Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music giant whose legacy spanned from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing award-winning film and television scores to collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at the age of 91. .

Jones died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles surrounded by his family, his publicist Arnold Robinson said.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother, Quincy Jones,” the family said in a statement. he said. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the amazing life we ​​lived.” He lived and knew that there would never be someone like him.”

Jones rose from running with the gangs on Chicago’s South Side to the highest reaches of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to succeed in Hollywood and amassing a remarkable musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments in American beat and song. For years, it was hard to find a music lover who didn’t have at least one record bearing his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to it.

Jones befriended presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for the movies “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration celebration and performed the all-star song He oversaw the recording: We Are the World,” a 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and is among the featured singers, called Jones a “master orchestrator.”

In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, the biggest accolades probably go to his productions with Jackson: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” were albums that were nearly universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped unlock the explosive talents of child star-turned-“King of Pop” Jackson. On classic tracks like “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson crafted a global soundscape from disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz and African hymns. Some of the most memorable touches for “Thriller” came from Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-bending track “Beat It” and recruited Vincent Price for a terrifying voice-over on the title track.

“Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone, competing with the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” as the best-selling album of all time, among others.

“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producer’s fault’; “The tracks don’t just appear out of nowhere,” Jones said in a 2016 interview with the Library of Congress. “The producer must have the skill, experience and talent to guide the vision to completion.”

His list of honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography, “Q”; In that time, he has 27 Grammys (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.” He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur award, the Italian Republic’s Rudolph Valentino Award, and the Kennedy Center’s award for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of the 1990 documentary “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film made by his daughter, Rashida Jones. His memoirs made him a bestselling author.