Gloria Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gloria Jones
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Jones in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gloria Richetta Jones |
| Also known as | LaVerne Ware |
| Born | October 19, 1945 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1960–present |
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Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. She first became famous in the United Kingdom, where people called her "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the popular song "Tainted Love" in 1965. Gloria has worked in many music styles. She was a songwriter and recording artist for Motown Records. She also sang backup vocals and performed in musicals like Hair. In the 1970s, she played keyboards and sang for Marc Bolan's glam rock band T. Rex. Gloria and Marc Bolan were a couple and had a son together.
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Early Life and Music Start
Gloria Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. When she was seven, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. That is where she began singing. At 14, while still in school, Gloria found her first bit of fame. She formed a successful gospel group called the COGIC Singers with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston. They recorded an album called It's a Blessing. Gloria stayed with the group for about four years. However, she soon became interested in the pop music scene in Los Angeles.
In 1964, when Gloria was in her late teens, songwriter Ed Cobb discovered her. She signed with Cobb's company, Greengrass Productions. There, she recorded her first hit song, "Heartbeat Pts 1 & 2". Ed Cobb wrote and produced this song.
Gloria toured the United States, performing on many TV shows. "Heartbeat" became a popular rhythm and blues song. Later, other artists like Dusty Springfield and Spencer Davis recorded it.
Gloria also recorded other songs for Uptown Records. This company was part of Capitol/EMI. One of these songs was "Tainted Love", also written by Cobb. People in Northern England loved Gloria's music so much that they called her "The Queen of Northern Soul".
In 1966, Gloria released an album for Uptown called Come Go with Me. She also studied piano and earned an advanced degree in classical music, focusing on the works of Bach.
Working with Motown
In 1968, Gloria joined the cast of Catch My Soul. This was a rock and soul version of the play Othello. Other performers included Jerry Lee Lewis and Dr. John. Later that year, she performed in a play called Revolution. In the winter, she joined the Los Angeles cast of the musical Hair.
During this time, she met Pam Sawyer. Pam asked Gloria to write songs for Motown Records. Gloria and Pam were part of the second group of writers at Motown. Still, they wrote songs for famous artists. These included Gladys Knight & the Pips, Commodores, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5.
Gloria also sang for Motown. Because of company rules, she sometimes used a different name for her songwriting. She used the name LaVerne Ware for some of her songs.
Some songs Gloria worked on include The Supremes' "Have I Lost You" (as a writer). She also wrote "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" for Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross. She wrote and produced "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere" for Junior Walker. And she wrote "Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)" for the Four Tops. In 1970, she sang backup on Ry Cooder's first album.
The most famous song Gloria wrote was "If I Were Your Woman" for Gladys Knight and the Pips. This song was nominated for a Grammy in 1971. Gloria left Motown at the end of 1973. This was after her album Share My Love was released.
After Motown and T. Rex
Gloria first met Marc Bolan from the band T. Rex in 1969. They met while she was performing in Hair in Los Angeles. They met again in London while Gloria was touring Europe. In 1972, she was asked to sing backup vocals for T. Rex in San Francisco.
Soon after joining T. Rex, Gloria and Marc Bolan became a couple. They had a son named Rolan Bolan, born on September 26, 1975. Gloria sang backup vocals and played clavinet with T. Rex from 1973 to 1977. Her version of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a bonus track on T. Rex's album Bolan's Zip Gun. In 1976, Gloria released her own album called Vixen. Marc Bolan wrote several songs for this album and also produced it.
In 1977, Gloria worked with the group Gonzalez. She produced some of their songs. She also wrote the disco hit, "Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" for the group. She toured the UK with Gonzalez, first with Bob Marley and then with Osibisa.
Car Accident and Life After
On September 16, 1977, Gloria was driving a car with Marc Bolan as a passenger. The car hit a tree near Barnes Common in London. Marc Bolan died in the accident. Gloria was seriously injured. She broke her jaw and was taken to the hospital. After she recovered, she learned that many of their belongings had been taken from their home.
After losing her possessions, Gloria moved back to Los Angeles with her son, Rolan. They stayed with Gloria's family.
In 1978, she released the album Windstorm. She dedicated this album to Marc Bolan's memory. The back cover says, "Special dedication in memory of my son's father, Marc Bolan, whom we miss very much." Her song "Bring on the Love" was a hit on the American R&B music chart.
Gloria continued to work in the music industry for several years. In 1981, she released an album called Reunited, produced by Ed Cobb. She also worked again with Billy Preston and the COGIC Singers for a reunion album in 1984. Since then, she has worked as a music supervisor for movies.
On her 1982 album Reunited, she was again called "Northern Queen of Soul".
In 2010, Gloria and her son Rolan started the Marc Bolan School of Music & Film. This school is in Makeni, Sierra Leone.
Albums
Solo 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
Film Appearances
- 2012 – Jobriath A.D. (Herself)
- 2013 – 20 Feet from Stardom (Herself)
See also
In Spanish: Gloria Jones para niños
- List of disco artists (F-K)
