Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91

What happened

Quincy Jones, a towering figure in music who produced hit albums for Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, died Sunday night at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist said early Monday morning. He was 91, and no cause of death was given.

Who said what

Jones' death is "an incredible loss," his family said in a statement, but "we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him." He was "one of the most powerful forces in American popular music for more than half a century," The New York Times said, starting as a trumpet player then branching out to all corners of recorded music. Jones won 28 Grammys, putting him behind only Beyoncé and Georg Solti.

"Best known as the architect of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and the man who made stars collide for 1985's 'We Are the World,'" USA Today said, Jones "appears as a producer, composer, conductor, arranger or performer on more than 400 albums" by a who's who of jazz and pop artists. For decades, "it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it," The Associated Press said, and his "list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Jones was born in the South Side of Chicago before his father moved the family to Bremerton, Washington. There, Jones said, he was moved to leave a life of petty crime for music when he discovered a piano in a recreation center he broke into to steal food.

What next?

Jones was married three times and leaves behind seven children, including the actress Rashida Jones.