The musical genius behind one of the most successful albums in music history, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, has died at the age of 91.
According to CNN, jazz recording artist and music producer Quincy Jones died on Nov. 3, based on an announcement from his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the Jones family said in the statement. “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. He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”The beloved musician passed away at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family. No cause of death was revealed.
The popular musician, who was born in 1933, started his professional musical journey as a 19-year-old playing the trumpet in Lionel Hampton’s band. He was also a film composer nominated for three Academy Awards in the 1960s. For his legendary career, he was nominated four additional times. Although he never took home one of the most coveted awards, he was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1995 for his “outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes.”
As an artist, he won 28 Grammys and collected the most praise for helping make Michael Jackson a global phenomenon when he worked on his 1979 album, Off the Wall.
He’s worked with a plethora of recording artists ranging from Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, the Brothers Johnson, Donny Hathaway, Frank Sinatra, and James Ingram, just to name a few.
He also worked behind the scenes in television and film and was partly responsible for the success of the hit TV sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
.Jones was married three times (Jeri Caldwell, Ulla Andersson, and Peggy Lipton) and had seven children (Jolie Jones Levine, Martina Jones, Quincy Jones III, Kidada Jones, Rashida Jones, Rachel Jones, and Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones).
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