Quincy Jones, master of all things musical, dies at 91

Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music giant whose extensive career included producing Michael Jackson's iconic "Thriller" album, creating award-winning film and television soundtracks, and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and hundreds of other recording artists, died at the age of 91.

Quincy Jones.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Spotify

Arnold Robinson, Jones' spokesman, said he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.

"Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the family said 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 ascended from gang-related activities on Chicago's South Side to the pinnacle of show business, becoming one of the first Black CEOs to prosper in Hollywood and building an unparalleled musical record that includes some of the best moments in American rhythm and song. For years, it was rare to find a music fan who did not possess at least one album bearing his name, or a leader in the entertainment business or elsewhere who did not have some link to him.

Jones socialized with presidents, foreign leaders, movie stars, musicians, philanthropists, and business executives. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, wrote the soundtracks to "Roots" and "In the Heat of the Night," organized President Bill Clinton's first inaugural celebration, and oversaw the all-star recording of "We Are the World," a 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote "We Are the World" and was one of the featured vocalists, described Jones as "the master orchestrator."

In a career that began when recordings were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, his works with Jackson are likely to be remembered as near-universal in style and appeal. Jones' adaptability and ingenuity fueled Jackson's amazing skill as he transitioned from kid star to "King of Pop." Jones and Jackson created a worldwide soundscape using disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and African chanting on famous songs like "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Some of the most memorable elements of "Thriller" came from Jones, who enlisted Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing "Beat It" and Vincent Price for a ghoulish narration on the title track.

"Thriller" sold almost 20 million copies in 1983 alone, competing with the Eagles' "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" and others as the best-selling album of all time.

"If an album doesn't do well, everyone says 'it was the producers fault'; so if it does well, it should be your 'fault,' too," Jones remarked in a 2016 interview with the Library of Congress. "The tracks don't suddenly materialize. The producer must have the competence, experience, and capacity to bring the concept to fruition."

His 2001 autobiography "Q" has an 18-page list of his accolades and medals, including 27 Grammys (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two), and an Emmy for "Roots." He was also honored with the French Legion d'Honneur, the Republic of Italy's Rudolph Valentino Award, and a Kennedy Center homage for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary called "Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones" and a 2018 film directed by his daughter Rashida Jones. His memoir established him as a best-selling novelist.

Jones, who was born in Chicago in 1933, remembers his mother singing hymns around the home as the first music he heard. But he looked back bitterly on his youth, reportedly telling Oprah Winfrey, "There are two sorts of people: those who have caring parents or caregivers and those who don't. There's nothing in between. Jones' mother struggled with mental issues and was later hospitalized, causing Quincy to feel "senseless" about the world. He spent much of his time in Chicago on the streets, dealing with gangs, thieving, and fighting.

"They nailed my hand to a fence with a switchblade, man," he told the Associated Press in 2018, revealing a childhood scar.

Music rescued him. As a child, he discovered that a Chicago neighbor possessed a piano, and he began to play it on a regular basis. Quincy's father relocated to Washington state when he was ten, and his life altered at a community leisure center. Jones and several buddies had broken into the kitchen and taken lemon meringue pie when Jones discovered a tiny room nearby with a stage. There was a piano on stage.

"I went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment," he stated in his memoirs. "That's where I started to discover calm. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever."

Within a few years, he was playing trumpet and met Ray Charles, a young blind musician who would become a lifetime friend. He was talented enough to get a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, but quit school when Hampton offered him to tour with his band. Jones then went on to work as a freelance composer, conductor, arranger, and producer. As a teenager, he supported Billie Holiday. In his mid-twenties, he started touring with his own band.

"We had the best jazz band on the planet, and yet we were literally starving," Jones later told Musician magazine. "That's when I realized there was music and there was the music industry. If I were to survive, I'd have to understand the distinction between the two.

As a music executive, he broke down racial barriers by becoming a vice president of Mercury Records in the early 1960s. In 1971, he made history as the Academy Awards' first Black musical director. In 1986, his debut film, "The Color Purple," got 11 Academy Award nominations. (But, to his dismay, no victories). In collaboration with Time Warner, he founded Quincy Jones Entertainment, which comprised the pop culture magazine Vibe and Qwest Broadcasting. The business was sold for $270 million in 1999.

"My philosophy as a businessman has always come from the same roots as my personal credo: take talented people on their own terms and treat them fairly and with respect, no matter who they are or where they come from," he said in his autobiography.

He was at ease with almost any kind of American music, whether he was putting Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" to a snappy, swinging beat and mournful flute or beginning his production of Charles' soulful "In the Heat of the Night" with a passionate tenor sax solo. He collaborated with jazz greats (Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Duke Ellington), rappers (Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J), crooners (Sinatra, Tony Bennett), pop singers (Lesley Gore), and rhythm and blues artists (Chaka Khan, rapper and vocalist Queen Latifah).

Performers on "We Are the World" alone included Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen. He co-wrote hits for Jackson ("P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing") and Donna Summer ("Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)"), and his songs were sampled by Tupac Shakur, Kanye West, and other rappers. He even created the theme tune for the comedy "Sanford and Son."