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    • Quincy Jones, the architect of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” movie, dies at the age of 91
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    Quincy Jones, the architect of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” movie, dies at the age of 91

    Harry Posted on

    Kristin McGrath
    | USA TODAY

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    When he was 11 years old, Quincy Jones broke into the Armory recreation center in Bremerton, Washington, to steal food. Inside he found an upright piano. As he would later say in interviews, this was the moment that took him from a childhood full of petty crimes to a life filled with music.

    Best known as the architect of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the man who brought together the stars of 1985’s “We Are the World,” Jones had a long career as a composer and trumpeter who broke racial boundaries in music and film. His legacy as an arranger and producer intersected with those of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Lesley Gore.

    The publicist said Jones died on Sunday. He was 91 years old.

    Born on March 14, 1933, to Sarah and Quincy Delight Jones, he and his younger brother Lloyd grew up in a gang-ridden area of ​​Chicago during the Great Depression. His mother suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized when he was 5, and his father moved the family to Bremerton.

    A chance encounter with the piano led Jones to try various instruments before settling on the trumpet. By age 14, he was playing the loose club circuit with his 16-year-old friend, Ray Charles, from jazz to big band to bebop. After high school, Jones went on a world tour with jazz greats Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.

    This whirlwind life as a touring musician sent Jones back to America in 1961 and went bankrupt. He paid his dues by working at Mercury Records, where he was eventually promoted to Vice President at the otherwise white company.

    When dreams of film scoring drew Jones to Hollywood in 1965, executives, after hiring him for Gregory Peck’s “Mirage,” were shocked to learn he was black. He soon earned two Oscar nominations in 1968 (Best Original Song for “The Love of Ivy” and Best Original Score for “In Cold Blood”) and in 1971 became the first Black musical director for the Academy Awards. The show in 1996.

    However, Jones had health problems. He suffered two near-fatal brain aneurysms in 1974. The resulting metal plate in his head ensured that he would never be able to play the trumpet again. Still, he continued making music; He composed the music for “The Bill Cosby Show,” “Sanford and Son” and the 1977 miniseries “Roots,” for which he won an Emmy.

    Later, Jones met Michael Jackson while scoring the movie “The Wiz.” He produced Jackson’s album “Off the Wall” in 1979 and rose to musical royalty with the King of Pop in a partnership that also produced the best-selling “Thriller” and “Bad.” In 1985, the duo collaborated on the star-studded benefit song “We Are the World,” which won three Grammys.

    Jones has won a staggering 27 Grammy Awards.

    He co-produced “The Color Purple” and helped introduce Oprah Winfrey to a national audience (He also produced the Broadway version). Winfrey took office in 2013 Jones inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    His name appears on more than 400 albums as producer, composer, conductor, arranger or performer. He composed approximately 35 film scores.

    Jones leaves behind seven children: Jolie Jones Levine (with his ex-wife, actress Jeri Caldwell), Martina Jones and Quincy Jones III (with his second wife, model Ulla Andersson), Kidada Jones and “The Office” actress Rashida Jones (with his third wife, “Mod”). Squad” actress Peggy Lipton), Rachel Jones (with Carol Reynolds) and Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones (with actress Nastassja Kinski).

    In later years, it seemed that the force that took Jones from jazz musician to musical empire would never fade away. He founded the production company responsible for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” He published an autobiography in 2001. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he partnered with Lionel Richie for the second episode of “We Are The World.”

    In 2018, daughter Rashida and director Alan Hicks chronicled Jones’ career spanning generations and genres. Netflix documentary “Quincy”. Rashida described the 2-hour film as a “starter package” and said she shot 800 hours of footage and worked on 2,000 hours of archive.

    “He lived such a great life,” Rashida told USA TODAY in a joint interview with Jones at the time. “I can’t believe that this whole experience is contained in this one person, my father.”

    Jones, who admitted that he burst into tears every time he watched the movie, said that the message of his life was reflected in the movie: Family, love and keeping perspective.

    “Never give up,” he said. “Maintain humility with creativity. Maintain grace with success. Just because you’re behind a No. 1 record doesn’t make you better than anyone else.”

    Contributed by: Bryan Alexander

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