Grace Jones (born May 19, 1948)[1] is a Jamaican-American singer,
model, and actress.
Grace Jones was born in Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie
and Robert W. Jones, who was a politician and Apostolic
clergyman.
Her parents took Grace and her brother Chris to
relocate to Syracuse, New York in 1965. Before becoming a
successful model in New York City and Paris, Jones studied
theater at Onondaga Community College.
Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977,
which resulted in a string of dance-club hits and a large
gay following. The three disco albums she recorded—Portfolio
(1977), Fame (1978), and Muse (1979)—generated considerable
success in that market. These albums consisted of pop melodies
set to a disco beat, such as "All on a Summer's Night",
"On Your Knees" and "Do or Die," and standards such as "What
I Did for Love" from musical A Chorus Line, Jacques
Prévert's "Autumn Leaves", "Send in the Clowns" from Stephen
Sondheim's A Little Night Music and Edith Piaf's signature
tune "La vie en rose".
During this period, she also became a muse to Andy Warhol,
who photographed her extensively.[5][6] Jones also accompanied
him to New York City nightclub Studio 54 on many occasions.
The colorful artwork and design for Jones' three first albums
and accompanying single releases were created by another of
Warhol's longtime collaborators, Richard Bernstein, arguably
best known for his many cover illustrations for Interview
Magazine in the 70s and early 80s.
Toward the end of the 1970s, Jones adapted the emerging New
Wave music to create a different style for herself. Still
with Island, and now working with producers Chris Blackwell,
Alex Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars, she released
the acclaimed albums Warm Leatherette (1980) and Nightclubbing
(1981). These included re-imaginings of songs by Sting
("Demolition Man"), Iggy Pop and David Bowie ("Nightclubbing"),
Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"),
The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"),
Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain", The Normal
("Warm Leatherette"), Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That
Face Before (Libertango)"), and Tom Petty ("Breakdown").
Both albums however also included a few tracks co-written by
Jones herself, such as "A Rolling Stone", "Feel Up" and,
most notably, the post-disco dance track "Pull Up to the
Bumper" which peaked in the Top 20 of the US Hot 100,
spent seven weeks at #2 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club
Play chart, and became a Top 5 single on the US R&B chart
when released as a single in the fall of 1981.[8] In the UK,
Nightclubbing claimed the number one slot on music magazine New
Musical Express' Album of the Year listing.
Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic
visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist
Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she had a son. Jones adopted
new look, with square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes.
The cover photographs of Nightclubbing and, subsequently,
Slave to the Rhythm (1985) exemplified this new identity.
To this day, Jones is known for her unique look at least as
much as she is for her music. Her collaboration with Blackwell,
Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars continued with the dub
reggae–influenced album Living My Life, which featured
the self-penned "My Jamaican Guy", sung in patois.
rihanna gathered inspiration from grace jones for
her hit single 'rude boy'
GRACE JONES doing her thing couple years ago
RIHANNA RECENTLY
even lady gaga gathers inspiration from the greatests
The grace jones influence is all over rihanna's
rude boy video pics you dont need any glasses to spot it.
kanye west amber rose gathers inspiration from grace jones
[code][quote]
Grace Jones's striking appearance, height (5'10˝" or 1.79 m),
and manner influenced the cross-dressing movement of the
1980s, such as Annie Lennox. She would also exemplify
the "Flat Top" hairstyle in many of her concerts in the 1970s,
which would become popular among black men in the 1980s. Her
first album cover to feature this hairstyle was 1980's
Warm Leatherette.
Jones maintained both recording and acting careers, although
her acting often overshadowed her musical output; except
in Europe where her profile as a recording artist was much
higher. Her strong visual presence was an advantage for her
music videos and concert tours. In her concert performances,
she adopted various personas and wore outlandish costumes,
particularly during her years with Goude. One such performance
was at the Paradise Garage in 1985, for which she collaborated
with visual artist Keith Haring for her costume. Haring painted
her body in tribal patterns and fitted her with wire armor.
model, and actress.
Grace Jones was born in Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie
and Robert W. Jones, who was a politician and Apostolic
clergyman.
Her parents took Grace and her brother Chris to
relocate to Syracuse, New York in 1965. Before becoming a
successful model in New York City and Paris, Jones studied
theater at Onondaga Community College.
Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977,
which resulted in a string of dance-club hits and a large
gay following. The three disco albums she recorded—Portfolio
(1977), Fame (1978), and Muse (1979)—generated considerable
success in that market. These albums consisted of pop melodies
set to a disco beat, such as "All on a Summer's Night",
"On Your Knees" and "Do or Die," and standards such as "What
I Did for Love" from musical A Chorus Line, Jacques
Prévert's "Autumn Leaves", "Send in the Clowns" from Stephen
Sondheim's A Little Night Music and Edith Piaf's signature
tune "La vie en rose".
During this period, she also became a muse to Andy Warhol,
who photographed her extensively.[5][6] Jones also accompanied
him to New York City nightclub Studio 54 on many occasions.
The colorful artwork and design for Jones' three first albums
and accompanying single releases were created by another of
Warhol's longtime collaborators, Richard Bernstein, arguably
best known for his many cover illustrations for Interview
Magazine in the 70s and early 80s.
Toward the end of the 1970s, Jones adapted the emerging New
Wave music to create a different style for herself. Still
with Island, and now working with producers Chris Blackwell,
Alex Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars, she released
the acclaimed albums Warm Leatherette (1980) and Nightclubbing
(1981). These included re-imaginings of songs by Sting
("Demolition Man"), Iggy Pop and David Bowie ("Nightclubbing"),
Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"),
The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"),
Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain", The Normal
("Warm Leatherette"), Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That
Face Before (Libertango)"), and Tom Petty ("Breakdown").
Both albums however also included a few tracks co-written by
Jones herself, such as "A Rolling Stone", "Feel Up" and,
most notably, the post-disco dance track "Pull Up to the
Bumper" which peaked in the Top 20 of the US Hot 100,
spent seven weeks at #2 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club
Play chart, and became a Top 5 single on the US R&B chart
when released as a single in the fall of 1981.[8] In the UK,
Nightclubbing claimed the number one slot on music magazine New
Musical Express' Album of the Year listing.
Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic
visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist
Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she had a son. Jones adopted
new look, with square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes.
The cover photographs of Nightclubbing and, subsequently,
Slave to the Rhythm (1985) exemplified this new identity.
To this day, Jones is known for her unique look at least as
much as she is for her music. Her collaboration with Blackwell,
Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars continued with the dub
reggae–influenced album Living My Life, which featured
the self-penned "My Jamaican Guy", sung in patois.
rihanna gathered inspiration from grace jones for
her hit single 'rude boy'
GRACE JONES doing her thing couple years ago
RIHANNA RECENTLY
even lady gaga gathers inspiration from the greatests
The grace jones influence is all over rihanna's
rude boy video pics you dont need any glasses to spot it.
kanye west amber rose gathers inspiration from grace jones
[code][quote]
Grace Jones's striking appearance, height (5'10˝" or 1.79 m),
and manner influenced the cross-dressing movement of the
1980s, such as Annie Lennox. She would also exemplify
the "Flat Top" hairstyle in many of her concerts in the 1970s,
which would become popular among black men in the 1980s. Her
first album cover to feature this hairstyle was 1980's
Warm Leatherette.
Jones maintained both recording and acting careers, although
her acting often overshadowed her musical output; except
in Europe where her profile as a recording artist was much
higher. Her strong visual presence was an advantage for her
music videos and concert tours. In her concert performances,
she adopted various personas and wore outlandish costumes,
particularly during her years with Goude. One such performance
was at the Paradise Garage in 1985, for which she collaborated
with visual artist Keith Haring for her costume. Haring painted
her body in tribal patterns and fitted her with wire armor.
Last edited by Admin on 14th August 2011, 10:07 pm; edited 4 times in total
