Whatever the multi-talented Quincy Jones tackled — be it jazz, pop, or film scores — became hits. He won 28 Grammys during his career and was nominated a whopping 80 times. He was the music genius behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the charity single "We Are the World," and the cult series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In a career spanning 70 years, he shaped the music business, producing albums for Ray Charles, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer and Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Aznavour and U2 — just to name a few music greats.

He was the first African American to be made vice-president of a major record label, and besides musical greats, he's rubbed shoulders with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II.

The music legend has now died at the age of 91 on Sunday night at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the 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."

Despite all his success, Quincy Jones' formative years were anything but promising. His is the typical American Dream story: a boy of humble means making it to the pinnacle of the music industry by dint of sheer hard work.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933. Reeling from the economic depression, the US economy was in the doldrums. And Mafia gangster boss Al Capone held sway over the........

© Deutsche Welle