Gloria Jones

Gloria Jones
Background information
Born	October 19, 1945 (1945-10-19) (age 64) Cincinnati, Ohio
Genres	Gospel, Northern soul, R&B
Instruments	Piano, vocals, clavinet
Labels	Uptown, Minit, Motown, EMI
Associated acts	Marc Bolan, T.Rex

Gloria Richetta Jones (October 19, 1945, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer and songwriter. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell.

Biography

Early life and career

The album cover of Come Go With Me

Jones was born in Cincinnati, and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of 7, where she first started singing. Jones' first taste of fame came at the age of 14, when, while still at school, she formed with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston the successful gospel group the Cogic Singers, with whom she recorded the album It's A Blessing. Although she remained with the group for some four years, she soon found herself drawn into the Los Angeles pop scene.

In 1964, Jones, in her late teens, was discovered by the songwriter Ed Cobb. Signing with Cobb's Greengrass Productions, she recorded her first hit record, "Heartbeat Pts 1 & 2," which Cobb wrote and produced. She toured the United States, performing on several American television programs, footage of which still exists. One performance occurred at a Rock and Soul show in Disneyland in the summer of 1965. "Heartbeat" became a rhythm and blues tune which was recorded later by Dusty Springfield, Spencer Davis and many other artists.

The album cover of Share My Love

By then, Jones had recorded other songs for Uptown Records, a subsidiary of Capitol/EMI. Included among these was another Cobb written song, "Tainted Love". Marc Almond of the duo, Soft Cell, whose cover version of "Tainted Love" reached #1 worldwide, originally heard the song in a nightclub in Northern England. So strong was Gloria's following there that she was proclaimed the "Northern Queen of Soul."^[1] Jones also recorded an album for the Uptown label entitled Come Go With Me which was released in 1966.

Jones studied piano, and acquired an advanced classical degree primarily in the works of Bach.^[1] In 1968, she joined the cast of Catch My Soul, a rock and soul version of the play, Othello, which included cast members Jerry Lee Lewis, The Blossoms, and Dr. John. During the summer of 1968, she performed in a play called Revolution, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. That winter, she joined the Los Angeles cast of Hair, the musical. Eventually, she was to meet Pam Sawyer, who asked her to write for Motown Records. Jones and Sawyer were amongst the second string of writers at Motown, but still wrote for such artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, Commodores, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. As Jones was also initially a singer for the label, protocol demanded a pseudonym, so for some of her earlier co-writes she used the name LaVerne Ware.

Songs that Gloria worked on during this period include The Supremes' "Have I Lost You" (writer), Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross' "My Mistake" (writer), Junior Walker's "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (writer/producer) and the Four Top's "Just Seven Numbers" (writer). The most remembered song that Jones penned was Gladys Knight and the Pips' "If I Were Your Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy in 1971. However, Jones left Motown at the end of 1973, subsequent to the release of her album Share My Love.

After Motown

The album cover of Vixen

Jones first met Marc Bolan of T. Rex in 1969 while performing in Hair (Los Angeles cast). While touring in Europe, Bolan and Jones met for the second time at the Speakeasy in London. In 1972, she was recommended by Warner Brothers Bob Regere to sing backing vocals behind T. Rex at the Winterland in San Francisco.

Soon after joining T. Rex, Jones and Bolan became romantically involved. Together, they had a son, Rolan Bolan. She sang backing vocals and played clavinet with T. Rex from 1973 to 1977. Jones released an album in 1976, called Vixen, featuring several songs written by Bolan, and he also was the producer.

In 1977, Jones worked with the group Gonzales, producing several of their singles, and also penning the disco hit, "Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" for the group. She toured the UK with Gonzales, first on the Bob Marley tour, and then with Osibisa.

She was the driver of the car, an Austin Mini, that crashed and killed Bolan on 16 September 1977. Jones nearly died in the accident, and was in the hospital for several days afterwards. She did not learn of Bolan's death until the day of his funeral. When she was well enough to leave the hospital, she soon found that Bolan's fans had looted what was left of her and Marc's possessions, and since she and Marc were not legally married, she was not entitled to any inheritance, except for £10,000 which Marc left her in his will, drafted in 1973.

After Bolan

The album cover of Windstorm

The album cover of Reunited

Having lost her possessions, Jones and her son moved back to Los Angeles where they stayed with Jones' family.

In 1978, she released the album Windstorm, which was a dedication to the memory of Bolan. On the back cover, it is written "Special Dedication in memory of my son's father, Marc Bolan, whom we miss very much." Her single "Bring On The Love" was a success on the American R&B chart.

Jones stayed in the music industry for several years after, releasing an album produced by Ed Cobb, titled Reunited in 1981. She also collaborated again with Billy Preston and other Cogic Singers for a 1984 reunion album The Cogic's. She has since worked as a musical supervisor for films and is presently living in Sierra Leone, where she is building The Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film.

She now resides in New Salem, PA with her new husband, Chris Mitchell.

Discography

Solo Studio Albums

• 1966 - Come Go With Me
• 1973 - Share My Love
• 1976 - Vixen (Not released in the US)
• 1978 - Windstorm
• 1982 - Reunited
• 1996 - Vixen / Windstorm (CD release)
• 2009 - Share My Love (CD release)

With T. Rex

• 1974 - Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow
• 1974 - Light of Love
• 1975 - Bolan's Zip Gun
• 1976 - Futuristic Dragon
• 1977 - Dandy in the Underworld

With The COGIC'S

• 1966 - It's A Blessing
• 1984 - The COGIC'S

US Solo Singles

• 1965 - "Tainted Love" / "My Bad Boy's Coming Home" Champion 14003
• 1965 - "Heartbeat (Part 1)" / Heartbeat (Part 2)" Uptown 712
• 1966 - "Finders Keepers" / "Run One Flight Of Stairs" Uptown 724
• 1966 - "Come Go With Me" / "How Do You Tell An Angel" Uptown 732
• 1968 - "I Know" / "What About You" Minit 32046
• 1969 - "Look What You Started" / "When He Touches Me" Minit 32051
• 1973 - "Why Can't You be Mine" / "Baby Don't Cha Know (I'm Bleeding For You)Motown 1256
• 1978 - "Bring On The Love" (Single Version) / "Cry Baby" Capitol 4563
• 1978 - "Bring On The Love" (Album Version) / "Bring On The Love" Capitol 12" 4563
• 1978 - "Woman Is a Woman" / "Blue Light Microphone" Capitol 4662
• 1979 - "When I Was a Little Girl" / "When I Was a Little Girl"(Inst)Capitol 4762
• 1982 - "My Bad Boy's Coming Home" / "We Gotta All Get Together" Avi 187
• 1982 - "My Bad Boy's Coming Home" /Tainted Love Avi 338

UK Solo Singles (selected)

• 1973 - "Tin Can People" / "So Tired"
• 1975 - "I Ain't Going Nowhere" / "Simplicity Blues"
• 1976 - "Get It On (Part 1)" / "Get It On (Part 2)"
• 1976 - "Tainted Love" (New Version) / "Go Now" (Album Version) (12" - MAXI)
• 1977 - "To Know You Is To Love You" / "City Port" (with Marc Bolan)
• 1977 - "Go Now" (Single Version) / "Drive Me Crazy (Disco Lady)"
• 1977 - "Bring On The Love" (Single Version) / "Cry Baby"
• 1977 - "Bring On The Love" (Album Version) / "Bring On The Love" (Instrumental)
• 1978 - "When I Was a Little Girl" /"When I Was a Little Girl" (Instrumental)
• 1978 - "Windstorm" / "Blue Light Microphone"
• 1979 - "Listen To Me" / "Father I'm Coming Home" (From the v/a Double Album Alpha Omega)

Backing Vocal Work

• 1968 With Neil Young on Neil Young
• 1969 With The Brothers And Sisters Of Los Angeles on Dylan's Gospel
  • Gloria sings lead on "I Shall Be Released", "Chimes Of Freedom", and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
• 1970 With Ry Cooder on Ry Cooder
• 1971 With Jesse Davis on Jesse Davis
• 1971 With Ry Cooder on Into The Purple Valley
• 1971 With REO Speedwagon on REO Speedwagon
• 1972 With Buffie Sainte-Marie on Moon Shot
• 1972 With Elvin Bishop on Rock My Soul
• 1973 With Judee Sill on Heart Food
• 1973 With Little Feat on Dixie Chicken
• 1974 With The Commodores on Machine Gun
• 1975 With Michael Masser on The Original Soundtrack Of Mahogany
• 1975 With Harry Nilsson on Duit on Mon Dei
• 1978 With Steve Harley on Hobo with a Grin
• 1979 With Billy Preston on Late at Night and A Whole New Thing

Songwriting / Production

See also

• List of disco artists

References

• Davis, Sharon (1988). Motown - The History. Guinness Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-85112-894-7. 

External links

• Gloria Jones at MySpace
• Canal Gloria Jones official channel at YouTube
• The Girl Groups Fan Club - Gloria Jones Photo Gallery
• Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film