Quincy Jones Biography
Music mogul Quincy Jones was born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. on March 14, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. Q, as he's sometimes referred to, loved music from a young age, and began playing the trumpet in grade school. In 1951, eighteen-year-old Jones received a scholarship to study at Boston music college, Schillinger House, but instead opted to tour with jazz bandleader Lionel Hampton.
Soon after hooking up with Hampton, Jones moved to New York City, and began arranging compositions on a freelance basis for such artists as Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, and Ray Charles. In 1956, Jones was once again a touring trumpeter, and this time, also a musical director for the Dizzy Gillespie Band. After touring with the band to the Middle East and South America, Jones returned to the United States, where he landed a contract with ABC Paramount Records and led his own band.
In his mid-twenties, Jones moved to Paris, France, where he studied music composition and theory and also became music director for Mercury Records’ French distributor. A new job as musical director of the company's New York division soon followed, and by 1964, Jones had become the first African American vice president of Mercury Records. However, Jones eventually resigned from the position to compose scores for films such as 1985's The Color Purple, starring Oprah Winfrey.
While doing the score for the 1978 Motown version of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, Jones met a nineteen-year-old Michael Jackson, who was cast as the Scarecrow. Jackson began swapping ideas with Jones for his debut solo record, which Jones agreed to produce. Off The Wall ended up selling an unprecedented 20 million copies, but it was their next collaboration, Thriller, which went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time, and proved that the duo had the magic touch. Jones’s last production with Jackson was his third solo album, Bad, which sold 30 million copies.
In 1996, Jones and David Salzman teamed up to produce Bill Clinton's inauguration concert, An American Reunion. Saltzman and Jones then decided to form their own multi-media company, Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment (QDE), which produces film, television, and print magazines such as Vibe and Spin. Jones has also produced Will Smith’s 90s sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
As one of the best collaborators in the music industry, Jones is known for his ability to mobilize huge star power for various charitable endeavors. Some examples include the all-star famine relief anthem, "We Are the World" with Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, and many others in 1985; and one decade later, "We Are the Future," featuring Carlos Santana, Alicia Keys, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Evander Hollyfield, and Chris Tucker. "We Are the Future" raised funds for the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, which has built over 100 homes in South Africa. Jones also supports the NAACP, GLAAD, Peace Games, and AmFAR.
Jones is father to seven children: Jolie Jones Levine and Rachel Jones with first wife, Jeri Caldwell; Kidada Jones and Rashida Jones with Peggy Lipton; Martina Jones and Quincy Jones III with Ulla Andersson; and Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones with Nastassja Kinski.
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