Some of the biggest names in popular culture and politics, from Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, have remembered Quincy Jones in a succession of personal tributes.
In a lengthy appreciation in Rolling Stone, Wonder said the musician and producer, who died on Sunday at the age of 91, “should be remembered as one of God’s greatest gifts to the world”.
Winfrey said “my life changed forever for the better” after she met him, and described him as “love lived out loud in human form”.
Sir Paul said he was “supremeley talented” and recalled how he “always had a twinkle in his eye and had a very positive, loving spirit which infected everyone who knew him”.
“His long career stretches back to the early days when he was a trumpet player, then a band leader, then a producer of many great records,” Sir Paul wrote.
“But it is as a friend I would like to remember him. We always had fun in his presence and his legend will continue through the years, but it is those private moments we were lucky enough to have with the great man that I will always remember fondly.”
Jones helped create classic recordings with musicians including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, and wrote more than 50 film and TV soundtracks.
He also produced movies including 1985’s The Color Purple, which gave Winfrey her big break.
“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone whose heart was so filled with love,” the presenter and actress said.
“He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.”
She added: “He was the Mightiest of Souls. His life enhanced mine and every life he touched. That will be his global legacy.
“Biggest, fullest, most love-filled life ever. One of One!”
