Gloria Jones

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Gloria Jones, 2014

Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945 in Cincinnati ) is an American singer and songwriter who composed for a time under the pseudonym LaVerne Ware . In 1965 she released the song Tainted Love .

Live and act

Gloria Jones, 1976

Gloria Jones in 1945 as the daughter of a clergyman of the Pentecostal movement was born in Cincinnati. She came into contact with music at an early age, learned to play the piano when she was seven and then accompanied her father's church choir when she was ten. Her brother Richard Davis Jones (1947-2001) was also a musician and record producer .

The family later moved to Los Angeles . There Jones continued her schooling. At the same time she became a member of the gospel group COGIC Singers, founded by Andraé Crouch in 1960 , which also included his sister Sandra Crouch as well as Enda Wright , Sondra Williams , Frankie Karl (later Motown songwriter) and Billy Preston on the organ. The group performed in churches in Los Angeles and released the album It's a Blessing in 1965 .

The Motown producer Hal Davis (1933-1998) heard the COGIC Singers and then introduced Jones to the songwriter Ed Cobb (1938-1999). Cobb had produced the instrumental piece Heartbeat with Billy Preston , for which he was still looking for a singer. He also recorded the song he wrote Tainted Love with Jones . Jones’s first two singles - both of which were later appreciated by the Northern Soul scene - were initially unsuccessful when they were released in 1965. It wasn't until the beginning of the 1970s that they were played frequently in the British club scene. In the following decades, Tainted Love produced numerous cover versions including the soft-cell hit of the same name published in 1981 . In 1966 Jones' first album Come Go with Me was released on the label Uptown with Heartbeat and other soul pieces.

Jones then worked as a background singer for musicians such as Phil Spector and Bob Dylan . She performed in the musical Hair in Los Angeles. After meeting Pam Sawyer , she began writing songs for Motown Records, working with The Four Tops , The Commodores , The Jackson 5, and Gladys Knight & the Pips , among others . At this point, she already had a young son. In 1973 Jones released her second solo album Share My Love on Motown. In addition to soul, there are elements of the early disco sound. The album was reissued in 2009 by Reel Music with a bonus track.

After Jones never achieved more than regional success as a singer in the United States, she went to Great Britain, where the demand was greater due to the Northern Soul movement. In 1974 she became a background singer and clavinet player in the English band T. Rex . She and band founder Marc Bolan , who lived separately from his wife, began a relationship. Their son Rolan Seymour Feld Bolan was born on September 26, 1975. Jones influenced Marc Bolan's music towards soul and dance, while Bolan supported her on her new album Vixen (1976). Both were involved as songwriters and producers.

Gloria Jones with her son Rolan in Hollywood 2014

On September 16, 1977, Jones wanted to take Marc Bolan back to his Richmond apartment after a meal in Mayfair . While driving, she lost control of her car in Barnes and crashed into a tree. Bolan died instantly while Jones broke his jaw and went into shock. After her recovery, Jones returned to the United States. She did not comply with a court summons to London for driving a car unfit to drive (wine was drunk while eating).

Jones then lived with her son in Los Angeles. Since she was not married to Bolan, she had little money available. However, the family was financially supported by Bolan's friend and Rolan's godfather, David Bowie . As a result of the accident, Jones's voice had lost its intensity and strength. In 1978 their disco album Windstorm appeared on Capital Records , from which several singles were released. The album was produced by her brother Richard Jones. In 1982 the album Reunited followed on AVI Records, which Jones had recorded in collaboration with Ed Cobb. After that, she only released compilation albums.

Jones married Chris Mitchell, who works in sales for a record company. In 1995 they went to South Africa , where they founded an HIV charity. They then moved to Sierra Leone and opened the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film in Makeni , an orphanage that uses music as a therapy tool for traumatized children. Jones no longer sings himself, but supports her son Rolan's music career. In 2013, she appeared in the 2014 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom , which documents the lives of accompanying singers.

Discography

Solo albums

  • 1966: Come Go With Me
  • 1973: Share My Love
  • 1976: Vixen
  • 1978: Windstorm
  • 1982: Reunited
  • 1996: Vixen / Windstorm
  • 2009: Share My Love

Singles (selection)

  • 1965: Tainted Love / My Bad Boy's Coming Home
  • 1965: Heartbeat
  • 1966: Finders Keepers / Run One Flight Of Stairs
  • 1966: Come Go With Me / How Do You Tell An Angel
  • 1968: I Know / What You Want (Baby I Want You)
  • 1969: Look What You Started / When He Touches Me
  • 1973: Tin Can People / So Tired (Of The Way You're Treating Our Love Baby)
  • 1973: Why Can't You be Mine / Baby Don't Cha Know (I'm Bleeding For You)
  • 1976: I Ain't Going Nowhere
  • 1976: Get It On
  • 1977: Go Now
  • 1978: Bring On The Love
  • 1978: Woman Is a Woman / Blue Light Microphone
  • 1978: When I Was a Little Girl
  • 1982: Body Heat

Compositions (selection)

Gloria Jones composed the following songs for other performers (mostly as co-songwriter with Pam Sawyer):

  • 1966: Tell Me I'll Never Be Alone by Martha & the Vandellas (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1970: If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight & the Pips (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1970: Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) by Four Tops (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1970: Your Love Was Worth Waiting For by David & Jimmy Ruffin
  • 1970: When My Love Hand Comes Down by David & Jimmy Ruffin (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1970: 2-4-6-8 by The Jackson Five
  • 1971: Let's Go back to Day One by Eddie Kendricks (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1971: Have I Lost You by The Supremes (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1971: Leaving Ya Going My Way by Wayne Newton
  • 1972: My Mistake (Was to Love You) by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye
  • 1972: If You Were My Woman by Jermaine Jackson (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1972: I Love You Yes I Do by Rahsaan Roland Kirk (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1973: Take Me Girl, I'm Ready by Jr.Walker & The All Stars (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1973: I Don't Need No Reason by Jr. Walker & The All Stars
  • 1973: Where Do You Go (Baby) by Eddie Kendricks
  • 1973: I Ain't Going Nowhere by Jr. Walker & The All Stars
  • 1973: I'm Learning to Trust My Man by Sisters Love (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1973: There's a Lesson to Be Learned by Gladys Knight & the Pips (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1974: The Assembly Line by The Commodores
  • 1974: Master of My Mind by Gladys Knight & the Pips
  • 1974: The Zoo (The Human Zoo) by The Commodores
  • 1974: I Ain't That Easy to Loose by Jr. Walker & The All Stars
  • 1975: This World Has Music by Average White Band (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1975: Let's Go Back to Day One by Michael Masser
  • 1976: If I Were Your Woman by Bonnie Bramlett
  • 1976: Tin Can People by Rare Earth
  • 1977: Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet by Gonzalez
  • 1978: I Ain't That Easy to Lose by Thelma Houston
  • 1979: You by Billy Preston
  • 1980: Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year by The Jackson Five (as LaVerne Ware)
  • 1986: Teenage Symphony by The Jackson Five
  • 2004: Prices On My Head by Young Buck
  • 2004: Last Laugh by Cypress Hill

Web links

Commons : Gloria Jones  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mark Paytress: Bolan: Rise & Fall of 20th Century Superstar. Omnibus, London 2002, ISBN 1846091470 .
  2. ^ Richard Jones discogs.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ Birgitta Joelisa Johnson: "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing": Music and Worship in African American Mega Churches of Los Angeles, California. University of California, Los Angeles, ProQuest, 2008, ISBN 9780549720140 , p. 235.
  4. ^ Lesley-Ann Jones: Ride a White Swan: The Lives and Death of Marc Bolan. Hachette UK, 2012, ISBN 1444758802 .
  5. ↑ Share My Love allmusic.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Rolan Bolan ( Memento of the original dated December 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ovguide.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ovguide.com
  7. ↑ Gloria Jones allmusic.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ 1977: T-Rex singer killed in car smash bbc.co.uk. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  9. ^ David Wigg: "David's generosity helped my mother and me survive": How Bowie saved Marc Bolans son. In: Daily Mail August 12, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  10. ^ A b James Ellis: Gloria Jones metro.co.uk, October 27, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  11. ^ Adam Sherwin: Marc Bolans legacy moves to African school for orphans. In: The Independent August 2, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Jones, Gloria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jones, Gloria Richetta (full name); Ware, LaVerne (pseudonym)
SHORT DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati , USA