Quincy Jones: Music Titan and Trailblazer Dies at 91

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D, NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Jones excelled as a musician and producer, working with greats like Count Basie, Elvis Presley, Charlie Parker, Charlie Mingus, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra to name a few. He scored many films and produced iconic films like The Wiz, The Italian Job, In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and The Color Purple. He also had a film and television production company, which famously produced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, launching rapper Will Smith’s acting career.

Quincy Jones, 1989. Photo: Group de Besanez / Wikimedia Commons

Legendary musician, producer and entertainment giant Quincy Jones has died. Arnold Robinson, Jones’ publicist, said 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 excelled as a musician and producer, working with greats like Count Basie, Elvis Presley, Charlie Parker, Charlie Mingus, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra to name a few. He scored many films and produced iconic films like The Wiz, The Italian Job, In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and The Color Purple. He also had a film and television production company, which famously produced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, launching rapper Will Smith’s acting career.

Jones was born in Chicago, to parents who descended from slaves. After his parents divorced, he moved to Seattle at age 14 with his father where he learned to play multiple musical instruments. He studied music at Seattle University, eventually moving to Boston and then NYC to play with legendary bandleader Lionel Hampton. The rest is history.

Jones has been nominated for seven Academy Awards. In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “The Eyes of Love” from the film, “Banning.” Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film, “In Cold Blood,” making him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. In 1971, the trailblazer became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1986, he was nominated for Best Picture for the Color Purple, which he scored and produced.

Over the course of his 75-year career, Jones won 28 Grammys, including three Producer of the Year awards, two Song of the Year awards, and two Album of the Year awards. The multi-hyphenate produced three of the most successful albums by music superstar Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). He also won the Grammy Living Legend Award (1991). In 2001, Jones received a Kennedy Center honor and in 2010, he received a National Medal of Arts medal from President Barack Obama. The iconic bandleader was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

In 1995. Jones gathered 45 music legends and pop stars to produce the single, “We are the World,” for the USA for Africa charity. The single sold 800,000 copies in three days and raised more than $60 million for African famine relief and inspired other musician-driven charitable efforts. Jones won the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award that same year.

Jones was recently had a 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl featuring iconic performers like Steve Wonder, Angélique Kidjo, Patti Austin, Aloe Blacc, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and rising stars Samara Joy and BJ the Chicago Kid.

Jones was married three times and has seven children. He was married to Jeri Caldwell (1957-1966), Swedish actress Ulla Andersson (1967-1974) and actress Peggy Lipton (1984-1989), who is the mother of actress Rashida Jones and designer Kidada Jones. He is survived by his children Jolie, Rachel, Martina, Quincy III, Kidada, Rashida, and Kenya and six grandchildren. He was 91.

Rest in power.

This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on social media @Ntellectual.