BY: TIFFANY STARKS / STAFF WRITER
Jones passed away on November 3, 2024, at age 91 in his Bel Air, California, home. “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” his family said 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.”
Let’s honor his life and take a look at Quincy's childhood and what brought him to his stardom.
Jones was a decorated record producer, musician, and movie producer who was
convinced at an early age to explore music by his teenage friend Ray Charles. Jones worked with famous musicians such as Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Celine Dion.
Jones was one of the most nominated and decorated artists in Grammy Awards history, garnering 80 nominations and 28 wins
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born on March 14, 1933, in Chicago. His mother, Sarah Frances Jones, worked at a bank, and his father, Quincy Delight Jones Sr., was a carpenter and semi-professional baseball player. Quincy spent his early years in Chicago with his parents and younger brother, Lloyd.
Drawn to music at an early age, Quincy Jr. first touched a piano at a recreation center when he was 11 years old. This inspired him to join the school choir and band, where he learned to play multiple brass, reed, and percussion instruments
After he graduated from Garfield High School in 1950, Quincy studied at Seattle University for one semester before transferring to Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Despite receiving a scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College, Jones dropped out after Lionel Hampton invited him on tour with his band. Jones played trumpet and arranged for Hampton from 1951 to 1953. He then worked as a freelance arranger on many jazz sessions.
In the mid-1960s, Jones began composing for movies and television, eventually producing over 50 scores and serving as a trailblazing Black musician in the Hollywood arena. His solo Emmy Award recognized his score for the 1977 limited series Roots, based on Alex Haley’s novel of the same name.
After producing Aretha Franklin’s 1973 album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky), he went out on his own to start a record label. In 1975, Jones founded Qwest Productions, for which he arranged and produced hugely successful albums by major jazz and pop figures, including Frank Sinatra. Jones later established Qwest Records as a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records. The first release under the label was George Benson’s Give Me the Night (1980).
In 1978, Jones produced the soundtrack for The Wiz, the musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy. Michael Jackson portrayed the scarecrow as Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross rounded out the foursome, portraying the Tin Man and Lion respectively. Meeting Jackson led to what was perhaps his most fruitful professional collaboration.
Jones produced the pop singer’s breakthrough solo album Off the Wall in 1979 as well as Jackson’s acclaimed follow-up Thriller. The 1982 album resulted in six Grammy trophies and remains the best-selling record of all time.
As a movie and TV producer, his most successful projects were the 1985 film The Color Purple —directed by Steven Spielberg
Just hours before his death, Jones had wished his daughter Martina a happy birthday via Instagram, writing, “So proud to be yo papa! Big hug, I love you eternally.” He has reportedly left $500 million that will be shared among his family of seven children and grandkids. The celebrated musician and record producer’s cause of death was later revealed to be pancreatic cancer.
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