'Eternally connected': What Quincy Jones shared with his greatest loves

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Quincy Jones was a music icon for the ages.

The legendary producer, musician and activist, who died yesterday aged 91, worked with many great artists during his illustrious 65-year career. Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson – the list goes on.

Yet, for the man who has 28 Grammy wins to his name, he was more than just his job.

To mark his death, here is a look back at Jones' great loves outside the studio.

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Jeri Caldwell

Quincy Delight Jones Jr was still in high school when he met his first love Jeri Caldwell.

It was the 1940s and Jones, 15, and Caldwell, 16, were both students at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington.

Caldwell first locked eyes on Jones during a rehearsal of a school performance. She was a sophomore rehearsing on stage and he was a junior in the orchestra pit.

"I just was mesmerised and I turned round to my girlfriend and I said, 'Oh, Tony, look at him, I'm in love'," Caldwell told PBS in a 2001 interview for Quincy Jones: In the pocket.

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Quincy Jones with his first wife, Jeri Caldwell.

"I probably never would have gotten to know him except for doing this production that involved all the chorus classes from freshman through senior. But after I saw him, then I would try to run into him."

The couple soon dated and married in 1957. They share a daughter, Jolie, together.

Jones' star as a budding jazz composer was on the rise during his and Caldwell's relationship.

The family of three spent much time under the bright lights of Hollywood and Paris.

In 1963, after having an affair with dancer Carol Reynolds, Jones welcomed his second child. A daughter named Rachel.

His infidelity led to the breakdown of his marriage to Caldwell. They divorced in 1966.

Caldwell died in 2021 aged 87. Jones wrote a touching tribute to his first wife.

"As my high school sweetheart, she was my rock, & knew me before anyone else knew my name," he wrote.

"From moving with me to Paris in the '50s, to bootstrapping it with me during my Free & Easy tour (which was anything but free & easy!), to being an incredible mother to our sweet Jolie, she never ceased to put others before herself.

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"She even sacrificed her status & popularity to be with me (after multiple attempts from her family, friends, high school, & college to stop her from marrying a Black man)…But she did it anyway, & for that, I am forever grateful.

"Jeri, thank you for your many years of love, & puttin' up with me. Eternally connected."

Ulla Andersson

Jones found love again with Swedish model, actress and singer, Ulla Andersson. After a whirlwind romance they welcomed a daughter Martina, in November 1966.

Just hours before his death this week, the music genius publicly sent his daughter well wishes for her 58th birthday.

"Happy Birthday to my Tina Beena," he captioned a photo of himself posing next to Martina.

After finalising his divorce from Caldwell, Jones and Andersson married in 1967.

They welcomed their second child together, and Jones's only son, Quincy Delight Jones III, in December 1968.

Andersson and Jones remained together for close to a decade before divorcing in 1974.

Following the split, she returned to her Scandinavian home with their children. Jones would divide his time between America and Sweden to spend time with them.

Peggy Lipton

Jones first met Mod Squad actress Peggy Lipton when he was still with Andersson.

As Lipton remembers it, there was a presence about him and then they went their separate ways. They would meet again after Jones had broke up with Andersson.

"That was maybe almost two years later," Lipton said in a 2001 interview.

"So I kind of looked at him maybe as baby-making material because he always used to say to me, all you say to me is, I want a baby. I want a baby. And it was true

"I knew I wanted to be with him and I knew I wanted babies. I knew I wanted his baby. So in terms of working again, I didn't I didn't care. I didn't even occur to me that I would ever have to work again or want to work again. I was happy for it to be over."

Jones and Lipton reconnected in 1974 and married that same year.

Quincy Jones with third wife US actress Peggy Lipton.

The newlyweds welcomed their first child together, Kidada, in March 1974.

Their second daughter, Rashida, was born two years later.

"It's a word. It's conditional with or without paper. It's like the word jazz," Jones was quoted in the 1974 issue of Jet magazine about the institution of marriage.

"If people can be friends, that's a start. People get all hung up. Don't let any hostility build up. If she snores at night or you don't like your mother-in-law, say so."

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Jones and Lipton remained married until 1989 when the Twin Peaks actress filed for a divorce. She cited irreconcilable differences as the cause.

"My parents are so close, and that really makes it easier, because it all comes from a place of love," US actress and filmmaker Rashida, best known for her roles in TV shows The Office and Parks and Recreation, told Entertainment Weekly in 2018.

"My mum is so empathetic towards my dad, but it also was incredibly raw for her to go through what she went through and admit that the relationship didn't work out."

Following Lipton's death in 2019 from cancer at age 72, Jones expressed his sorrow.

Rashida Jones and Quincy Jones attend Common's 5th Annual Toast to the Arts at Ysabel on February 22, 2019 in West Hollywood, California.

"There is absolutely no combination of words that can express the sadness I feel after losing my beloved Peggy Lipton.. My wife of 14 years," he wrote.

"We shared many, many beautiful memories, and most importantly, we share two incredible daughters… Pie (Kidada) and Doonkie (Rashida).

"Regardless of the paths that our lives took us on, I can say with the utmost certainty, that love is eternal."

In a 2001 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jones admitted his relationships with women were often affected by feelings of "motherlessness".

"No doubt. I wasn't aware of it, but whenever a woman would come too close, I would cut her off. Part of that was vindictive—but that was totally subconscious," he said.

When Jones was growing up, his mother, Sara Frances, suffered a mental breakdown and was taken away to an institution.

Jones' father, Quincy Delight Jones Sr, remarried a woman named Elvera.

"And after coming out of Elvera's house, I wasn't sure I could make a relationship work. I had a lot of fear. I was 19 when I married Jeri, and I didn't know what I was doing," Jones told Winfrey.

Last year, Jones, who had an estimated net worth of US$500 million, shared more insight into the connection he has with his loved ones.

"If you know anything about me, then you already know my family is IT for me, so these pics will forever hold a special place in my heart," he wrote.

In the hours following Jones' death on November 3, it was his family who shared a touching tribute to him.

"Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the statement said.

"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," the statement continued.

"Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones' heart will beat for eternity."

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