Legendary musician Quincy Jones has died at the age of 91. The American music producer, composer, arranger and conductor died at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 3, his publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed to AP News. By family.
“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 to the publication. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate his great life and know there will never be another like him.”
With 28 wins from 80 Grammy nominations since 1961, Jones is the second most awarded artist of all time. The music icon has won the Gold Gramophone three times for Producer of the Year and two Grammy Awards each for both Album and Song of the Year.
Jones beat death in 1974 when he was only 41 years old. The music legend has a brain aneurysm and has undergone brain surgery, but soon after he was informed that his second aneurysm was ready to burst. He underwent surgery again and this time he was told that his chances of survival were one in a hundred.
Another instance where Jones was lucky to survive occurred when he was a teenager, driving with a group of friends to a rodeo in Yakima. A Trailways bus struck their vehicle, killing all but Jones. Speaking to GQ in 2018, Jones detailed that the incident left him traumatized for life and as a result, he never learned to drive.
Born on March 14, 1933, the Chicago native first came to fame as a trumpet player in the bands of jazz music icons including Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.
As a producer and arranger, Jones was a major force behind the success of many musical greats, including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin. He produced Jackson’s 1982 cult classic Beat It and also worked on the pop star’s Thriller and Bad.
Jones’ solo effort Body Heat reached number six on the Billboard 200 chart. He released 13 Hot 100 songs and several Top 20 albums.
In addition to his musical skills, Quincy Jones’ cultural reach extended to attending state dinners with figures such as Picasso, celebrating the birthdays of figures such as Nelson Mandela, and visiting Marlon Brando’s island in the South Pacific to recover from a breakdown. Jones oversaw President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration and supervised the all-star recording of the iconic 1985 record, We Are the World, for famine relief.
Surviving are his children Rashida Jones, Kidada Jones, Kenya Kinski-Jones, Quincy Jones III, Jolie Jones Levin, Martina Jones and Rachel Jones. He is survived by several grandchildren, as well as his godson Quincy Brown.
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