He was also the maestro behind 1985’s ensemble extraordinaire “We Are the World,” which would become the best-selling single of the year and raised money for famine relief in Africa. During his career, he also helped compose some of the most famous songs in film and television history; the theme songs The fresh prince of Bel-Air And Sanford and son along with the Oscar-nominated score until 1985 The color purple they all had Jones’ magic touch. Under his company Quincy Jones Entertainment, he also helped create a formative hip-hop magazine Mood together with Qwest Broadcasting.

“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producer’s fault’; so if it goes well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones told the Library of Congress in 2016. ‘The numbers don’t just appear all at once. The producer must have the skills, experience and ability to see the vision through to completion.”

Jones was married three times; to Jeri Caldwell (1957-1966), Ulla Anderson (1967-1974) and Peggy Lipton (1974-1990), and later from 1991-1995 he was in a relationship with Nastassja Kinski. He is survived by his seven children; daughters Rashida Jones, Jolie Jones Levine, Rachel Jones, Martina Jones, Kidada Jones and Kenya Kinski-Jones, his son Quincy Jones III, along with his brother Richard Jones and sisters Theresa Frank and Margie Jay.