After an impressive career that spanned decades, music legend Quincy Jones has died.
Known for his work as a record producer, composer, arranger, songwriter and jazz musician, Jones worked with a plethora of iconic artists, ranging from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra.
While no cause of death was shared when Jones’ death was announced, the musician was public with numerous health struggles he faced, from diabetes that left him in a coma to multiple brain aneurysms. Here’s what Jones has shared about his health over the years.
Quincy Jones dies at age 91
Jones died on Sunday, Nov. 3 at age 91 at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, surrounded by family, according to a statement from his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” Jones’ 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.”
The Jones family did not share a cause of death.
Quincy Jones almost died of brain aneurysms
Jones experienced two back-to-back brain aneurysms in 1974 when he was 41 years old.
Per the Mayo Clinic, a brain aneurysm is a “bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain.” Brain aneurysms can be fatal if they rupture or leak.
In 2018, Jones took to Facebook to share details about the health scare, saying it felt like “a shotgun was fired inside of my head.”
“While operating for 7.5 hours, my doctors discovered a second aneurysm that was ready to blow, so they had to schedule a second operation. During this time, it didn’t look too promising, so my friends planned a memorial service for me at The Shrine in LA, & I basically attended my own funeral,” he wrote.
Following the surgeries, doctors gave Jones a one in 100 chance of survival and told him he could never play his trumpet again because the force of blowing into the instrument could risk dislodging metal implants in his brain to prevent future aneurysms.
“If I sat around feeling sorry for myself, I would’ve never gone on to do ‘Thriller’, ‘We are the World’, ‘The Color Purple’, or anything else that happened post ‘74,” he wrote.
While talking about his brain aneurysms with GQ, Jones said it was hard to stay away from his love of the trumpet. While on tour in Japan following his surgeries, the musician did play the instrument and felt a pain in his head. He soon learned that the clip on the blood vessel in his brain had come loose.
“I couldn’t get away with it, man,” he told GQ, adding that he stayed away from the trumpet after that.
During an old interview shown in his 2018 Netflix documentary, “Quincy,” Jones reflected on his renewed view of the fragility of life after his aneurysms.
“It’s nature’s way of getting your attention to make you live your life, you know, really live it,” he said.
In a voiceover, the musician said, “You realize the true essence of time, and you tell your friends you love them now — not tomorrow or next week — and let them feel your love.”
Jones detailed the recovery process in an old interview that was featured in the documentary, saying he had to undergo therapy to be able to write again and experienced “dropouts in memory.”
Quincy Jones had diabetes and went into a diabetic coma
In 2015, Jones went into a diabetic coma, which the Mayo Clinic defines as a “life-threatening disorder that causes unconsciousness.” It’s usually caused by dangerously high or low blood sugar.
Jones, who had Type 2 diabetes, reflected on the health scare in a Facebook post in 2019.
“By the grace of God I made it through, but not without having to make some MAJOR adjustments. Having come up with the likes of Ray Charles & Frank Sinatra, I had enough alcohol to last multiple lifetimes, & the doctors told me I had to call it quits!! After substituting drinking with eating sugar free popsicles, I lost 50 pounds, & started feeling 37 again,” he wrote.
His Netflix documentary shows Jones speaking with doctors after he came out of his diabetic coma. The doctors explained that he had trouble breathing, a high temperature and extremely high sugar levels when he was admitted to the hospital. They also told the star he was drinking too much alcohol.
After four days in a diabetic coma, Jones began the recovery process. Speaking with his daughter two months later, Jones called the experience a “wake-up call” and said the support of his family helped him get his “s— together quick.”
“After the operation and being in the hospital and everything, my mind went to another place, honey. And you reflect on things you haven’t even thought about before,” he said.
He quit drinking alcohol
As part of his recovery process following his diabetic coma, Jones decided to get his drinking under control for the sake of his health.
“I’m not going out, not yet. When I go out, I’ll be ready,” he said in the Netflix documentary, adding that vodka had always been one of his go-to drinks.
In a 2018 interview with GQ, Jones said he stopped drinking entirely in 2016 because of his diabetes.
“It’s the best thing I ever did. My mind’s so clear now, you know. And the curiosity’s at an all-time high,” he told the magazine.
Jones added that he wished he had stopped drinking sooner.
“I came up with Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, man. I didn’t have a chance. Seven double Jack Daniels an hour. Get out of here. Ray Charles, Frank — those guys could party,” he said.
He was hospitalized with a blood clot
When he was 82 years old, Jones was hospitalized with a blood clot after he started experiencing heart pains and shortness of breath.
At a subsequent doctor’s appointment, which was featured in his Netflix documentary, Jones was told he had a “close call” and avoided “sudden death.”
When Jones said he had a few trips planned in the coming weeks, the doctor warned him that he had to be careful about traveling in his current state.
“I want to start exercising too,” Jones said.
The doctor said he thought there was a 90% chance Jones would leave the hospital in a wheelchair.
“No way. I’m a responder and a survivor,” Jones told his doctor.
