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Legendary musician Quincy Jones has died. He was 91. Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed to PEOPLE that he died on Sunday, Nov. 3 at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. The news was first reported by the Associated Press.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. “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.”
“He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
The musician is survived by seven children: Rashida Jones, Kidada Jones, Kenya Kinski-Jones, Quincy Jones III, Jolie Jones Levine, Martina Jones, and Rachel Jones. He is also survived by grandchildren Isaiah Jones Koenig, Quincy Renzo Delight Jones IV and Nea Jones. He was godfather to actor-musician Quincy Brown, who was named after the music great.
He escaped death in 1974 when he was just 41 years old. The music extraordinaire had a brain aneurysm and underwent brain surgery but was told soon after that he had a second aneurysm ready to explode. He underwent surgery again. At the time, he was told he had a one-in-a-hundred chance of surviving.
“It was scary,” he told GQ in 2018. “Like somebody blew my brains out. The main artery to your brain explodes, you know.”
Born on March 14, 1933, the Chicago native first rose to prominence as a trumpet player in bands for jazz music greats including Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.
At 14, Jones fled from the quarters of his abusive stepmom — whom he said didn’t call him by name until he was 57 — to join the National Guard, he revealed to GQ. He lied and said he was 18 to join, but was met with extreme racism.
During this time, he and a group of friends were heading to a rodeo in Yakima when a bus hit them. He said everybody in the car died except him — the scene was gruesome and left him traumatized. He attempted to take driving lessons a few years later but he “just couldn’t do it” and never drove again.
His credits were vast and his accomplishments enormous. As a producer and arranger, Jones was partially behind the success of several music giants including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin and more.
He produced “It’s My Party” for Lesley Gore, who was only 16 at the time. The single went to No. 1 and made Gore one of the youngest singers to reach that zenith. Jones also produced three 1963 Top 5 follow-ups for Gore: “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “She’s a Fool” and “You Don’t Own Me.”
In the ’70s, he worked his production magic on albums by The Brothers Johnson, a funk duo from Los Angeles. He produced their first four albums, all of which went platinum, and three singles that reached the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart: “I’ll Be Good to You,” “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Stomp!”.
Jones would enjoy his greatest success as a producer in collaboration with Michael Jackson. He produced three of his seminal solo albums — 1979’s Off the Wall, 1982’s Thriller and 1987’s Bad. Thriller would become the biggest-selling album of all time and turned Michael Jackson into a global superstar.
“Billie Jean,” the second single from Thriller, would become one of the most iconic hits of the ’80s and “Beat It” was one of the most influential, with its merger of R&B and rock. Not only did Jones produce the hit, he also tapped late music virtuoso Eddie Van Halen to perform the track’s now-legendary guitar solo. He also revived “Human Nature,” a throwaway track co-written and demoed by Toto’s Steve Porcaro for inclusion on the album.
