Quincy Jones - Walk On The Wide Side (1990)

The multiple Grammy, Tony and Primetime Emmy award-winning American composer and producer died at the age of ninety-one on the night of November 3rd in Los Angeles, surrounded by his loved ones. Quincy Jones was one of the most defining figures of 20th century pop culture.

"While this is an incredible loss for our family, we also celebrate his great life and know that there will never be another," the family said in a statement.

Quincy Jones was born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago. He became interested in music at a young age, when he heard his neighbor playing the piano through the wall at home. He learned to play the piano at the age of seven, and started playing the trumpet at the age of ten. After his parents divorced, he moved with his father to Washington state, where he began playing drums and learned to play several wind instruments.

At the age of fourteen, he already performed in clubs, for example with Ray Charles, who was barely older than him, and in 1948 he was already on the same stage with Billie Holiday.
In the fifties, he toured Europe, South America, and the Middle East, and after returning to the United States, he got a job at Mercury Records, where he became a producer and concert organizer for Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr., among others.

During this period, he also turned his attention to films, such works as The Italian Job, The Runaway or Hot Night are attached to his name. During his career, he was nominated for an Oscar seven times, but he never managed to win the golden statue.

Quincy Jones was behind the recording works of many of the most important entertainers of the 20th century, among others he worked with stars such as Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, and last but not least with Michael Jackson, with whom he achieved his greatest success, as Thriller became the best-selling album of all time became an album.

He also played an important role in the We Are The World project, whose participants took action against the famine in Ethiopia.

Quincy Jones is the world's third most nominated music actor for the Grammy Award, during his career he was a candidate for the prestigious award a total of eighty times, of which he won twenty-eight. Only Jay-Z and Beyoncé are ahead of him on the list with 88 nominations.