Music industry legend Quincy Jones died of pancreatic cancer, per his death certificate obtained by TMZ, Rolling Stone reports.
Quincy Jones passed away at age 91 earlier this month. His family shared the sad news in a statement:
Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. 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.
No cause of death was revealed at the time of his passing. It’s unknown if people around him knew Jones had cancer; no other contributing factors were listed on the death certificate.
Rolling Stone notes that there was a private funeral ceremony for Jones a week after his passing. The only attendees were his children, brother, sisters, and other immediate family members.
The family said they were “enormously grateful for the outpouring of condolences and tributes from his friends and fans from around the world” and revealed that a more public “memorial celebration of Mr. Jones’ life will be announced at a later date.”
Quincy Jones was best known for producing the world’s highest-selling album, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, one of the world’s most enduring jazz tunes, Soul Bossa Nova, and helming the production company behind The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. He had an extraordinary, long career in the entertainment business.
In 2013, Quincy Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after becoming the third most Grammy-nominated artist in history.
Jones was married three times and fathered seven children. His legacy as a pioneering individual who was one of the key songwriters and producers for some of the most iconic artists and records of all time led to breaking the glass ceiling for black artists.