Oprah Winfrey has paid a heartfelt tribute to the legendary music producer Quincy Jones. She expressed her gratitude for Jones’s profound impact on her life, sharing how he mentored her, guided her career, and became a cherished friend.
Quincy Jones, the incredibly skilled music legend whose extensive legacy encompassed producing Michael Jackson’s legendary “Thriller” album, passed away at 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, reports that he passed away on Sunday evening at his residence in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, with his family by his side.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. “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.”
Jones earned almost 30 Grammys throughout his career, received several Oscar nominations for his contributions to film music, and was honored with a National Medal of Arts. He is survived by seven children.
Tributes quickly began pouring in from celebrities and prominent figures who worked with Jones or were simply inspired by his music.
In a heartfelt post on social media, Oprah Winfrey expressed her deep sorrow while mourning the loss of Quincy Jones, whom she “loved unconditionally.”
The famed journalist posted a nostalgic picture of the two of them strolling outdoors with their arms wrapped around each other, pointing out that it was Jones who “found” her for her defining part in the 1985 film The Color Purple. “Meeting him changed my life for the better forever,” Oprah wrote.
“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone whose heart was so filled with love,” she continued. “He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.”
President Joe Biden also honored Jones, describing him as a “musical genius who changed the essence of America – one beat, one rhythm, and one rhyme at a time… Quincy Jones established Black culture as an integral part of American culture.”
Playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris praised Jones’s “limitless” impact on American culture by stating: “What was beyond his reach? Quincy Jones, who came into the world at a time when the possibilities for a black boy’s dreams were tremendously restricted, showed us that no limits truly exist.”
Whoopi Goldberg, who also appeared in The Colour Purple, shared on an Instagram story, “I feel fortunate to have had him in my life for so many years. My heart aches for his friends and his extended family, who cherished and admired him. My sympathies.”
Quincy Jones was a co-producer for Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film version of the Alice Walker novel, and the producer and director collaborated once more on the 2023 remake.
