Images)
Music producer and composer Quincy Jones, aged 91, has passed away in the United States. Jones had collaborated with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, and many others, informs the BBC.
Jones passed away surrounded by his family on Sunday, November 3, in Los Angeles. His family has not yet disclosed the cause of death.
"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," the family statement reads.
Quincy Jones (Photo: Getty Images)
Life and career
Quincy Jones Jr. was born on March 14, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Sarah Frances, worked as a bank clerk and suffered from schizophrenia, while his father, Quincy Delight Jones Sr., worked as a carpenter and was also a semi-professional baseball player.
He began playing the trumpet and studying music during his school years.
At 14, he met 17-year-old Ray Charles and later studied music under Robert Blackwell. In 1951, he enrolled at Boston Schillinger House of Music (now Berklee College of Music) in Massachusetts but left to tour as a trumpeter.
In the 1950s, Jones successfully toured across Europe with several jazz orchestras.
In 1964, Jones was appointed vice president of a record label and turned his attention to film music. The first film for which he composed a soundtrack was The Pawnbroker by Sidney Lumet (1964).
He went on to score more films and worked as an arranger with famous artists of the era, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and Peggy Lee.
Additionally, Jones produced Michael Jackson's album Thriller, which became the best-selling album in music history.
Jones composed soundtracks for over 50 films and television programs, including the 1969 British film The Italian Job.
In 1985, he gathered 46 of America’s most popular singers of the time, including Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper, to record We Are the World.
Over his more than 75-year career, Jones won 28 Grammy Awards (from 79 nominations) and was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine.
He was among the first to use Fender bass guitars and synthesizers, which became fundamental to rock music.
Quincy Jones was married three times and had seven children.
Quincy Jones (Photo: Getty Images)
