Quincy Jones’ cause of death was revealed 10 days after the music icon’s death at age 91.
Top producer Jones died of pancreatic cancer, according to his death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and obtained by TMZ.
There were no other factors that contributed to his death. It is unknown how long Jones has been battling cancer.
Jones produced Michael Jackson’s Thriller album and collaborated with artists such as Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles.
His publicist Arnold Robinson confirmed that he died surrounded by his family at his home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, California, on November 3.
Jones’ family, which includes his daughter and actress Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli on The Office, said in a statement: “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father’s passing and brother Quincy Jones.”
Quincy Jones’ cause of death has been revealed 10 days after the music icon’s death at age 91 (pictured in 2006).
Top producer Jones died of pancreatic cancer, according to his death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and obtained by TMZ (pictured in 1991).
Jones’ last Instagram post a day before her death wished her daughter Martina ‘Tina’ a happy birthday and featured a photograph of the two of them smiling together. It read: ‘Happy birthday to my Tina Beena! I am very proud to be your dad! A big hug, I love you eternally.’
“And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Along with Rashida, Jones, known to her friends as ‘Q’, is survived by her daughters Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones; son Quincy Jones III; brother Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.
Jones’ latest Instagram post yesterday wished her daughter Martina ‘Tina’ a happy birthday and featured a photo of the two of them smiling together. It read: ‘Happy birthday to my Tina Beena! I am very proud to be your dad! A big hug, I love you eternally.’
He had previously suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm in 1974 and underwent two brain surgeries; in the last of which he was advised never to play the trumpet again.
Jones rose to the top of show business by becoming one of the first black executives to prosper in Hollywood and amass an extraordinary musical catalog.
He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and composed soundtracks for Roots and In The Heat Of The Night.
Jones organized then-President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of We Are The World in 1985 for famine relief in Africa.
Michael Jackson with Quincy Jones at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 1984
Quincy was the father of seven children, including actress Rashida Jones, pictured in 2020.
Lionel Richie, co-writer of We Are the World and one of the featured singers on the benefit album, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”
He will probably be best remembered for his productions with Jackson, and his versatility and imagination helped highlight the singer’s talent as he transformed from child star to ‘King of Pop’.
On classic songs like ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’, Jones and Jackson created a global soundscape of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz and African chants.
For ‘Thriller,’ some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-blending ‘Beat It,’ and brought in Vincent Price for a macabre voiceover on the main song.
‘Thriller’ sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has competed with the Eagles’ ‘Greatest Hits 1971-1975’, among others, as the best-selling album of all time.