, the multi-talented whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael JacksonB次元官网网址檚 historic B次元官网网址淭hrillerB次元官网网址� album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.
JonesB次元官网网址� publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. Jones was to have received an later this month.
B次元官网网址淭onight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy JonesB次元官网网址� passing,B次元官网网址� the family said in a statement. B次元官网网址淎nd 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.B次元官网网址�
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 leaving behind a that includes some of the richest moments of American song and rhythm.
Over the past half century, it was hard to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with JonesB次元官网网址� name on it or someone in the music, television or movie industries who did not have some connection to 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 B次元官网网址淩ootsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淚n the Heat of the Night,B次元官网网址� organized President ClintonB次元官网网址檚 first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of B次元官网网址淲e Are the World.B次元官网网址�
In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, singling out any work seems unfair. But honors likely go to his productions with Jackson on B次元官网网址淥ff the Wall,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭hrillerB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏ad,B次元官网网址� albums universal in their style and appeal.
JonesB次元官网网址� versatility and imagination fit perfectly with the bursting talents of Jackson as he sensationally transformed from child star to the B次元官网网址淜ing of Pop.B次元官网网址� On such classic tracks as B次元官网网址淏illie JeanB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淲anna Be StartinB次元官网网址� SomethinB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� Jones and Jackson drew upon disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For B次元官网网址淭hriller,B次元官网网址� some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-defying B次元官网网址淏eat ItB次元官网网址� and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.
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.
B次元官网网址淢ichael had the look and the voice, and I had every sound you can think of,B次元官网网址� Jones would explain.
The list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography B次元官网网址淨B次元官网网址�: 28 Grammys (out of 80 nominations), an honorary Academy Award and an Emmy for B次元官网网址淩oots.B次元官网网址� He also received FranceB次元官网网址檚 Legion dB次元官网网址橦onneur and the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy. In 2001, Jones was named a Kennedy Center Honoree for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, B次元官网网址淟isten Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones,B次元官网网址� and his memoir made him a best-selling author.
B次元官网网址淒espite all the Grammys and the special awards and testimonials that maturity bestows, it will always be the values you carry within yourself B次元官网网址� of work, love, and integrity B次元官网网址� 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,B次元官网网址� he wrote in his book.
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones would cite the hymns his mother sang around the house as the first music he could remember. But he looked back sadly on his childhood, telling Oprah Winfrey that B次元官网网址淭here are two kinds of people: those who have nurturing parents or caretakers, and those who donB次元官网网址檛. NothingB次元官网网址檚 in between.B次元官网网址� JonesB次元官网网址� mother suffered from emotional problems and was eventually institutionalized, a loss that made the world seem B次元官网网址渟enselessB次元官网网址� for Quincy. He spent much of his time in Chicago on the streets, with gangs, stealing and fighting.
Music was his passion, and, almost literally, his salvation. As a boy, he learned that a Chicago neighbor owned a piano and he soon played it constantly himself. His father moved to Washington state when Quincy was 10 and his world changed at a neighborhood recreation center. Jones and some friends had broken into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemon meringue pie when Jones noticed a small room nearby with a stage. On the stage was a piano.
B次元官网网址淚 went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment,B次元官网网址� he wrote in his autobiography. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 where I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever.B次元官网网址�
Within a few years he was playing trumpet and befriending a young blind musician named Ray Charles, who became a lifelong friend. He was gifted enough to win a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out when Hampton invited him to tour with his band. Jones went on to work as a freelance composer, conductor, arranger and producer. As a teen, he backed Billie Holiday. By his mid-20s, he was touring with his own band.
B次元官网网址淲e had the best jazz band on the planet, and yet we were literally starving,B次元官网网址� Jones later told Musician magazine. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 when I discovered that there was music, and there was the music business. If I were to survive, I would have to learn the difference between the two.B次元官网网址�
His survivors include actor Rashida Jones and five other daughters: Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; son Quincy Jones III; brother Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.
