Quincy Jones, the legendary musician and producer renowned for his collaborations with icons such as Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, has passed away at the age of 91.
His publicist, Arnold Robinson, announced that he “passed away peacefully” on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air.
In a heartfelt family statement, they expressed, “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. This is an incredible loss for our family, but we celebrate the extraordinary life he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Jones is best known as the producer of Michael Jackson’s landmark album Thriller.
With a career spanning over 75 years, Jones garnered 28 Grammy Awards and was recognized by Time magazine as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century.
He began his career working closely with Frank Sinatra, notably reworking the classic Fly Me to the Moon from a waltz into a swinging arrangement.
In the film The Wiz, he collaborated with a young Michael Jackson, later producing Jackson’s critically acclaimed album Off the Wall, which sold over 20 million copies.
Jones also produced Jackson’s subsequent albums, Thriller and Bad.
In 1985, he organized a gathering of 46 prominent American singers, including Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, and Cyndi Lauper, to record the charity single We Are the World, which aimed to raise funds for those affected by a devastating famine in Ethiopia.
The song became a massive hit, reaching number one in both the UK and the US, and was famously performed at Live Aid.
