Barbara Jones (singer)

Barbara Jones
Birth name Barbara Nation
Born c.1952
Kingston, Jamaica
Died 19 December 2014 (aged 62)
Kingston, Jamaica
Genres Reggae, gospel
Years active 1971–2014
Labels Trojan, GG's, Dynamic, VP

Barbara Nation (c.1952 – 19 December 2014), better known as Barbara Jones, was a Jamaican singer who had a UK hit single in 1981 with "Just When I Needed You Most".

Career

Born in Kingston and raised in Manchester, Jamaica, she began her career in 1971 with the single "Sad Movies".[1] She had her greatest success in January 1981 with "Just When I Needed You Most", which reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

She toured as backing singer with Jimmy Cliff in the late 1970s and early 1980s;[1] In 1991, she became a devout Christian and gave up secular music to concentrate on gospel music.[1][3]

After becoming ill in London, she was diagnosed with leukaemia in February 2014.[1] She returned to reggae with performances in Brazil with Lloyd Parks.[4] Her health deteriorated and she died in Kingston's University Hospital of the West Indies on 19 December 2014, from pneumonia contracted during chemotherapy treatments. She was 62 years old.[1][5]

Jones was once described as "the Billie Holliday of reggae music".[6]

Discography

Compilations

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Campbell, Howard (2014) "Gospel singer Barbara Jones dies at 62", Jamaica Observer, 23 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014
  2. "Barbara Jones", Official Charts Company; retrieved 24 December 2014
  3. Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013) "Barbara Jones still giving thanks", Jamaica Observer, 17 March 2013; retrieved 24 December 2014.
  4. Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2014) "Barbara Jones gets her groove back in Brazil", Jamaica Observer, 8 June 2014; retrieved 24 December 2014.
  5. "Gospel Singer Barbara Jones Is Dead", Jamaica Gleaner, 19 December 2014; retrieved 24 December 2014
  6. Hebdige, Dick (1987) Cut `n' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music, Routledge; ISBN 978-0415058759, p. 121