Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones grew up in Seattle where he began making music playing trumpet and singing in a gospel choir at the age 12. His first band was formed with his friend, Ray Charles, who was two years older, when both were in their teens. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore in the early 1960s (including “It’s My Party”) and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between Frank Sinatra and the jazz artist Count Basie. He worked with jazz giants (Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington), rappers (Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J), crooners (Tony Bennett), pop singers (Lesley Gore) and rhythm and blues stars (Chaka Khan, rapper and singer Queen Latifah) Jones’s social activism began in the 1960s with his support of Martin Luther King Jr. Jones was one of the founders of the Institute for Black American Music (IBAM), whose events aimed to raise funds for the creation of a national library of African-American art and music. Jones holds the record for the most Grammy Award nominations at 80, of which he won 28. Jones was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government, in 2010 by President Obama. Quincy Jones was the greatest producer of all time. A musician, composer, and activist who created soundtracks to our lives.