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Quincy Jones, pop mastermind and 'Thriller' producer, dies At 91
In the 1960s, Jones became a decorated film composer — he collected three of his seven career Academy Award nominations in 1968 and '69 — as well as a high-profile music-industry executive, arranger and producer. On albums like The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones and Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits, he was the headliner, but he also worked behind the scenes, producing (among many others) a string of bestselling hits for Lesley Gore. In the '70s, Jones remained in the spotlight as a performer and executive, expanding his reach with high-profile projects such as the soundtrack to The Wiz. But the 1980s found his name attached to a remarkable string of successes, from "We Are the World" and Thriller to his first foray into film production: 1985's The Color Purple, which made movie stars of Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. Jones' star-packed Back on the Block, released in 1989, won the Grammy for album of the year in 1991.
Quincy Jones, whose decorated music career ran from the early 1950s through the best-known works of Michael Jackson and beyond, died Sunday. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his publicist in a statement to NPR that did not mention the cause of death. The statement said that Jones died peacefully at his home in Bel Air, California, surrounded by his family. In the 1980s, Jones helped oversee some of music's biggest and most widely loved moments: He produced or co-produced three of Michael Jackson's best-selling albums, including 1982's record-setting Thriller, and was heavily involved in crafting USA for Africa's 1985 charity single "We Are the World." But his career extended for decades in each direction. Jones long held the record for most Grammy nominations with 80, before Jay-Z and Beyoncé surpassed the total earlier this decade, and his 28 wins rank him third behind Beyoncé (32) and conductor Georg Solti (31).