The multi-talented music titan Quincy Jones has away at the age of 91. His extensive legacy included producing Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” album, penning award-winning film and television scores, and working with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and hundreds of other recording artists.
Arnold Robinson, Jones’ publicist, reports that Jones passed away on Sunday night while his family was there at his Bel Air neighborhood home in Los Angeles. The statement released by his family read : “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.”
Quincy Jones’s legacy in music industry
As one of the first Black entrepreneurs to succeed in Hollywood, Jones went from running with gangs on Chicago’s South Side to the pinnacles of show business. He left behind a massive musical repertoire that contains some of the most treasured examples of American song and rhythm.
It was difficult to find a music enthusiast over the past fifty years who did not own at least one album bearing Jones’ name, or a member of the film, television, or music industries who did not have some sort of association with him.
Jones maintained relationships with business executives and benefactors, celebrities and singers, presidents and world leaders. He arranged Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald’s songs, toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, wrote the music for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” set up the first inaugural celebration for President Clinton, and directed the all-star recording of “We Are the World.”
It seems unjust to single out any work in a career that started when recordings were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm. However, his productions with Jackson on the albums “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad,” which are renowned for their worldwide appeal and elegance, probably deserve recognition. In 1983 alone, “Thriller” sold over 20 million copies.
