Quincy Jones. Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
Iconic composer and songwriter Quincy Jones has died. He was 91.
Jones died Sunday night at his home in Bel Air in Los Angeles, his publicist Arnold Robinson said, per multiple outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press.
“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,” Jones’ family said in a statement.
Jones was born in March 1933 in Chicago but later moved with his family to Bremerton, Washington. After playing the trumpet and piano throughout high school, Jones went on to attend Seattle University before transferring to the Berklee College of Music. The musician later dropped out of college to serve as a trumpeter, arranger and pianist with Lionel Hampton.
After returning to New York following a tour in Europe in the late ‘50s, Jones composed and arranged pop hits for singers such as Count Basie, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Aretha Franklin. In the ‘70s, Jones founded Qwest Productions, later producing albums for Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and more. In 1982, Jones produced Jackson’s Thriller record — the best-selling album in history.
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“Musically, we knew we had ‘it’ with Thriller. To this day I can hear artists trying to replicate its sonic power,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in June 2016. “It’s no accident that more than three decades later no matter where I go in the world, in every club, like clockwork at the witching hour you hear ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Beat It,’ ‘Wanna Be Starting Something,’ and ‘Thriller.’ In every language on the planet, from prison yards in Thailand to Thrilltheworld.com, Thriller is still giving people ‘goosebumps.’ It’s pretty astounding and very satisfying as an artist.”
In addition to his work on pop records, Jones also had a wildly successful career as a composer for film and television. He made his breakthrough as a composer for Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film The Pawnbroker. Following the success of the movie, Jones was in constant demand and worked on several films including 1966’s Walk, Don’t Run, 1970’s The Out-of-Towners and 1972’s The Getaway. In addition to film, he also composed theme music for hit television shows of the period, including Sanford and Son, The Bill Cosby Show and the critically-acclaimed mini-series Roots.
Jones made his debut as a film producer in 1985’s The Color Purple for which he received an Oscar nomination for his score. In the ‘90s, Jones founded the Quincy Jones Entertainment company which produced popular TV shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and MADtv.
Throughout his decades-spanning career in music, Jones received numerous accolades for his achievements — including 28 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, an Emmy Award, a Tony award, and seven Academy Award nominations. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
While Jones’ contributions to the music industry are unparalleled, the artist’s personal life also made headlines over the years. He was married three times and had seven children with five different women. In 1957, Jones married Jeri Caldwell and welcomed daughter Jolie. After calling it quits in 1966, Jones had a brief affair with Carol Reynolds, who gave birth to daughter Rachel in 1963. Jones married Ulla Andersson from 1967 to 1974. During their marriage the twosome welcomed daughter Martina in 1966 and son Quincy in 1968 (he also went on to become a music producer). One day after his divorce from Andersson, Quincy wed actress Peggy Lipton, with whom he welcomed daughters Kidada and actress Rashida Jones in 1974 and 1976, respectively. The couple divorced in 1990. Quincy later dated actress Nastassja Kinski from 1991 to 1995, with whom he welcomed daughter Kenya in 1993.
Jones is survived by his seven children.
