Guide Note

Quincy Jones is an American music and film composer who has earned 27 Grammy Awards and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations.¹ Jones has also been nominated for seven Academy Awards.²

Fast Facts

1. Full name: Quincy Delight Jones, Jr.
2. Born: March 14, 1933
3. Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
4. Earned a scholarship to Berklee College of Music
5. Played trumpet in the Dizzy Gillespie band
6. Won 27 Grammy Awards
7. Worked with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra
8. Produced Jackson's Thriller album
9. 1985: Co-produced The Color Purple
10. Wrote: Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones

• 1933: Born in Chicago, Illinois
• 1945: Starts playing the trumpet
• 1950: Attends the Berklee School of Music
• 1957: Works under the tutelage of Nadia Boulanger, a French composer
• 1963: Wins first Grammy for arranging Count Basie's "I Can't Stop Loving You"
• 1974: Suffers a brain aneurysm
• 1982: Produces Michael Jackson's Thriller
• 1994: Establishes Qwest Broadcasting
• 1999: Sells Qwest for a reported $270 million