BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY The Jones Girls
| The Jones Girls | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul music, Philadelphia soul |
| Labels | GM Philadelphia International RCA ARP |
| Members | Brenda Jones Shirley Jones Valorie Jones (deceased) |
The Jones Girls was a 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.
History
The group 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 and on Tower of Power's lowly rated 1979 album Back on the Streets.
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 and written by Dexter Wansel), 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 (1986). "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]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record Label | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] | US R&B [3] | |||||||||||||
| 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 a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
- The Best of the Jones Girls (2000, The Right Stuff)
- Keeping up with the Joneses: The Early Years (2000, Sequel UK)
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] | US R&B [3] | US Dan [3] | US A/C [3] | |||||||||||
| 1970 | "My Own Special Way" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1972 | "Come Back" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Your Love Controls Me" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1973 | "Taster of the Honey (Not the Keeper of the Bee)" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1974 | "If You Don't Love Me No More" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Will You Be There" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1975 | "I Turn to You" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Hey Lucinda" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1979 | "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" | 38 | 5 | 12 | — | |||||||||
| "We're a Melody" | — | 78 | — | 50 | ||||||||||
| 1980 | "I'm at Your Mercy" | — | 77 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Dance Turned into a Romance" | — | 22 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "I Just Love the Man" | — | 9 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1981 | "Back in the Day" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "(I Found) That Man of Mine" | — | 20 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1982 | "Nights Over Egypt" | — | 23 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Get as Much Love as You Can" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1983 | "On Target" | — | 43 | — | — | |||||||||
| "2 Win U Back" | — | 47 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1984 | "Better Things to Do" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1992 | "Sweet Ecstasy" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "You Threw Our Love Away" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.                                                                                                                                      | ||||||||||||||
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