Quincy Jones
March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024
If you had to choose one person, and one person only, to serve as a lens to view the entirety of 20th Century American music, you wouldn’t even need a full name. A single letter would more than suffice: Q
Quincy Jones was perhaps best known as the groundbreaking and uber-successful record producer that shaped pop music for decades. But, he was also a talented musician in his own right, playing trumpet and, eventually, keyboards with some of the biggest names on the planet. I’ll get the name dropping out of the way early so we can focus on his accomplishments, but throughout his extraordinary 70 year career, Jones worked with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughn, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Diana Ross, Billy Preston, Aretha Franklin, Lesley Gore, Little Richard, Chaka Kahn, George Benson, Tevin Campbell, Usher, Snoop Dogg and, of course, Michael Jackson.
And that’s not even counting the stars he worked with on the monumental 1985 charity recording of “We Are the World”…which he produced and conducted.
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. was born in Chicago. His family eventually moved to Seattle where he finished school and started playing in local jazz and social clubs. Jones attended Berklee College of Music in Boston before landing a gig touring Europe with Lionel Hampton‘s band. Settling in New York, Jones found work in any music capacity he could. He worked his way up through radio and television, gaining critical knowledge of the workings of the industry. In the 1950s, he toured with more jazz bands and eventually was hired by Sinatra to arrange and conduct his albums with Count Basie.
In 1963, he produced his first number one hit with Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” – his first of four top 10 hits with her. In the 1970s, he composed a number of soundtracks for film and television including “In the Heat of the Night” and “Sanford and Son.” After working with Jones on The Wiz, Michael Jackson asked him to recommend a producer for his upcoming solo album. Jones took on the role himself and Off The Wall sold 20 million copies. The two collaborated again on Jackson’s subsequent (and monumental) releases, 1982’s Thriller and 1987’s Bad.
Jones would go on to produce countless other hit records over the decades that followed. He became the godfather of record producing. He also produced movies, television shows and Broadway musicals. He was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won a Tony, an Emmy and earned a staggering 80(!!) Grammy nominations…winning the award 28 times. A lifelong activist, Jones also amassed a number of humanitarian awards over his career to go with the many, many other honors he received.
Jones shaped generations of musicians and listeners alike. His impact on the artform in the U.S. and around the world remains unmatched. He died in his home at the age of 91 from pancreatic cancer.
Burial
Hillside Memorial Park – Culver City, CA
Specific Location
Garden of Solomon
Celebrity Graveland 
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