Quincy Jones

Personal context

Summary

Quincy Jones was a composer, producer, arranger, and music executive whose work ranged from jazz and pop to film and television scores, including Roots and In the Heat of the Night. His career repeatedly brought together musical styles and artists from different backgrounds. After Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 funeral, Jones became involved in civil rights work: he was a founding member of Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH and served on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s board for more than three decades. He also spoke publicly about racism and inequality and supported humanitarian causes, including famine relief through We Are the World.