Quincy Jones, hitmaking producer and music industry titan, dead at 91

Quincy Jones, a longtime music industry powerhouse and hitmaking producer of multi-platinum albums, including Michael Jackson‘s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, died on Sunday. He was 91.

His death was announced by his publicist, Arnold Robinson, who said Jones died at his home in Bel Air, California. Jones was surrounded by his family, including his children and siblings, at the time of his death, the announcement said.

“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 family said in a statement.

During his decades-long career, Jones was nominated for 80 Grammy Awards, of which he won 28. He was the all-time most-nominated composer and producer, his publicist said on Monday.

His was a career punctuated often by chart-topping hits, many of which were also critical successes. He produced albums for Michael Jackson, including Off the Wall, Bad and Thriller, which ranks as the best-selling album of all time.

Quincy was a seasoned producer by the time Thriller came out in 1982. He had won his first Grammy in 1963 for an arrangement of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Count Basie.

He then partnered with Frank Sinatra for Sinatra at the Sands, an album that included “Fly Me to the Moon.” Jones’ publicist noted on Monday that that version of the song was the “the first recording played by astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he landed upon the moon’s surface in 1969.”

He also produced and conducted “We Are the World,” which brought together pop luminaries of all ages and became the best-selling single of all time.

Jones was often referred to as entertainment royalty — and it would be difficult to overstate the breadth of his career or the depth of his influence on popular culture. He had begun his career as a composer and become a music producer. And he would eventually also make his mark on Hollywood.

He was a co-producer with Steven Spielberg on The Color Purple, a 1985 film staring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg. That film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including two nominations for Jones’ original song and score.

He also served as executive producer on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the TV series staring Will Smith that premiered in 1990. Jones also founded VIBE Magazine in 1991.

Jones’ family said on Monday that Jones was “truly one of a kind,” adding that “we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created.”

They added, “Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”

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