Jill Jones

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For the Australian poet, see Jill Jones (poet).
Jill Jones
Birth name Jill Marie Jones
Born 196?, Ohio, U.S.
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre(s) R&B, soul
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Guitar, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards
Years active 1980-present
Label(s) Paisley Park, Dav, Flying
Associated acts Teena Marie, Prince, Apollonia 6
Website www.jilljones.net

Jill Marie Jones (born 196?) is an American singer and songwriter, who was a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. She released her debut album, Jill Jones, in 1987.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Jones was born in a small town in Ohio. Her mother, a fashion model, is of African American heritage, and her father, a jazz drummer, is Italian.[1] Jones was raised mostly by her grandparents, until relocating to Los Angeles when her mother remarried.[1] She began a singing career at age fifteen as a backup vocalist for Teena Marie, whom her mother managed. She met Prince in 1980 at age 18, when Teena Marie was the opening act during his Dirty Mind tour.[1] Prince loved her voice, encouraged her to sing, and stayed in touch with Jones.[2] She became a backup vocalist for Prince when he invited her to the Sunset Sound recording studios in 1982, to sing backing vocals for several tracks on the album 1999.[2] She was credited under just her initials J.J. She also was featured in music videos for the songs the "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", as well as in the unreleased video for "Automatic", and then joined the tour for 1999 to sing backing vocals with the Prince side-project, Vanity 6.[2] After the tour, she moved to Minneapolis and had a bit part as a waitress in the film Purple Rain (1984).[2] She had a more-than-cameo appearance in the sequel Graffiti Bridge (1990), where she takes off an undergarment to end a conflicting scene with Prince.

Her debut album was the self-titled Jill Jones (1987), released on Prince's Paisley Park Records. Prince was credited as a co-writer with Jones, but wrote all of the songs himself.[2] Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics, but was not a commercial success. As of 2007, the album has been out of print for many years.

Several demos were recorded for a second album on Paisley Park, and a video was filmed for the track "Boom Boom", but an album never surfaced. In 1993, she released the dance single "Bald" on Flying Records. With the help of former Paisley Park photographer and close friend David Honl, Jones finally released a second album entitled Two in 2001, with instrumentalist Chris Bruce. Though Prince aided in the production of her first album, there was no input from Prince on the second one, which was more pop-rock orientated.

Jones also did backing vocals for Apollonia 6 and recorded the Prince-written single "G-Spot". She also sang lead vocals on Japanese artist Ryuichi Sakamoto's single "You Do Me" from his 1990 album Beauty, and contributed a version of Blondie's "Call Me" to a Giorgio Moroder tribute album. In addition, Jones wrote and co-produced the song "The Great Pretender" for Lisa Lisa. She was also lead vocalist for the band Baby Mother, who recorded an album in 1995 for London Records, which remains unreleased. In 1996, she toured performing co-lead vocals as part of Chic with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards before his death, and can be heard on the 1999 Chic release "Live At The Budokan".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • "Mia Bocca" b/w "77 Bleeker St." (1987), Paisley Park
  • "G-Spot" b/w "Baby Cries (Ay Yah)" (1987), Paisley Park
  • "For Love" (1987), Paisley Park
  • "Bald" (1993), Flying Records
  • "Station" (2001), Dav

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Nilsen, Per (2003). Dance Music Sex Romance: Prince: The First Decade. SAF Publishing, p. 315 ISBN 0946719640
  2. ^ a b c d e Nilsen, Per (1999). Uptown Magazine.

[edit] External links

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