Legendary Music Producer, Quincy Jones, Dies at 91

Yinka Olatunbosun 

The legendary record producer, songwriter, composer and arranger, film and television producer, Quincy Jones Jr, has died. The sad incident occurred on November 3, 2024 at his home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles at the age of 91.

Jones’ decorated career spanned over 70 years, with 28 Grammy Awards won out of 80 nominations including a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.

He is famed for producing three of the most successful albums by pop icon Michael Jackson namely Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). Thriller, which is Jackson’s sixth studio album, would later become the world’s best selling album of all time having sold 70 million copies worldwide.

In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity song “We Are the World”, which helped to raise funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia. He worked with A-list musicians including Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Celine Dion.

His publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed his demise. “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’s passing,” the family’s statement said. “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.”

Indeed, Jones set a remarkable record in pop culture. In 1971, Jones was named as the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1995, he was the first African American to receive the academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. 

He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each. 

In 2013, Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category. 

He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time.