The talented musician and industry mogul worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Will Smith and others(Image: Getty Images North America)

Quincy Jones dead: Music icon who worked with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, dies at 91

04 Nov 2024, 07:58 by Zara Woodcock · Irish Mirror

Legendary record producer and songwriter Quincy Jones has died aged 91.

He was known for his work with music icons Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and more. His publicist, Arnold Robinson, announced the heartbreaking news of his death and said he passed away on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air.

Quincy was surrounded by family when he died. The statement from 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.”

The talented producer, who became one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassed a huge musical catalogue, worked on Michael Jackson's historic 'Thriller' album. He arranged records for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald and composed the soundtracks for Roots and In the Heat of the Night.

Jones is third only to Beyoncé and Jay-Z for having the most Grammy award nominations of all time(Image: Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Quincy also organised President Bill Clinton's first inaugural celebration. The songwriter and composer oversaw the iconic recording of the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa, We Are The World. Singer Lionel Richie previously called him the "master orchestrator".

His career, which began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, saw his greatest accolades likely come from his productions with Jackson: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad were albums that had a near-universal style and appeal. Quincy’s versatility and creativity helped ignite the explosive talents of Jackson as he transitioned from child star to the "King of Pop."

On such classic tracks as Billie Jean and Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Quincy and Michael crafted a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz and African chants. Quincy was the person who enlisted Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo Beat It and used Vincent Price's voice for the voiceover in Thriller.

Jones died on Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles(Image: Getty Images)

The hit album quickly rose up the charts in 1983, selling more than 20 million copies and has been vying with the Eagles' "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" for the title of best-selling album ever. Quincy once talked about his role in a conversation with the Library of Congress in 2016. He stated: "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."

He also said: "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." Quincy was born on March 14, 1933, to a bank officer and a semi-professional baseball player. He rose to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores.

In 1968, he became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for The Eyes of Love from the film Banning. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on In Cold Blood in 1967. It made him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. He went on to produce Michael Jackson's three successful albums: Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.

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