Quincy Jones, the legendary record producer, songwriter, and composer, has died. He was 91.
The music icon passed away at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles surrounded by family members on Sunday, Nov. 3, his publicist Arnold Robinson told the Associated Press.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” Jones’ family said in a statement. “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.”
Born on the South Side of Chicago on March 14, 1933, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. discovered his love for music at a young age and would eventually go on to become one of the most celebrated artists of his time.
Related: Quincy Jones Details Growing Up on the South Side of Chicago in Netflix Doc (Video)
With a career spanning over seven decades, Jones wore many hats as a composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and producer — lending his talents to music, film, and television projects throughout the years.
His musical work earned him a record-breaking 80 Grammy Award nominations, with a total of 28 wins, cementing his status as one of the most decorated artists in history, according to Grammy.com.
This long list of accolades, however, didn’t come without its share of struggles. Over the years, Jones faced numerous health challenges that impacted his ability to do the work he loved.
In 1974, he suffered two brain aneurysms — each requiring surgery to save his life. From that moment on, Jones could no longer play his beloved trumpet.
“Can’t play anymore,” Jones told the Los Angeles Times years after his recovery. “The main artery in my brain is held together with a clip. Deep-sea diving and playing the trumpet blow that thing straight off.”
Another string of health scares came later in life for Jones. In 2015, he went into a diabetic coma after suffering a stroke, Variety reported.
He would be hospitalized again in June 2023, due to a “bad reaction to some food he ate,” his rep shared at the time.
Jones also struggled with his mental health. In the 1980s, he suffered what he described as a nervous breakdown in his 2018 Netflix documentary titled Quincy.
Before his rise to fame, Jones’ mother, Sarah Frances Wells, grappled with mental illness and experiencing a schizophrenic breakdown in Chicago when he was a child. She was institutionalized, setting off a fateful chain of events in Jones’ life. His father, Quincy Delight Jones Sr., made the decision to get a divorce and relocate their family to the state of Washington, initially moving to Bremerton, and later, Seattle.
It was there that Jones got his start as an artist, studying music and performing as a trumpeter — but it was his composition and arrangement skills that really propelled his career.
His ear for different musical styles and influences led him to work with many artists during the vibrant jazz scene of the 1950s, including Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra.
This was just the beginning of an extraordinary streak for Jones, who would go on to compose, arrange, and produce music for artists across every spectrum of the music industry — from Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion, to Michael Jackson, Miles Davis and Will Smith.
His collaborations produced numerous chart-topping hits and iconic albums, such as Thriller by Michael Jackson, which remains the best-selling album of all time.
He scored over 30 movies and composed theme songs for television shows, including Sanford and Son and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — earning him seven Oscar nominations and four Emmy nominations, resulting in one Emmy win in 1977 for Roots.
He received an honorary Oscar in 1994 and won a Tony Award for “The Color Purple” in 2016, giving him honorary EGOT status. Jones was scheduled to receive a second honorary Oscar on Nov. 17, 2024, the film academy announced earlier this year.
In 1993, he ventured into media with the launch of Vibe magazine, which was later sold. He also served as the Chairman and CEO of Qwest Broadcasting, a minority-controlled television broadcasting company, from 1994 to 1999.
By 2008, he established the non-profit Quincy Jones Foundation, focusing on initiatives that promote music education and opportunities for underserved youth.
These accomplishments and more were highlighted in the Netflix documentary. The film, co-directed by his daughter Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks, provided an intimate glimpse into his life — from his early days growing up on the South Side of Chicago, to becoming a giant in the music industry.
The film, which won a Grammy Award for Best Music Film in 2019, included commentary by countless entertainers who were inspired by Jones.
Rapper and record producer Dr. Dre called Jones his “ultimate mentor and inspiration,” while Kendrick Lamar praised him for being “the first” to combine elements of hip hop with jazz.
Others, like Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey, credited Jones with helping launch their careers.
Former President Barack Obama also praised Jones for his pioneering work, saying in the documentary, “At each stage in his remarkable career, he’s been somebody who has walked through that door before anybody else has.”
Reflecting on his childhood in Chicago, Jones expressed that he could never have envisioned the magnitude of success he achieved.
“I wanted to be a gangster until I was 11,” he said in the documentary. “You want to be what you see and that’s all we ever saw.”
With the example he set, Quincy Jones will be remembered for his indelible impact not only on the music industry — but on anyone he inspired to dream beyond their own circumstances.
