(CelebrityAccess) — Grammy Award-winning audio engineer and producer Bruce Swedien, who worked with artists such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and Sir Paul McCartney, has died. He was 86.
His passing was announced by his daughter Roberta Swedien via social media: “My dad, Bruce Swedien, passed away peacefully last night, November 16th. He was 86. A legend in the music industry for over 65 years and 5-time Grammy winner, he was known for his work with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and many more. He had a long life full of love, great music, big boats and a beautiful marriage. We will celebrate that life. He was loved by everyone.”
Born in Minneapolis, Swedien found his first work in the industry at Schmitt Music Company in Minneapolis before he launched his own recording studio which he sold in 1957.
Swedien next landed at RCA Victor and later Universal Recordings where he worked with jazz great such as Count Basie, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Quincy Jones, and Herbie Hancock, among numerous others.
In the 1980s, he began working with Quincy Jones and recorded and mixed several of Michael Jackson’s albums, including the seminal “Thriller” in 1982, as well as “Bad,” “Off the Wall,” and “Dangerous.” His work with Jackson earned Swedien Grammys for Bad, Thriller and Dangerous.
He was also recognized with Grammys for the jazz supergroup album “Back On The Block” in 1990 and Quincy Jones’ Q’s Jook Joint in 1996.
In 2001, he was presented with an honorary doctorate from the Luleå University of Technology and was presented with the was presented the Pensado Giant Award in 2015.
