Tributes have begun to pour in for music titan Quincy Jones, who died aged 91, leaving behind a legacy that fans say will live on forever.
The producer of the Michael Jackson Thriller album died Sunday night surrounded by his family at his home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, but the cause of his death has not yet been given.
Jones’ family, which includes his actress daughter Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli on The Office, said in a statement: “Tonight, with a full but broken heart, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother “Quincy Jones.”
“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.”
Now, fans around the world have flooded social media with their personal tributes to Jones, who has left an incredible legacy in the music industry.
Tributes have begun to pour in for Quincy Jones, who died Sunday night surrounded by his family at his home in Los Angeles. Pictured: Jones attends Byron Allen’s Fourth Annual Oscar Gala Benefiting Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, February 9, 2020.
Michael Jackson with Quincy Jones at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 1984. Jones died Sunday night at his home, aged 91.
Quincy Jones works with Michael Jackson and Steven Spielberg on the ET soundtrack in 1982
Jones with Frank Sinatra at the 21st Scopus Awards on January 13, 1991 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California
One devastated fan wrote: ‘Farewell to Quincy Jones, the architect behind Thriller. His work with Michael Jackson redefined pop music and marked generations. Your legacy lives on. Rest in peace, Quincy.’
Another added: ‘RIP Quincy Jones. Thank you for everything you have contributed to the world of music. Your legacy will live forever.
‘Rest in peace Quincy Jones. Let’s talk about legends here and now. The best music producer, writer and composer. The BIGGEST! “There will never be enough room here for a tribute to his career and achievements, this guy shaped modern music and his legacy will be there forever and a day,” wrote a third.
Sharing a 1983 song produced by Jones and performed by James Ingram and Patti Austin ‘How Do You Keep The Music Playing’, a fan paid tribute to the star on X/Twitter.
‘My tribute to one of the greatest composers, arrangers and producers, Quincy Jones, who has passed away at the age of 91. This song was released in 1982 on Qwest Records, produced by Quincy from the movie Best Friends. What a beautiful song,’ they wrote.
The History of Jazz and Delta Blues author Ted Gioia also shared a heartfelt message following Jones’ death.
‘RIP Quincy Jones, who leaves us at 91 years old,’ he said.
‘No musician of his generation moved so easily and brilliantly between styles and settings, collaborating with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Miles Davis. What an extraordinary career!’
X/Twitter users flooded the platform with their tributes to the late music producer
The producer was dubbed a ‘titan’ of the industry, according to a heartbroken fan
One fan said Jones’ legacy “will be there forever and a day”
Another social media user shared a 1982 song produced by Jones.
Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones at the ‘We Are The World 25 Years for Haiti’ recording session held at Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood in February 2010.
President Barack Obama presents a National Medal of Arts to Quincy Jones at the White House in March 2011.
Quincy Jones at the 33rd Grammy Awards in New York in February 1991
‘RIP Quincy Jones When he wasn’t making groundbreaking albums with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, he composed music for films. In the Heat of the Night, The Italian Job, The Getaway and this, Soul Bossa Nova from 1962 that Austin Powers inherited. “A legend has passed,” shared BAFTA Award-winning film and television editor The Sting.
One more added: ‘RIP Quincy Jones, who defined the highest level of musical genius for 5 generations.
‘Perhaps the best producer and composer of soundtracks of all time. The most quotable, the coolest, who did everything from Thriller to Vibe to Fresh Prince. Whoever did it all, better than anyone.’
The music sensation rose to the top of showbiz by becoming one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing 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.
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 talents as he transformed from child star to ‘King of Pop’.
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.
The History of Jazz and Delta Blues author Ted Gioia called Jones’ career “remarkable”
BAFTA Award-winning TV editor The Sting paid tribute to X ‘legend’
Jones ‘did it all, better than anyone,’ said one fan
Quincy Jones and his wife Peggy Lipton hold Jones’ star that was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in March 1980.
Sir Elton John and Quincy Jones at the singer’s AIDS Foundation’s Academy Awards viewing party in West Hollywood in February 2019
Quincy Jones and Eddie Murphy at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood in October 2019
Quincy Jones and Naomi Campbell at the American Icon Awards in Los Angeles in May 2019
‘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.
‘If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producer’s fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault’ too,’ Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016.
‘Footprints don’t appear suddenly. The producer must have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.’
As a music executive, Jones overcame racial barriers by becoming vice president of Mercury Records in the early ’60s.
In 1971, he became the first black musical director of the Academy Awards ceremony.
The first film he produced, ‘The Color Purple’, received 11 Oscar nominations in 1986 but, much to his disappointment, did not win any awards.
He worked with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, rappers such as Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J, singers such as Sinatra and Tony Bennett, pop singers such as Lesley Gore, rhythm and blues stars such as Chaka Khan, and the rapper and the singer Queen Latifah.
Jones was also a facilitator and star-maker. He gave Will Smith a key opportunity on the hit TV show ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ which Jones produced, and through ‘The Color Purple’ introduced Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg to moviegoers.
Starting in the 1960s, he composed more than 35 film scores, including ‘The Pawnbroker,’ ‘In the Heat of the Night,’ and ‘In Cold Blood.’
The list of his honors and awards takes up 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography ‘Q’, including 27 Grammy Awards at the time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for ‘Roots.’