Quincy Delight Jones Jr, the US record and TV producer whose career spanned over 70 years, has died at 91.
Arnold Robinson, Jones’ publicist, disclosed that he died on Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section 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 worked with a plethora of notable names in the entertainment industry including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Will Smith.
Among his best-known credits was as the producer of Jackson’s historic ‘Thriller’ album. The project sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and is among the best-selling albums of all time.
The music composer and songwriter also oversaw the all-star recording of the 1985 charity record ‘We Are The World’.
Jones was born on March 14, 1933, in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He became popular in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores.
In 1968, Jones became the first African American nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘The Eyes of Love’ from the film ‘Banning’.
In 1971, Jones became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1995, he was the first African American to receive the academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
He won 28 Grammy Awards out of 80 nominations and was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine.
