Quincy Jones: 10 Artistic Accomplishments to Know

Quincy Jones, an indisputable music legend of the highest order, is dead.

The 91-year-old icon’s passing was announced in a family statement on Monday, followed immediately and deservedly by a collective celebration of his endless series of artistic feats. Remarkably, these accomplishments, which put Jones in decidedly rare company as a true multi-hyphenate, date back roughly 70 years. To borrow from Will Smith’s tribute, Jones was roundly considered “the true definition” of multiple key roles in the artistic process.

Below, we take a look back at some of Jones’ most inspiring highs as an artist, including everything from his work with the late Michael Jackson to his numerous accolades. To be clear, this is far—very far, in fact—from an exhaustive list of Jones’ successes (which also includes becoming the first Black VP at a major label and the first Black composer to score for a major U.S. TV series). The man was truly peerless, and the world is worse off without his presence.

He made classics with Sinatra

Jones is credited as an arranger and conductor on the 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing, which saw Sinatra being accompanied by Count Basie and his band. Two years later, Jones took on the same role for Sinatra’s Basie-accompanied live album Sinatra at the Sands. Nearly two decades would pass before Sinatra and Jones would work together again on the singer’s final solo album, 1984’s L.A. Is My Lady.

He made hits with Ray Charles

The Great Ray Charles, The Genius of Ray Charles, Genius + Soul = Jazz, A Message From the People—all key entries in Ray’s discography, all featuring writing and arrangements by Jones. Charles, in fact, is considered a key figure in Jones’ rise, as Jones himself has explained in interviews.

He produced Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”

Gore’s debut studio album I’ll Cry If I Want to, produced by Jones, featured a little song by the name of “It’s My Party.” The track, which can still be readily heard in a variety of renditions to this day, proved to be a Hot 100 hit upon Mercury’s release of the single in April 1963.

He scored In the Heat of the Night and other films

Jones’ move into becoming a master of the film-scoring format was preceded by his multi-year stint as VP at Mercury. In a 2019 Instagram update, he looked back on this time in his life as particularly important.

“People thought I’d absolutely lost my mind for leaving my job, but I did it because I believed in the potential of my future,” Jones said of his move to Cali.

“Soul Bossa Nova,” meanwhile, is a key part of the Austin Powers film series. Jones himself also appeared in the franchise.

He co-founded VIBE magazine

Jones co-founded VIBE in 1993, with the publication still existing in digital form more than three decades later.

He worked with Michael Jackson on a trilogy of megaclassics

The careers of Jones and the King of Pop are deeply intertwined from a music history perspective, as their collaborative strengths were on full, inarguable display across three classic albums: Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad.

He was pivotal in the success of Fresh Prince

Those who know the Fresh Prince history will note that the show would not have achieved the heights it unquestionably did without Jones and his vision. In addition to contributing his usual musical prowess, he is also a producer on the series. Star Will Smith put it best, as excerpted above.

“Quincy Jones is the true definition of a Mentor, a Father and a Friend,” the actor wrote on Instagram. “He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”

He was nominated for multiple Oscars and won 28 Grammys

In 1994, Jones was honored with the Academy’s Jean Hershel Humanitarian Award. He also received Oscar nominations for his work on In Cold Blood, Banning, For Love of Ivy, The Wiz, and The Color Purple. As for Grammys, Jones earned 28 wins, most recently in connection with a sample on Harry Styles’ Harry’s House album.

He was generous enough to dip into his trove of celeb stories

A decidedly headlineable candor was prevalent in Jones’ interviews, including in a widely aggregated Vulture piece from 2018. In it, Jones said the late Marlon Brando would “fuck anything,” ranging from “a mailbox” to the also-late Richard Pryor.

“He did not give a fuck!” Jones told David Marchese at the time, transitioning with a timely “You like Brazilian music?”

He conducted the quintessential charity single “We Are the World”

“We Are the World,” written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, is no doubt considered the road map for star-stacked charity efforts. The song, released in 1985, counts Jones as a producer and conductor. Last year, its creation was detailed in the Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop.