Music giant Quincy Jones, who worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, died at the age of 91

Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music giant whose legacy spanned from producing Michael Jackson’s historic Thriller album to writing award-winning film and television scores to collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at the age of 91.

Jones died Sunday night, Nov. 3, at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles surrounded by his family, his publicist Arnold Robinson said.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother, Quincy Jones,” the family said in a statement. he said. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the amazing life we ​​lived.” He lived and knew that there would never be someone like him.”

Jones rose from running with gangs on Chicago’s South Side to the highest reaches of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to succeed in Hollywood and amassing a remarkable musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments in American beat and song. For years, it was hard to find a music lover who didn’t have at least one record bearing his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to it.

Jones befriended presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged recordings by Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the music for Roots and In the Heat Of The Night, organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration, and hosted the all-star cast of We Are The World. audited the record. 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote We Are The World and is among the featured singers, called Jones a “master orchestrator”.

In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78rpm, the biggest accolades probably go to his productions with Jackson: Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad were almost universal albums in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped unlock the explosive talents of child star-turned-“King of Pop” Jackson.

On classic tracks like Billie Jean and Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Jones and Jackson crafted a global soundscape from disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz and African hymns. Some of the most memorable touches for Thriller came from Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-bending Beat It and recruited Vincent Price for a terrifying voice-over on the title track.

Thriller sold over 20 million copies in 1983 alone, competing with the Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971-1975 as the best-selling album of all time, among others.

“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producer’s fault’; so if it goes well, it has to be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in a 2016 interview with the Library of Congress. “Scars do not appear suddenly. The producer must have the skill, experience and talent to guide the vision to completion.”

His list of honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography, Q; these include his 27 Grammys in that time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two), and an Emmy for Roots. He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur award, the Italian Republic’s Rudolph Valentino Award, and the Kennedy Center’s award for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of the 1990 documentary Listen Up: The Lives Of Quincy Jones and a 2018 film by his daughter Rashida Jones. His memoirs made him a bestselling author.