The Jones Girls were an R&B trio of sisters from Detroit, Michigan. They first recorded for GM Records in 1968, then recorded for Philadelphia International Records with Gamble & Huff.
Contents |
The Jones Girls consisted of sisters Brenda, Valorie and Shirley Jones. They served as backup singers for Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Aretha Franklin, and Le Pamplemousse. They worked with Diana Ross from 1975–78 and were the backup singers on Linda Clifford's 1978 album If My Friends Could See Me Now.
Their biggest hit was "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else". The song broke the Billboard Magazine Top 40 at #38 in May 1979. The song was also a Top 5 R&B hit.
An additional hit followed in 1980, with the single "I Just Love The Man", charting at #9 in January 1981. The less successful "Nights Over Egypt" (released in 1981, charting at R&B #23 in 1982), is currently a cult classic that receives more airplay on urban radio stations than their previous bigger hits.
After the release and failure of their fourth U.S. album, On Target, lead singer Shirley Jones pursued a solo career and had a #1 R&B hit on Billboard with "Do You Get Enough Love", from her top-ten debut album Always in the Mood. "Do You Get Enough Love" was written by Bunny Sigler who also produced it with Kenny Gamble.[1] In 2007, Shirley released an album Ladies Night Out together with Jean Carn and Cherrelle, on CD and DVD.
"Who Can I Run To", from the band's self-titled 1979 debut album, was covered by Xscape in 1995. Their cover version became a number #1 R&B and #8 Pop hit. The original version was the B-side of "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else."
Valorie Jones died on December 2, 2001, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 45.[2]
| Year | Album | Chart Positions[3] | Record Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
|||||
| 1979 | The Jones Girls | 50 | 8 | Philadelphia Int'l | ||
| 1980 | At Peace with Woman | 96 | 7 | |||
| 1981 | Get as Much Love as You Can | 155 | 25 | |||
| 1983 | On Target | — | 59 | RCA | ||
| 1984 | Keep It Comin' | 201 | — | Philadelphia Int'l | ||
| 1992 | Coming Back | — | — | ARP | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Record Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
|||||
| 2000 | The Best of the Jones Girls | — | — | Capitol | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
| Year | Single | Chart Positions[4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance |
||||
| 1979 | "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" | 38 | 5 | 12 | ||
| "We're a Melody" | — | 78 | — | |||
| 1980 | "I'm at Your Mercy" | — | 77 | — | ||
| "Dance Turned into a Romance" | — | 22 | — | |||
| "I Just Love the Man" | — | 9 | — | |||
| 1981 | "(I Found) That Man of Mine" | — | 20 | — | ||
| 1982 | "Nights Over Egypt" | — | 23 | — | ||
| 1993 | "On Target" | — | 43 | — | ||
| "2 Win U Back" | — | 47 | — | |||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||||
| Preceded by "Closer Than Close" by Jean Carne |
"Do You Get Enough Love" Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single by Shirley Jones August 15 – 22, 1986 |
Succeeded by "Love Zone" by Billy Ocean |