Music Titan Quincy Jones Passes Away At 91
The multitalented music titan Quincy Jones has unfortunately passed away at the age of 91. Jones has a historic legacy in the music industry. He worked with some of the world’s biggest stars including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and countless others.
Arnold Robinson, Jones’ publicist, released a statement saying that the legend died on Sunday night in his home in Bel Air surrounded by his family. Jones was also set to receive an honorary Academy Award later this month, according to the Associated Press.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family wrote in a statement.
“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 was one of the first Black executives to come up in Hollywood, gaining a major music catalog filled with iconic musicians and songs that are still known worldwide today.
Throughout his long career, Jones created relationships with presidents, foreign leaders, Hollywood stars, philanthropists, and of course, musicians. One of his most recognized projects was his overseeing and production of “We Are The World,” which consisted of an all-star cast of singers to perform for charity in 1985; specifically for famine relief in Africa.
“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016.
“The tracks don’t just all of a sudden appear. The producer has to have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.”
Throughout his career, Jones has earned 28 Grammys, 2 honorary Academy awards, an Emmy, a France’s Legion d’Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy, and a Kennedy Center tribute. Within his biography, his list of official accomplishments goes on for 18 pages.
Jones was born in 1933 in Chicago, where he grew up surrounded by violence, until music saved him. When he was 10, his father moved to Washington, and the local recreation center became a haven for him. One day he encountered a piano.
“I went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment. That’s where I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever,” he wrote in his autobiography.
He eventually gained a scholarship for the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out when he got the opportunity to tour as a freelance composer, conductor, and producer. During this time he became acquainted with Ray Charles, and backed Billie Holiday.
He became a pioneer for Black people in the music industry by becoming the vice president of Mercury Records in the 1960’s, and in 1971 he became the first Black musical director for the Academy Awards. He went on to produce “The Color Purple,” for which he received 11 Oscar nominations in 1986.
He went on to create Quincy Jones Entertainment, which sold for $270 million in 1999.
“My philosophy as a businessman has always come from the same roots as my personal credo: take talented people on their own terms and treat them fairly and with respect, no matter who they are or where they come from,” Jones wrote.
Jones had seven kids, one of which is actress Rashida Jones, as well as daughters Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; son Quincy Jones III; brother Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
