Legendary music producer Quincy Jones dies at 91

BEL AIR, LOS ANGELES -- Quincy Jones, a hitmaking shaper and longtime powerhouse successful the euphony industry, died connected Sunday. He was 91.

His decease was announced by his publicist, Arnold Robinson, who said Jones died Sunday nighttime astatine his location successful Bel Air, California. Jones was surrounded by his family, including his children and siblings, astatine the clip of his death, the announcement said.

Quincy Jones arrives astatine the Governors Awards connected Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, astatine the Dolby Theatre successful Los Angeles.

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

"And though this is an unthinkable nonaccomplishment for our family, we observe the large beingness that helium lived and cognize determination volition ne'er beryllium different similar him," the household said successful a statement.

Jones' historical vocation ranged from producing Michael Jackson's record-setting "Thriller" to prize-winning movie and tv scores and collaborations with Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles.

Jones roseate from moving with gangs connected the South Side of Chicago to the precise heights of amusement business, becoming 1 of the archetypal Black executives to thrive successful Hollywood and amassing an bonzer philharmonic catalog that includes immoderate of the richest moments of American bushed and song. For years, it was improbable to find a euphony person who did not ain astatine slightest 1 grounds with his sanction connected it, oregon a person successful the amusement manufacture and beyond who did not person immoderate transportation to him.

Over the past 60 years, it was hard to find idiosyncratic successful the music, tv oregon movie industries who did not person immoderate transportation to Jones.

Jones kept institution with presidents and overseas leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and concern leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for "Roots" and "In the Heat of the Night," organized President Bill Clinton's archetypal inaugural solemnisation and oversaw the all-star signaling of "We Are the World," the 1985 foundation grounds for famine alleviation successful Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote "We Are the World" and was among the featured singers, would telephone Jones "the maestro orchestrator."

In a vocation which began erstwhile records were inactive played connected vinyl astatine 78 rpm, apical honors apt spell to his productions with Jackson: "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" were albums near-universal successful their benignant and appeal. Jones' versatility and imaginativeness helped acceptable disconnected the explosive talents of Jackson arsenic helium transformed from kid prima to the "King of Pop." On specified classical tracks arsenic "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," Jones and Jackson fashioned a planetary soundscape retired of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For "Thriller," immoderate of the astir memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo connected the genre-fusing "Beat It" and brought successful Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover connected the rubric track.

"Thriller" sold much than 20 cardinal copies successful 1983 unsocial and has contended with the Eagles' "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" among others arsenic the best-selling medium of each time.

"If an medium doesn't bash well, everyone says 'it was the producers fault'; truthful if it does well, it should beryllium your 'fault,' too," Jones said successful an interrogation with the Library of Congress successful 2016. "The tracks don't conscionable each of a abrupt appear. The shaper has to person the skill, acquisition and quality to usher the imaginativeness to completion."

The database of his honors and awards fills 18 pages successful his 2001 autobiography "Q", including 27 Grammys astatine the clip (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for "Roots." He besides received France's Legion d'Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy and a Kennedy Center tribute for his contributions to American culture. He was the taxable of a 1990 documentary, "Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones" and a 2018 movie by girl Rashida Jones. His memoir made him a best-selling author.

2018: Quincy Jones dips hands, feet successful cement extracurricular TCL Chinese Theatre

Born successful Chicago successful 1933, Jones would mention the hymns his parent sang astir the location arsenic the archetypal euphony helium could remember. But helium looked backmost sadly connected his childhood, erstwhile telling Oprah Winfrey that "There are 2 kinds of people: those who person nurturing parents oregon caretakers, and those who don't. Nothing's successful between." Jones' parent suffered from affectional problems and was yet institutionalized, a nonaccomplishment that made the satellite look "senseless" for Quincy. He spent overmuch of his clip successful Chicago connected the streets, with gangs, stealing and fighting.

"They nailed my manus to a obstruction with a switchblade, man," helium told the AP successful 2018, showing a scar from his childhood.

Music saved him. As a boy, helium learned that a Chicago neighbour owned a soft and helium soon played it perpetually himself. His begetter moved to Washington authorities erstwhile Quincy was 10 and his satellite changed astatine a vicinity recreation center. Jones and immoderate friends had breached into the room and helped themselves to citrus meringue pastry erstwhile Jones noticed a tiny country adjacent with a stage. On the signifier was a piano.

"I went up there, paused, stared, and past tinkled connected it for a moment," helium wrote successful his autobiography. "That's wherever I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever."

Within a fewer years helium was playing trumpet and befriending a young unsighted instrumentalist named Ray Charles, who became a lifelong friend. He was talented capable to triumph a assistance astatine the Berklee College of Music successful Boston, but dropped retired erstwhile Hampton invited him to circuit with his band. Jones went connected to enactment arsenic a freelance composer, conductor, arranger and producer. As a teen, helium backed Billie Holiday. By his mid-20s, helium was touring with his ain band.

"We had the champion jazz set connected the planet, and yet we were virtually starving," Jones aboriginal told Musician magazine. "That's erstwhile I discovered that determination was music, and determination was the euphony business. If I were to survive, I would person to larn the quality betwixt the two."

As a euphony executive, helium overcame radical barriers by becoming a vice president astatine Mercury Records successful the aboriginal '60s. In 1971, helium became the archetypal Black philharmonic manager for the Academy Awards ceremony. The archetypal movie helium produced, "The Color Purple," received 11 Oscar nominations successful 1986. (But, to his large disappointment, nary wins). In a concern with Time Warner, helium created Quincy Jones Entertainment, which included the pop-culture mag Vibe and Qwest Broadcasting. The institution was sold for $270 cardinal successful 1999.

"My doctrine arsenic a businessman has ever travel from the aforesaid roots arsenic my idiosyncratic credo: instrumentality talented radical connected their ain presumption and dainty them reasonably and with respect, nary substance who they are oregon wherever they travel from," Jones wrote successful his autobiography.

He was astatine easiness with virtually each signifier of American music, whether mounting Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" to a punchy, swinging bushed and wistful flute oregon opening his accumulation of Charles' soulful "In the Heat of the Night" with a lusty tenor sax solo. He worked with jazz giants (Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Duke Ellington), rappers (Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J), crooners (Sinatra, Tony Bennett), popular singers (Lesley Gore) and bushed and blues stars (Chaka Khan, rapper and vocalist Queen Latifah).

On "We are the World" alone, performers included Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen. He co-wrote hits for Jackson - "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing" - and Donna Summer - "Love Is successful Control (Finger connected the Trigger) - and had songs sampled by Tupac Shakur, Kanye West and different rappers. He adjacent composed the taxable opus for the sitcom "Sanford and Son."

Jones was a facilitator and shaper of the stars. He gave Will Smith a cardinal interruption successful the deed TV amusement "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," which Jones produced, and done "The Color Purple" helium introduced Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg to filmgoers. Starting successful the 1960s, helium composed much than 35 movie scores, including for "The Pawnbroker," "In the Heat of the Night" and "In Cold Blood."

He called scoring "a multifaceted process, an abstract operation of subject and soul."

Jones' enactment connected the soundtrack for "The Wiz" led to his concern with Jackson, who starred successful the 1978 movie. In an effort published successful Time mag aft Jackson's death, successful 2009, Jones remembered that the vocalist kept slips of insubstantial connected him that contained thoughts by celebrated thinkers. When Jones asked astir the origins of 1 passage, Jackson answered "Socrates," but pronounced it "SO-crayts." Jones corrected him, "Michael, it's SOCK-ra-tees."

"And the look helium gave maine then, it conscionable prompted maine to say, due to the fact that I'd been impressed by each the things I saw successful him during the rehearsal process, 'I would emotion to instrumentality a changeable astatine producing your album,'" Jones recalled. "And helium went backmost and told the radical astatine Epic Records, and they said, No mode - Quincy's excessively jazzy.' Michael was persistent, and helium and his managers went backmost and said, Quincy's producing the album.' And we proceeded to marque 'Off the Wall.' Ironically, that was 1 of the biggest Black-selling albums astatine the time, and that medium saved each the jobs of the radical saying I was the incorrect guy. That's the mode it works."

Tensions emerged aft Jackson's death. In 2013, Jones sued Jackson's estate, claiming helium was owed millions successful royalties and accumulation fees connected immoderate of the superstar's top hits. In a 2018 interrogation with New York magazine, helium called Jackson "as Machiavellian arsenic they come" and alleged that helium lifted worldly from others.

Jones was hooked connected enactment and play, and astatine times suffered for it. He astir died from a encephalon aneurysm successful 1974 and became profoundly depressed successful the 1980s aft "The Color Purple" was snubbed by Academy Awards voters; helium ne'er received a competitory Oscar. A begetter of 7 children by 5 mothers, Jones described himself arsenic a "dog" who had countless lovers astir the world. He was joined 3 times, his wives including the histrion Peggy Lipton.

"To me, loving a pistillate is 1 of the astir natural, blissful, life-enhancing - and situation I say, spiritual - acts successful the world," helium wrote.

He was not an activistic successful his aboriginal years, but changed aft attending the 1968 ceremonial of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and aboriginal befriending the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jones was dedicated to philanthropy, saying "the champion and lone utile facet of fame and personage is having a level to assistance others."

His causes included warring HIV and AIDS, educating children and providing for the mediocre astir the world. He founded the Quincy Jones Listen Up! Foundation to link young radical with music, civilization and technology, and said helium was driven passim his beingness "by a tone of escapade and a transgression level of optimism."

"Life is similar a dream, the Spanish writer and philosopher Federico Garcia Lorca said," Jones wrote successful his memoir. "Mine's been successful Technicolor, with afloat Dolby dependable done THX amplification earlier they knew what these systems were."

Along with Rashida, Jones is survived by daughters Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; lad Quincy Jones III; member Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.