Quincy Jones, a longtime music industry powerhouse and hitmaking producer of multi-platinum albums, including Michael Jackson's Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, died on Sunday. He was 91.
His death was announced by his publicist, Arnold Robinson, who said Jones died at his home in Bel Air, California. Jones was surrounded by his family, including his children and siblings, at the time of his death, the announcement said.
During his decades-long career, Jones was nominated for 80 Grammy Awards, of which he won 28. He was the all-time most-nominated composer and producer, his publicist said on Monday.
His was a career punctuated often by chart-topping hits, many of which were also critical successes. He produced albums for Michael Jackson, including Off the Wall, Bad and Thriller, which ranks as the best-selling album of all time.
Jones was a seasoned producer by the time Thriller came out in 1982. He had won his first Grammy in 1963 for an arrangement of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Count Basie.
He then partnered with Frank Sinatra for Sinatra at the Sands, an album that included "Fly Me to the Moon." Jones' publicist noted on Monday that that version of the song was "the first recording played by astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he landed upon the moon's surface in 1969."
He also produced and conducted "We Are the World," which brought together pop luminaries of all ages and became the best-selling single of all time.
Photo by NASA
