Quincy Jones was honored with a heartfelt musical tribute at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday night.
Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, co-stars in Jones’ 1985 film The Color Purple, led the tribute to the legendary music producer, who passed away at age 91 in November 2024. The celebration continued with a performance by Queen Latifah, who energized the audience with Ease on Down the Road from The Wiz.
Ahead of the ceremony, executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor described the tribute as a “beautiful moment that we hope will uplift the room, celebrating the spirit of Quincy and all of his greatness.”
Throughout his career, Jones received seven Oscar nominations, including three for The Color Purple—Best Original Score, Best Original Song for Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister), and Best Picture. In 1995, he was recognized with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 67th Academy Awards, presented by Winfrey. Accepting the honor, he reflected, “It’s nice to feel important. I think maybe it’s a bit more important to be nice, though.”
Jones was posthumously awarded an honorary Oscar at the 2024 Governors Awards, just two weeks after his passing. His children accepted the award on his behalf, with his daughter, Rashida Jones, taking the stage.
“He has so many friends in this room—probably in every room, if I’m being honest,” she said before reading a speech her father had intended to deliver. Shifting to her own words, she added, “His music has literally defined an entire century, spanning jazz, disco, film, pop, R&B, and hip-hop. But the real thread in all of it is love. That was his gift to us.”
Over his seven-decade career, Jones earned numerous accolades, including 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.
Jones first gained recognition in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before transitioning into pop music production. In the early 1960s, he produced hit records for Lesley Gore, including It’s My Party, and worked as an arranger and conductor for collaborations between Frank Sinatra and jazz icon Count Basie.
He went on to produce three of Michael Jackson’s most iconic albums—Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, solidifying his influence on modern pop music. In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity anthem We Are the World, which brought together some of the biggest names in music to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.
