The world lost a legend on November 3, 2024, when Quincy Jones passed away at age 91. For more than half a century, the musician, composer and producer was responsible for bringing us unforgettable music and movies, working with legends like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion.
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The Academy Awards is preparing to honor the life and work of Jones with a special tribute featuring Queen Latifah. We’re looking back at the life and work of Quincy Jones.
A Musical Prodigy
Quincy Jones was Born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, IL. After his parents divorced when he was 10, Jones moved to the Seattle area with his brother to live with his grandparents. It was around that time that he discovered his love of music. He learned to play several instruments and eventually went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Jones dropped out to tour with some legendary jazz musicians, including Lionel Hampton and work as a freelance arranger in Paris in the late 1950s.
Record Executive
By the mid-1960s, Jones was back in the United States, composing and arranging songs for jazz greats like Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.
In 1964, Jones took on the role of Vice President of Mercury Records, making him one of the first Black people to hold an executive position at a major American record label.
The First Song on the Moon
Quincy Jones made history in 1969 when his arrangement of “Fly Me to the Moon,” performed by Frank Sinatra and Count Basie became the first son played on the moon. Buzz Aldrin, pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar lander, took the song with him on a cassette during a 1969 trip to the moon.
“Yeah, 1969. Buzz Aldrin. Frank knew first and he called me up, and he was like a little kid: ‘We got the first music on the moon, man!’ He said,” Jones told GQ in a 2018 interview.
Making Music for the Movies
In the 1960s, Jones composed more than 50 scores for major motion pictures, including “In the Heat of the Night.” Jones’ work earned him a total of seven Oscar nominations, including one for the score of “In Cold Blood.”
Meeting Michael Jackson
One of Jones’ most successful musical collaborations was with Michael Jackson. Jones said he first met at 12-year-old Michael at Sammy Davis Jr.’s home when he was singing with the Jackson 5. The two would meet again in 1978 when Jones produced “The Wiz,” a film adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the scarecrow, and Richard Pryor as The Wizard. Jones was impressed with Jackson’s work ethic and knew he wanted to work on other projects with him in the future.
“He was so teachable & humble when he received criticism, that I absolutely knew I wanted to work with him. It was right then & there that I told him I wanted to take a shot at producing his new record,” Jones wrote about Jackson in a 2017 birthday tribute on Facebook. “If you wanted to set a bar, Michael went above & beyond, & if you wanted to make a slight improvement, he wouldn’t stop until it was perfect.”
Michael Jackson Magic
Jones made music magic with Michael Jackson, producing back to back hit albums, “Off the Wall” and “Thriller.”
“Off The Wall” was an R&B smash, producing hits including the title track, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock With You.” But “Thriller” had otherworldly success, spending 37 weeks at number one on the charts and producing seven top 10 singles. Over 40 years after its November 1982 release, “Thriller” has sold over 70 million copies worldwide.
Controversial Comments
In a 2018 interview with Vulture, Jones made some controversial comments about Michael Jackson, saying some of musical ideas were not his own, including comparing “Billie Jean” to Donna Summer’s “State of Independence.”
“I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs,” he said. “He was as Machiavellian as they come. Greedy, man. Greedy.”
“We Are The World”
Jones brought some of the biggest names in the music industry together in 1985 to record “We Are the World,” a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to support famine relief in Africa. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper were among the artists who lent their voices to the song, which went to the top of the R&B singles, the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
Fun fact: Prince was invited to participate, but turned down the opportunity. Huey Lewis sang the part that was written for him. In a documentary about the making of the film, Sheila E. says she believes Prince didn’t want to work with such a large group of people.
“I knew he wasn’t going to come because there were too many people,” she said.
Would Not Work With Elvis
Although Jones worked with many of the biggest names in the music industry, there was one big name he wanted nothing to do with – Elvis Presley. In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jones confirmed he had no desire to work with the artist he believed was a racist.
“I was writing for [orchestra leader] Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said, ‘I don’t want to play with him.’ He was a racist mother,” he said.
On Marriage and Family
Jones was married three times and has seven children. He was married to Jeri Caldwell, with whom he shares a daughter Jolie, from 1957 to 1966. From 1967 to 1974, he was married to Ulla Anderson, with whom he shares a son, Quincy III and daughter Martina. Jones has two daughters, Kidada and Rashida with his third wife, Peggy Lipton, to whom he was marred from 1974 to 1990.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jones addressed comments some have made about him preferring relationships with white women.
“I have been with every kind of woman of every nationality. Do you think that with a soul like mine, I would limit myself to one kind of woman when I’m in Taiwan, Tokyo, Pakistan, Turkey, and Morocco?” he said. “Honey, I had a lot of love to give! I just got attracted by kindness—by someone who acknowledged me as a human being.”
“The Color Purple”
In 1985, Quincy Jones served as producer of “The Color Purple,” a film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel. Jones said in a 1985 promotional interview that the project consumed his life for two years, but he said the time he worked on bringing the project to the big screen was time well spent. “You have to love it, and it’s not about box office, he said.
The film, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey received critical acclaim and 11 Academy Award nominations, however it didn’t win in any category, making it one of the films to receive the most Oscar nominations without a win.
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
In the early 1990s, Jones served as producer for the NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The series, about a young boy from inner-city Philadelphia who gets sent to live with his well-to-do aunt, uncle and cousins in Bel Air, premiered in September 1990 and ran for six seasons until May 1996.
In a 2024 interview, Will Smith shared how he got his iconic role after meeting Benny Medina, whose life Will’s character was based on. Smith said Benny invited him to Quincy Jones’ home, who gave him a screenplay and asked him to audition for the role on the spot. Smith, who had never acted before, asked Jones for a little more time to prepare and was surprised by the answer he got.
“Three weeks from now would be good, or you can take 10 minutes right now, and you can change your life forever,” he said. “I said yes, and I let it rip.” After the audition, Smith said Jones gave him the part on the spot.
Taylor Who?
In a 2018 interview with GQ, Quincy Jones named Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, Drake, Ludacris, Common and Mary J. Blige among his favorite artists of the time. But he added that there’s one pop star he just doesn’t get – Taylor Swift.
“We need more songs, man. F’ing songs, not hooks,” he said.
Loss of a Legend
On November 3, 2024, Quincy Jones passed away in his Bel Air, California home at age 91.
“He was a giant. An icon. A culture shifter. A genius,” wrote Jones’ daughter Rashida in an Instagram tribute. “All accurate descriptions of my father but his music (and ALL of his work) was a channel for his love. He WAS love. He made everyone he ever met feel loved and seen. That’s his legacy.”
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