Quincy Jones — who became so popular in the music industry that his nickname was simply “Q” — has died. He was 91 years old. A rep for Jones named Arnold Robinson confirmed that the late record producer died in his Bel Air, California, home on Sunday, November 3. A cause of death was not provided.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” Jones’ family said in a statement obtained by Variety. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him. He is truly one of a kind, and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Just one day prior, Jones posted a birthday tribute to Instagram for his daughter Martina, whom he called “Tina” in his caption.
“Happy Birthday to my Tina Beena @martinafotos1!!” Jones wrote alongside a photo of him and his daughter smiling for the camera. “So proud to be yo papa! Big hug, I love you eternally.”
In addition to Martina, Jones was a dad to Jolie, Rachel, Quincy III, Kidada, Rashida and Kenya. Jones shared Jolie with his first wife, Jeri Caldwell, Rachel with Carol Reynolds, Martina and Quincy III with second wife Ulla Andersson, Kidada and Rashida with third wife Peggy Lipton and Kenya with Nastassja Kinski.
Jones got his start in the music business as a jazz artist. Eventually, he made his way into the pop scene and earned 28 Grammy Awards over the course of his 70-year career.
To most music fans, Jones is famous for his collaborations with Michael Jackson on hit albums such as Off the Wall and Thriller, which he opened up about in a 2022 Instagram post to honor the song’s 40th anniversary.
“The fact that we are about to hit 40 years of ‘Thriller’ & every Halloween y’awl are still doing this dance/singing this song brings more joy to my soul than U could ever imagine [sic],” he captioned the post at the time. “Seeing little kids do this dance in schools, all the way up to seeing the elderly gettin’ down (as much as they can! :0) in their senior homes…it carries such an indescribable feeling.”