Quincy Jones made a heartwarming final public declaration before his death at 91 on Sunday, November 3.
The legendary music producer marked his daughter Martina Jones’ 58th birthday on Friday, November 1, with a sweet message via Instagram.
“Happy Birthday to my Tina Beena @martinafotos1!! . So proud to be yo papa! Big hug, I love you eternally ,” Jones captioned a photo of him and Martina just two days before he died surrounded by his loved ones in Los Angeles.
Jones died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, his publicist Arnold Robinson said, per multiple outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press.
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“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. 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,” Jones’ family said in a statement.
Jones shared Martina and son Quincy III, 55, with his second wife, actress Ulla Andersson. He also shared a daughter, Jolie, 71, with his first wife Jeri Caldwell, daughter Rachel, 61, with ex-girlfriend Carol Reynolds, daughters Kidada, 50, and actress Rashida, 48, with third wife Peggy Lipton, and daughter Kenya, 31, with ex-girlfriend Nastassja Kinski.
Back in March, Martina shared her own sweet birthday post via Instagram to mark her dad’s 91st birthday.
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“Awwww this beautiful human being turns 91 today or maybe as he said we can flip it to 19 … basically age is nothing but a number right?” Martina wrote alongside a selfie of her and Jones. “Happy Birthday as I’m humbled to be able to call you ‘D’ Saying the words ‘I love you’ don’t seem to be enough as you fill my heart with such joy that I can’t explain it … my world is a better place with you in it. Thank you for being you … Love always your ‘Lovebug, Ladybird and Kittycat’ aka Bina.”
Jones was best known for his work with the likes of Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin. Among his career highlights was producing Jackson’s Thriller — the best-selling album in history.
“Musically, we knew we had ‘it’ with Thriller. To this day I can hear artists trying to replicate its sonic power,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in June 2016. “It’s no accident that more than three decades later no matter where I go in the world, in every club, like clockwork at the witching hour you hear ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Beat It,’ ‘Wanna Be Starting Something,’ and ‘Thriller.’ In every language on the planet, from prison yards in Thailand to Thrilltheworld.com, Thriller is still giving people ‘goosebumps.’ It’s pretty astounding and very satisfying as an artist.”