The late great Quincy Jones has passed away. Jones was born on March 14th 1933 in Chicago Illinois and died November 3rd 2024 at his home in Bel Air. He was 91. Jones was an American producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter and bandleader. Over the course of Jones career, he received twenty eight Grammy awards, a primetime Emmy award, a Tony Award, and seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.
Jones had a remarkable career and is one of the greatest producers of all time. Jones worked with people from Frank Sinatra to being the reason Michael Jackson started his solo career. One of the many collaborations that Jones did with Sinatra was the album “It Might as Well Be Swing”. That album included the famous song “Fly Me to the Moon”, which was instantly a classic. Jones said in 2001, “Looking back, that call from Frank was a major turning point in my career and my life.” If you got a call from Frank Sinatra, you didn’t turn it down. Jones was very close to Frank Sinatra and his family. When the news broke that Jones had died, Nancy and Tina Sinatra released a statement that said “Quincy was an ever-present force in our lives—in good times and bad—constant and loving. He was our “brother from another mother,” he’d say. We were blessed to know him. We love you, Q—from here to eternity. Hug Pop and save us a seat at the bar!” I got my love of Frank Sinatra from my dad and when we both heard this statement and the love they all have for Jones, it made us tear up.
As I mentioned before, Jones was very much responsible for Michael Jackson’s solo career after being with the Jackson 5. Jones produced “Off the Wall,” the very famous “Thriller,” and “Bad.” Jones transformed Jackson from child star to the “King of Pop.” “Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone, and has contended with the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” among others as the best-selling album of all time.”
Another huge milestone for Jones was the song “We Are the World.” It was a charity single recorded for the USA for Africa. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and of course produced by Quincy Jones. This song is the eighth-best selling single of all time. “It topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. “We Are the World” was certified quadruple platinum , becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. Its awards include four Grammy Awards, one American Music Awardand a People’s Choice Award.” “We are the World,” had the biggest artists on the single during the time period. Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionee Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes sing the bridge “We Are the World”, concludes with Bob Dylan and Ray Charles singing a full chorus, Wonder and Springsteen duetting, and ad libs from Charles and Ingram.” This song is very catchy and to get all these artists in the same room and pull it off was all the amazing work of Quincy Jones. Netflix did a documentary on this historic night called “The Greatest Night in Pop.” I highly recommend it because our generation can’t truly understand how special this night was.
Jones was a true talent and it truly can’t be described his very impactful influence he had on the music industry and it will be remembered for years to come. Jones will be missed, but he will be remembered by many forever.
