An American American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, and arranger, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. is excellently known as Quincy Jones. He is famous for being the first African-American, along with Bob Russell, who got nominated for an "Academy Award for Best Original Song", for their song titled "The Eyes of Love. He is also best known for producing multiple albums by the great Michael Jackson, including 1982's "Thriller" and 1987's "Bad". He came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores.
Quincy is a film and television producer too as he produced his own sketch comedy show, FOX's "MADtv", which ran from 1995 to 2009. His debut as a film producer, 1985's "The Color Purple" received 11 Oscar nominations that year, including one for Jones' score. He was promoted as vice-president of Mercury, becoming the first African American to hold the position in 1961. As well, he has also published his autobiography "Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones" in 2001. Additionally, he is the founder of the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, a nonprofit organization that built more than 100 homes in South Africa and which aims to connect youths with technology, education, culture, and music. Jones was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame as a "foundational inductee" in 2021.
Source: @nytimes
Early Life
Quincy Jones took birth on 14th March 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, the U.S. under the star sign of Pisces. His parents gave him birth with the real name of Quincy Delight Jones Jr. He grabs American nationality and belongs to African-American ethnic background as he is of distant English, Scottish, and Welsh roots. Quincy is a believer in astrology. His race is white and his present age is 88 which he recently celebrated in the March of 2021.
Jones is the son of mother, Sarah Frances, a bank officer and apartment complex manager, and father, Quincy Delight Jones, a semi-professional baseball player and carpenter from Kentucky. He has a younger brother named Lloyd W Jones who was an engineer for the Seattle television station KOMO-TV until his death in 1998. His father divorced his mother and married Elvera Jones, who already had three children of her own named Waymond, Theresa, and Katherine.
Regarding Quincy's academic qualification, he started studying at Garfield High School, Seattle, in 1943 where he learned how to play the trumpet and discovered arranging. In 1951, he passed out from the Seattle University, where he studied alongside Clint Eastwood. Later, he went on to study music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston but dropped out so that he could perform with the bandleader Lionel Hampton. However, he left his studies after receiving an offer to tour as a trumpeter, arranger, and pianist with bandleader Lionel Hampton and embarked on his professional career.
Career
- Quincy Jones signed a contract with ABC-Paramount and began his recording career as the leader of his band whereas he composed music for "The Pawnbroker" (1964) which was the first of his nearly 40 major motion picture scores.
- He produced all four million-selling singles for Lesley Gore during the early and mid-sixties, including "It's My Party" (UK No. 8; US No. 1), its sequel "Judy's Turn to Cry" (US No. 5), "She's a Fool" (also a US No. 5) in 1963, and "You Don't Own Me" (US No. 2 for four weeks in 1964).
- Later, he founded Qwest Productions, for which he arranged and produced successful albums by Frank Sinatra and others in 1975.
- He appeared in "Keep on Keepin' On", a documentary about his friend, jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player Clark Terry in February 2014.
- "The New York Times Magazine" listed Quincy among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire on 25th June 2019.
- He guest-starred on a music video by Travis Scott and Young Thug for the song "Out West" on 20th March 2020.
- Additionally, Jones' social activism began in the 1960s with his support of Martin Luther King Jr as he is one of the founders of the Institute for Black American Music (IBAM).
- He is also one of the founders of the Black Arts Festival in his hometown of Chicago.
- Jones became an honorary member of the board of directors of the Jazz Foundation of America in 2001.
Personal Life
Quincy Jones is a married guy as he has been married three times and has seven children with five different women. He was married to Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966, and they had a daughter named Jolie. He had a brief affair with Carol Reynolds, and they had a daughter named Rachel. Quincy was later married to Swedish actress Ulla Andersson from 1967 to 1974, and they had a daughter named Martina and a son named Quincy, who also became a music producer. The day after his divorce from Andersson, Quincy married American actress Peggy Lipton with whom he had two daughters, Kidada (who was born before they were married) and Rashida, both of whom became actors. Jones and Lipton divorced in 1989. He later dated and lived with German actress Nastassja Kinski from 1991 to 1995, and they had a daughter named Kenya, who became a fashion model. Furthermore, his sexual orientation is straight.
Source: @lipstickalley
Net Worth
Quincy Jones's net worth is around $500 million as of 2021 whereas he has also a fine amount of salary which is also around $385,000 per year. He has done endorsement work for several brands such as "AKG". His major source of income is from his record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer career.
Film Scores and Soundtracks
- 1965 - "The Pawnbroker"
- 1966 - "Walk", "Don't Run"
- 1967 - "The Deadly Affair", "In the Heat of the Night"
- 1968 - "A Dandy in Aspic", "The Split"
- 1969 - "Mackenna's Gold", "Cactus Flower"
- 1970 - "Last of the Mobile Hot Shots", "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!"
- 1971 - "Brother John", "Honky"
- 1972 - "Sanford and Son Theme", "The Getaway"
- 1977 - "Roots"
- 1978 - "The Wiz"
- 1985 - "The Color Purple"
Filmography
- 1999 - "Fantasia 2000"
- 2002 - "Austin Powers in Goldmember"
- 2017 - "Sandy Wexler"
- 2018 - "Quincy"
Albums
- 1955 - "Jazz Abroad"
- 1956 - "This Is How I Feel About Jazz"
- 1957 - "Go West, Man!"
- 1958 - "Quincy's Home Again"
- 1959 - "The Birth of a Band!"
- 1960 - "I Dig Dancers"
- 1961 - "Around the World"
- 1962 - "Big Band Bossa Nova"
- 1963 - "Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits"
- 1964 - "Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini"
- 1965 - "Quincy Plays for Pussycats"
- 1969 - "Walking in Space"
- 1970 - "Gula Matari"
- 1971 - "Smackwater Jack"
- 1973 - "You've Got It Bad Girl"
- 1974 - "Body Heat"
- 1975 - "Mellow Madness"
- 1976 - "I Heard That!!"
- 1982 - "The Best"
- 1989 - "Back on the Block"
- 1995 - "Q's Jook Joint"
- 2000 - "Basie and Beyond"
- 2001 - "Q - The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones"
- 2004 - "The Original Jam Sessions 1969"
- 2010 - "Q Soul Bossa Nostra"
Source: @royalalberthall
Awards and Achievements
- Emmy Awards for his work in "Roots"
- Grammy Awards for his work in "I Can't Stop Loving You", Quincy
- Special Grammy Awards for MusiCares Person of the Year
- Special Academy Awards
- Tony Awards for his work in "The Color Purple"
