Five things you might not know about Quincy Jones

Tributes have poured in for legendary musician and producer Quincy Jones, who has died at the age of 91.

“Arguably the most versatile pop cultural figure of the 20th century”, said The Guardian, Jones produced Michael Jackson’s seminal “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” albums as well as music for Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer, among others.

Over a career that spanned more than 75 years, he won 28 Grammy awards and was named as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine, but his cultural imprint extended far beyond music.

Here are five facts you may not know about the legendary musician:

He narrowly escaped the Manson Family murders

Jones narrowly avoided being killed by Charles Manson’s cult in 1969, having planned to attend a dinner party at Sharon Tate’s house on the night of the murders only to forget at the last minute. “It’s just unbelievable, man,” Jones told GQ in 2018 of his near-miss. “Life is a trip.”

Even more remarkably, he had almost bought the house on Cielo Drive where the “most infamous murder scene of the decade” happened, said The New Zealand Herald. In the end the owner was only willing to rent it out, eventually leasing it to Tate and her husband Roman Polanski.

“Fly Me to the Moon” played on the Moon

Jones first worked with Frank Sinatra in 1958 when he was hired to conduct the legendary singer’s band by none other than Grace Kelly, actress turned princess of Monaco. Jones and Sinatra would collaborate on and off for the next three decades and it was his arrangement of “Fly Me to the Moon” – which he changed from a waltz to a swing rhythm – that was chosen by Buzz Aldrin to play during the first moon landing.

He told The New York Times in 1990 that he “freaked” when he first heard about it, although there has been ongoing debate about whether Aldrin’s story is actually true.

He helped introduce the world to Oprah

Jones began working on films in the 1960s, eventually producing over 50 during his lifetime, including “In the Heat of the Night” and “The Color Purple”, the latter of which introduced the public to two “then unknown” performers: Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, said the BBC.

In 1990 he formed the film and TV company Quincy Jones Entertainment, which went on to produce “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, launching Will Smith’s acting career.

He had 19 mobile phones

It is perhaps a sign of how influential he was that his security guard carried 19 mobile phones for him, Sky News reported.

He voiced strong views about some of the people he worked with over the years – he called Elvis a racist and said The Beatles were “the worst musicians in the world” yet “celebrities wanted him to have their number”, said the broadcaster. “His musical approval mattered.”

He shared a birthday with Michael Caine

Among the tributes to Jones was one from actor Michael Caine, who was born on the same day: 14 March 1933. “My celestial twin Quincy was a titan in the musical world,” Caine wrote. “He was a wonderful and unique human being” and I was “lucky to have known him”.

The two men shared more than just a birthday. Jones scored “The Italian Job”, one of the films which established Caine as an international movie star.