Quincy Jones has died at the age of 91, according to the music legend’s longtime publicist Arnold Robinson.
A statement revealed that Jones died at his Los Angeles, California home, surrounded by his family on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
“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,” a statement attributed to Jones’ family read.
“Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
“It was the perfect convergence of talent, experience and timing, with enough space for God to walk through the room.”
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr (yes, his middle name was “Delight”) was born in Chicago on March 14 1933. His grandmother on his father’s side was born into slavery on a Kentucky plantation. He grew up in Seattle, where he was inspired by Ray Charles (who was just two and half years older than Jones) and joined the touring band of jazz great Lionel Hampton. This began his career as a jazz musician, arranger, conductor and songwriter in the 1950s before he expanded into writing and producing pop and R&B.
Jones won his first grammy in 1964 for best arrangement on Count Basie Orchestra’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” In a seven decade career, Jones was nominated for 80 Grammies and won 28. His 1962 record “Soul Bossa Nova” would become one of the most licensed jazz tracks in history — probably best known today for its use in the Austin Powers movies:
By 1991, Jones could boast having produced both the first and second best-selling albums of all time — Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Bad. (Thriller remains the best-selling record of all time, with 51 million copies sold worldwide.) Jones was immensely proud of the “trilogy” of albums with Michael Jackson (beginning with Off The Wall). “It was the perfect convergence of talent, experience and timing,” he told Billboard in 2013, “with enough space for God to walk through the room.”
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There are few artists working today who don’t owe a few points on their royalty statement as a debt to the music created, produced or promoted by Quincy Jones. As one example among literally hundreds: Qwest Records, his 1980 joint venture with Warner Brothers, was primarily focused on R&B but also licensed Joy Division and New Order’s records from Factory Records to sell them in America.
Incredibly, Jones survived two brain aneurysms in the mid-1970s, producing some of his most popular records after recovery and living for another 50 years.
After becoming one of the first African-American to head a mainstream American record label, Jones became a dedicated activist in the civil rights movement. He would later co-author the song “We Are The World” and was chiefly responsible for organizing the talent behind the recording which raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia. He would later found the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, created to “break the cycle of poverty and violence by connecting children with education, technology, culture and the roots and fruits of music.”
Read More:
📰 News: At the age of 90, Quincy Jones helps open a new music venue in Chicago
❇️ Features: Foundations: The Essential Quincy Jones Playlist
❇️ Features: Foundations: Quincy Jones, The Genius
Photo: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
