Remembering Quincy Jones and his towering legacy in the music industry

Transcript

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Geoffrey Bennett: A giant in the Music and entertainment industry has died.

Quincy Jones was revered as a record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger and performer throughout his seven decades in the business. Through his vast range of projects, from the producer of the bestselling album of all time to composer of some of the most recognized Music in film, he racked up 80 Grammy nominations and 28 Grammy Awards.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown has this for remembrance, part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Jeffrey Brown: From Michael Jackson’s biggest hits to some of Frank Sinatra’s most classic arrangements, few loomed larger in American popular culture or had more success than Quincy Jones.

Quincy Jones, Record Producer: Love, laugh, live and give, that’s what it’s all about.

Jeffrey Brown: Born on Chicago’s South Side in 1933, Jones began his life in Music as a jazz trumpeter. He became fast friends with Ray Charles when both were in still in their teens.

He soon began composing and arranging, including 1962’s classic “Soul Bossa Nova” and Lesley Gore’s hit “It’s My Party,” which arrived a year later. Across a career that spanned more than 70 years, he worked with seemingly everyone, including jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, and rappers such as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

His most impactful moment, a three-album run with Michael Jackson that included the bestselling record of all time, 1982’s “Thriller,” along with “Off the Wall” and “Bad.”

Quincy Jones: Anyone who says they have figured out how to make records that sell more than 50 million records is lying and smoking Kool-Aid.

(Laughter)

Quincy Jones: Doesn’t work like that. You just find a group of songs that touch you and give you goose bumps. And that’s why I go by my goose bumps. I don’t need survey groups or anything like that, and let the rest take care of itself.

Jeffrey Brown: In 2010, Jones was awarded the National Medal of Arts by former President Obama.

MAN: For his extraordinary contributions to American Music as a Musician, composer, and arranger.

Jeffrey Brown: And he is one of just 27 members of the rarefied EGOT club, winner of an Emmy, Grammy, an honorary Oscar and Tony. The Oscar came in 1995.

Quincy Jones: I did not engineer this journey. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I could even see this far.

Jeffrey Brown: He composed dozens of memorable soundtracks for film and television, including “The Color Purple,” a film he also produced, another prominent role he played in popular culture.

In 1985, in a role only someone of his stature could have filled, he organized the recording of the smash-hit single “We Are the World,” a session that featured Music’s biggest stars and would become one of the bestselling songs ever.

Jones had seven children and married three times. One of his daughters, the actress Rashida Jones, directed a 2018 documentary on his extraordinary life.

Quincy Jones: I have a feeling that God will prevail and the light will prevail. You have to think like that, because we have come a long way. Got a long way to go.

Jeffrey Brown: In a statement, his family said he died peacefully Sunday evening surrounded by loved ones. Quincy Jones was 91.

For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown.