Quincy Jones, the multitalented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson's historic Thriller 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, reports the AP. Jones' publicist says he died Sunday night at his home in Los Angeles, with his family at his side. "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the family wrote in a statement. "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 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 vast musical catalog 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 didn't own at least one record with Jones' name on it, or someone in the music, TV, or movie industries who didn't have some connection to him. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for Roots and In the Heat of the Night, organized President Clinton's first inaugural celebration, and oversaw the all-star recording of "We Are the World." He was also an executive producer on the '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, per Variety.
Perhaps best known, however, are Jones' productions with Jackson on his Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad albums, per the AP. On such classic tracks as "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," Jones and Jackson drew upon disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and African chants. For Thriller, some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-defying "Beat It" and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voice-over on the title track. Jones' list of honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography Q, among them 28 Grammys (out of 80 nominations), an honorary Academy Award, and an Emmy for Roots.
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Tributes to Jones are already pouring in, per the Hollywood Reporter. "My Celestial twin Quincy was a titan in the musical world," tweeted actor Michael Caine. Darius Rucker, frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish, wrote, "We have lost one of the all time greats. The world will miss Quincy Jones. Rest my friend." Married and divorced three times, Jones is survived by six daughters, including actor Rashida Jones; son Quincy Jones III; and his three siblings. (The New York Times offers Jones' legacy in "14 essential songs.")
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