Quincy Jones, music legend who collaborated with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson.

Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary music catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song.

For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who didn't own at least one record with his name on it or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn't have some connection to him.

Jone's kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for "Roots" and "In the Heat of the Night," organized President Bill Clinton's first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of "We Are the World," the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote "We Are the World" and was among its featured singers, would call Jones "the master orchestrator."

Jone's work with Michael Jackson

In a career that began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 RPM, the top honors he received are likely the ones for his productions with Jackson: "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones' versatility and imagination helped set off Jackson's explosive talent as he transformed from child star to the "King of Pop." On such classic tracks as "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For "Thriller," some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing "Beat It" and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track. See full story...