In Memoriam : Quincy Jones, legendary producer and entertainment powerhouse (1933 – 2024)

Quincy Jones, legendary entertainment mogul, producer, composer and trumpeter, who broke down racial boundaries in music and film has died.

He was 91.

Jones died on Sunday in his Bel-Air, Ca. home, his publicist said in a statement.

Entertainment career

Jones was an iconic figure in the music industry who has won 28 Grammy Awards throughout his career as an arranger and producer.

Born March 14, 1933, to Sarah and Quincy Delight Jones, he and his younger brother, Lloyd, grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression. His mother suffered from mental illness and was institutionalized when he was 5, and his father moved the family to Washington state.

As a kid, Jones life was that of petty crime. When he was 11, he broke into a recreation center to steal food. Inside, he found an upright piano. It was at that moment that led him to a life of music.

This chance encounter with the piano led Jones to try a array of instruments before settling on the trumpet. By age 14, he was playing the club circuit with his 16-year-old friend Ray Charles, playing jazz to big band to bebop. After high school, Jones toured the world with jazz greats Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.

Quincy Jones was an acclaimed music producer

As a traveling musician, Jones faced some financial hardship. To supplement his income, Jones worked at Mercury Records as a music producer and arranger for artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Sammy Davis Jr. He was eventually promoted to vice president at the predominantly white company.

After finding his footing in music, Jones impact in the industry was felt for decades.

Jones is a pop cultural icon of the 20th century, perhaps best known for producing the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad for Michael Jackson in the 1980s, which made the singer a pop icon.

He was also a successful composer of dozens of films, and had numerous chart hits under his own name.

Production Company

Qwest Broadcasting, his TV and film production company, founded in 1990, had major success with the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and other tv shows. In 2017, his company launched Qwest TV, an on-demand music TV service. The company also launched Vibe Magazine, a urban music and cultural magazine.

Quincy Jones personal life

Jones was married three times, first to his high-school girlfriend Jeri Caldwell, for nine years until 1966, fathering his daughter Jolie. In 1967, he married Ulla Andersson and had a son and daughter, divorcing in 1974. He then married actor Peggy Lipton, best known for roles in The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks. They had two daughters, including the actor Rashida Jones, before divorcing in 1989. He had two further children: Rachel, with a dancer, Carol Reynolds, and Kenya, his daughter with actor Nastassja Kinski.