Remembering Quincy Jones
• Quincy Jones, 28-time Grammy Award winner, who, over the course of an amazing 70-year career was an artist, bandleader, composer, arranger and producer, died Sunday night at his home in Bel Air, CA at the age of 91. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Jones’ rep Arnold Robinson shared this Jones’ family statement with Variety: “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. 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,” the Jones family said in the statement. “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
To many millions of fans, Jones is probably best known for his collaborations with Michael Jackson, which began in 1979 with Jackson’s breakthrough solo album Off the Wall, and its monstrously successful 1982 follow-up, Thriller, which remains the best-selling album of all time, with worldwide sales estimated in excess of 110 million. Jones’ work on Thriller won the Grammy for Album of the Year, while “Billie Jean” was named Record of the Year. Jones went on to work with Jackson on his No. 1 1987 release, Bad. In 1985, Jones produced the Grammy-winning charity single, “We Are the World,” co-written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in Jan. 1985.
In 1990, Jones formed Quincy Jones Entertainment, which produced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for 148 episodes and launched the career of Will Smith; other shows included the LL Cool J sitcom In the House and the long-running sketch comedy show MadTV. He also launched Qwest Broadcasting, and in 1993 launched Vibe magazine n partnership with Time, Inc.
In a joint statement, Warner Chappell Music Co-Chair & CEO Guy Moot and Co-Chair & COO Carianne Marshall said, “We join billions of music fans around the world, as we mourn the loss of the great Quincy Jones, and celebrate his immeasurable contributions to culture. Words like ‘titan,’ ‘genius,’ ‘GOAT,’ will be used today, and he deserves it all. Quincy was a producer, artist, composer, and activist, but above all, he was a songwriter. He leaves behind an extraordinarily powerful, diverse body of work that will light the way for future generations. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Jones is survived by seven children, including actress Rashida Jones, his daughter with former wife Peggy Lipton. [Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP]
• Rolling Stone has complied a list: “Quincy Jones: 20 Great Productions,” from “It’s My Party” to Thriller.
• Benztown has produced an Audio Tribute to Quincy Jones, written by Mike McVay and produced by Thomas Green, with VO by James MacDaniel.
