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Quincy Jones

Composer

Quincy Jones

Born March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, USADied November 3, 202447 films

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.

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Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing Lesley Gore's major pop hits of the early 1960s (including "It's My Party") and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between the jazz artists Frank Sinatra and Count Basie in the same time period. In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film Banning. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film In Cold Blood, making him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. Jones produced three of popstar Michael Jackson's most successful albums: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity song "We Are the World", which raised funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia.

In 1971, Jones became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1995, he was the first African American to receive the academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each. In 2013, Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as the winner, alongside Lou Adler, of the Ahmet Ertegun Award. He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time.

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The best way into Quincy Jones's work
The Color Purple posterFirst watchThe Color Purple19857.7An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

47 films
  1. 2024LolaOriginal Music Composer
  2. 2023The Color PurpleSongs
  3. 2021Cooking On HotMusic
  4. 2016National Museum of African American History and Culture Grand Opening CeremonyMusic Producer
  5. 2005Get Rich or Die Tryin'Original Music Composer
  6. 2003The Making of 'The Color Purple'Music
  7. 1985The Color PurpleOriginal Music Composer
  8. 1978The WizMusic Arranger
  9. 1972The GetawayOriginal Music Composer
  10. 1972The New CenturionsMusic
  11. 1972Dig: A Journey Into EarthMusic
  12. 1972The Hot RockOriginal Music Composer
  13. 1972Killer by NightMusic
  14. 1971$Original Music Composer
  15. 1971HonkyOriginal Music Composer
  16. 1971EggsOriginal Music Composer
  17. 1971Brother JohnOriginal Music Composer
  18. 1971The Anderson TapesOriginal Music Composer
  19. 1970They Call Me Mister Tibbs!Original Music Composer
  20. 1970The Out-of-TownersOriginal Music Composer
  21. 1970Last of the Mobile Hot ShotsOriginal Music Composer
  22. 1969Cactus FlowerOriginal Music Composer
  23. 1969John and MaryOriginal Music Composer
  24. 1969Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceOriginal Music Composer
  25. 1969The Lost ManOriginal Music Composer
  26. 1969The Italian JobOriginal Music Composer
  27. 1969Mackenna's GoldOriginal Music Composer
  28. 1969Of Men and DemonsOriginal Music Composer
  29. 1968The SplitOriginal Music Composer
  30. 1968Split Second to an EpitaphOriginal Music Composer
  31. 1968The Hell with HeroesOriginal Music Composer
  32. 1968For Love of IvyOriginal Music Composer
  33. 1968JigsawMusic
  34. 1968The Counterfeit KillerMusic
  35. 1968A Dandy in AspicOriginal Music Composer
  36. 1967In Cold BloodOriginal Music Composer
  37. 1967BanningOriginal Music Composer
  38. 1967In the Heat of the NightOriginal Music Composer
  39. 1967IronsideOriginal Music Composer
  40. 1967Enter LaughingOriginal Music Composer
  41. 1967The Deadly AffairOriginal Music Composer
  42. 1967The Pickle BrothersMusic
  43. 1966Walk Don't RunOriginal Music Composer
  44. 1965The Slender ThreadOriginal Music Composer
  45. 1965MirageOriginal Music Composer
  46. 1965The PawnbrokerOriginal Music Composer
  47. 1961The Boy in the TreeOriginal Music Composer