quincy jones

 

Quincy Jones, giant of US music, dies aged 91

Quincy Jones, the celebrated US musician and producer who worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and many others, has died at the age of 91.

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he "passed away peacefully" on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air.

"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 family said in a statement.

Jones was best known as the producer of Michael Jackson's Thriller album.

Over a career spanning more than 75 years, he won 28 Grammy Awards and was named as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine.

He worked closely with Sinatra and reworked the crooner's classic Fly Me To The Moon, taking it from a waltz to a swing.

For the film The Wiz, Jones found himself working alongside a 19-year-old Michael Jackson. He went on to produce Jackson's album Off the Wall and the pop star's follow-ups Thriller - which sold 34 million copies int he US alone - and Bad.

In 1985, Jones gathered 46 of America's most popular singers of the time, including Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper, to record We Are the World.

Jones co-wrote the song to raise money for those suffering from a devastating famine in Ethiopia. The record was the US equivalent to Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas.

The hit reached number one in the UK and the US and was performed at Live Aid.

On the big screen, Jones produced the film The Color Purple, which introduced the public to two then unknown performers - Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.

Posting a tribute on Instagram, Goldberg said he was "one of a kind".

On the small screen, he was one of the producers behind the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

But it was music where Jones excelled - as well as winning multiple Grammys, including a legend award in 1992, he was also recognised by the Emmys, Tonys and Oscars.

Jones was married three times and had seven children, including music producer Quincy Jones III and actress Rashida Jones, known for the US version of The Office.