For other people named after this person, see Quincy Delight Jones.
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) also known as
Q, is an
American music impresario,
conductor,
record producer,
musical arranger,
film composer and
trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79
Grammy Award nominations,
[Fortune test drives a Mercedes Maybach with Quincy Jones - February 5, 2007] 27 Grammys,
including a
Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is best known as the producer of the album
Thriller, by
pop icon Michael Jackson, which has sold 104 million copies worldwide,
[Jacko's Back! | MTV UK] and as the producer and conductor of the charity song “
We Are the World”. He is also well known for his popular
1962 song "
Soul Bossa Nova", which originated on the
Big Band Bossa Nova album.
In 1968, Jones and his songwriting partner
Bob Russell became the first
African-Americans to be nominated for an
Academy Award in the "Best Original Song" category. That same year, he became the first African-American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for "Best Original Score" for his work on the music of the
1967 film In Cold Blood. In 1971 Jones would receive the honor of becoming the first African American to be named musical director/conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. Jones was also the first (and so far, the only) African-American to be nominated as a producer in the category of Best Picture (in 1986, for
The Color Purple). He was also the first African-American to win the Academy's
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1995. He is tied with sound designer
Willie D. Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African-American, each of them having seven nominations. At the 2008 BET Awards Quincy Jones was presented with the Humanitarian Award, this award was presented to him for all the work and service he has given to the world throughout his life.
