Grace Jones

For the English supercentenarian, see Grace Jones (supercentenarian).
Grace Jones

Jones in performance, 2011
Born Grace Jones
(1948-05-19) 19 May 1948
Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica
Other names Grace Mendoza
Alma mater Onondaga Community College
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • lyricist
  • model
  • record producer
  • actress
Years active 1973–present
Home town Syracuse, New York, US
Spouse(s)
  • Atila Altaunbay (m. 1996)
Children 1
Relatives Noel Jones (brother)
Website Facebook Grace Jones

Musical career

Genres
Instruments Vocals
Labels

Grace Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, lyricist, supermodel, record producer, and actress. She was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and raised by her grandparents. At 13 she moved with her siblings to their parents' home in Syracuse, New York. Jones started out as a model, initially in New York state, then in Paris, working for Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada, and appearing on the covers of Elle, Vogue, and Stern working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer.

In 1977 Jones secured a record deal with Island Records; she moved into dance, new wave, and reggae music, often collaborating with the Compass Point All Stars. She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with "Pull Up to the Bumper", "I've Seen That Face Before", "Private Life", "Slave to the Rhythm" and "I'm Not Perfect". Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981), and Slave to the Rhythm (1985).

She appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984 she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day. In 1986 she played a vampire in Vamp, and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl.

In 1983, Jones' One Man Show was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long-Form Music Video. For her work in Conan the Destroyer, A View to a Kill, and Vamp, she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress. In 1999, Jones ranked 82nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2008, she was honored with a Q Idol Award. Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lorde, Róisín Murphy, Brazilian Girls, Nile Rodgers, Santigold, and Basement Jaxx.

Biography and career

1948–73: Early life, and modelling career

Grace Jones was born in 1948[2] (though most sources say 1952[3][6][7][8][9]) in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie (née Williams) and Robert W. Jones, who was a local politician and Apostolic clergyman.[10][11][12][13] The couple already had two children, and would go on to have four more.[14] Robert and Marjorie moved to the East Coast of the United States,[14] where Robert worked as an agricultural labourer until a spiritual experience during a failed suicide attempt inspired him to become a Pentecostal minister.[15] While they were in the US, they left their children with Marjorie's mother and her new husband, Peart.[16] Jones knew him as "Mas P" ('Master P') and later noted that she "absolutely hated him"; as a strict disciplinarian he regularly beat the children in his care, representing what Jones described as "serious abuse".[17] She was raised into the family's Pentecostal faith,[18] having to take part in prayer meetings and Bible readings every night.[19] She initially attended the Pentecostal All Saints School,[20] before being sent to a nearby public school.[21] As a child, shy Jones had only one schoolfriend and was teased by classmates for her "skinny frame", but she excelled at sports and found solace in the nature of Jamaica.[22]

"[My childhood] was all about the Bible and beatings. We were beaten for any little act of dissent, and hit harder the worse the disobedience. It formed me as a person, my choices, men I have been attracted to... It was a profoundly disciplined, militant upbringing, and so in my own way, I am very militant and disciplined. Even if that sometimes means being militantly naughty, and disciplined in the arts of subversion. ."

— Grace Jones, 2015.[23]

Marjorie and Robert eventually brought their children – including the 13 year old Grace – to live with them in the US, where they had settled in Lyncourt, Salina, an area of the New York city of Syracuse.[24][25] It was in the city that her father had established his own ministry, the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, in 1956.[26] Jones continued her schooling and after she graduated, enrolled at Onondaga Community College majoring in Spanish.[27][28] Jones began to rebel against her parents and their religion; she began wearing makeup, drinking alcohol, and visiting gay clubs with her brother.[29] At college, she also took a theatre class, with her drama teacher convincing her to join him on a summer stock tour in Philadelphia.[30][28] Arriving in the city, she decided to stay there, immersing herself in the Counterculture of the 1960s by living in hippie communes, earning money as a go-go dancer, and using LSD and other drugs.[31] She later praised the use of LSD as "a very important part of my emotional growth... The mental exercise was good for me".[32]

She moved back to New York at 18 and signed on as a model with Wilhelmina Modelling agency. She moved to Paris in 1970.[28][33] The Parisian fashion scene was receptive to Jones' unusual, androgynous, bold, dark-skinned appearance. Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada hired her for runway modelling, and she appeared on the covers of Elle, Vogue, and Stern working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer.[34] Jones also modelled for Azzedine Alaia, and was frequently photographed promoting his line. While modelling in Paris, she shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange. Hall and Jones frequented Club Sept, one of Paris' most popular gay clubs of the 1970s and '80s, and socialised with Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld.[35] In 1973, Jones appeared on the cover of a reissue of Billy Paul's 1970 album Ebony Woman.

1974–79: Transition to music, and early releases

Jones was signed by Island Records, who put her in the studio with disco record producer, Tom Moulton. Moulton worked at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, and Portfolio, was released in 1977. The album featured three songs from Broadway musicals, "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim from A Little Night Music, "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line and "Tomorrow" from Annie. The second side of the album opens up with a seven-minute reinterpretation of Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" followed by three new recordings, two of which were co-written by Jones, "Sorry", and "That's the Trouble". The album finished with "I Need a Man", Jones' first club hit.[36] The artwork to the album was designed by Richard Bernstein, an artist for Interview.

In 1978, Jones and Moulton made Fame, an immediate follow-up to Portfolio, also recorded at Sigma Sound Studios. The album featured another reinterpretation of a French classic, "Autumn Leaves" by Jacques Prévert. The Canadian edition of the vinyl album included another French language track, "Comme un oiseau qui s'envole", which replaced "All on a Summers Night"; in most locations this song served as the B-side of the single "Do or Die".

In the North American club scene, Fame was a hit album and the "Do or Die"/"Pride"/"Fame" side reached top 10 on both the US Hot Dance Club Play and Canadian Dance/Urban charts. The album was released on compact disc in the early 1990s, but soon went out of print. In 2011, it was released and remastered by Gold Legion, a record company that specialises in reissuing classic disco albums on CD.[37]

Muse was the last of Jones' disco albums. The album features a re-recorded version "I'll Find My Way to You", which Jones released three years prior to Muse. Originally appearing in the 1976 Italian film, Colt 38 Special Squad in which Jones had a role as a club singer, Jones also recorded a song called "Again and Again" that was featured in the film. Both songs were produced by composer Stelvio Cipriani. Icelandic keyboardist Thor Baldursson who arranged most of the album and also sang duet with Jones on the track "Suffer" had previously worked in Munich, with disco stars such as Silver Convention, Boney M., Donna Summer, Amanda Lear and Giorgio Moroder. Like the last two albums, the cover art is by Richard Bernstein. Like Fame, Muse was later released by Gold Legion.[38]

1980–85: International breakthrough, Nightclubbing, and movie career

With anti-disco sentiment spreading, and with the aid of the Compass Point All Stars, Jones transitioned into new wave music with the 1980 release of Warm Leatherette. The album included covers of songs by The Normal ("Warm Leatherette"), The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"), Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ("Breakdown") and Jacques Higelin ("Pars"). Sly Dunbar revealed that the title track was also the first to be recorded with Jones.[39][40] Tom Petty wrote the lyrics to "Breakdown", and he also wrote the third verse of Jones' reinterpretation.[41] The album included one song co-written by Jones, "A Rolling Stone". Originally, "Pull Up to the Bumper" was to be included on the album, but its R&B sound did not fit with the rest of the material.[42]

The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones' covers of songs by Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain"), Bill Withers ("Use Me"), Iggy Pop/David Bowie ("Nightclubbing") and Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That Face Before"). Three songs were co-written by Jones: "Feel Up", "Art Groupie" and "Pull Up to the Bumper". Sting wrote "Demolition Man"; he later recorded it with The Police on the album Ghost in the Machine. "I've Done It Again" was written by Marianne Faithfull. The strong rhythm featured on Nightclubbing was produced by Compass Point All Stars, including Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Mikey Chung, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson and Barry Reynolds. The album entered in the Top 5 in four countries, and became Jones' highest-ranking record on the US Billboard mainstream albums and R&B charts.

Nightclubbing claimed the number 1 slot on NME's Album of the Year list.[43] Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 40 on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s.[44] Nightclubbing is now widely considered Jones' best studio album.[45] The album's cover art is a painting of Jones by Jean-Paul Goude. Jones is presented as a man wearing an Armani suit jacket, with a cigarette in her mouth and a flattop haircut. While promoting the album, Jones slapped chat-show host Russell Harty live on air after he had turned to interview other guests, making Jones feel she was being ignored.[46]

Jones performing in 2007.

Having already recorded two reggae-oriented albums under the production of Compass Point All Stars, Jones went to Nassau, Bahamas in 1982 and recorded Living My Life; the album resulted in Jones' final contribution to the Compass Point trilogy, with only one cover, Melvin Van Peebles's "The Apple Stretching". The rest were original songs; "Nipple to the Bottle" was co-written with Sly Dunbar, and, apart from "My Jamaican Guy", the other tracks were collaborations with Barry Reynolds. Despite receiving a limited single release, the title track was left off the album. Further session outtakes included "Man Around the House" (Jones, Reynolds) and a cover of "Ring of Fire", written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and popularized by Johnny Cash, both of which were included on the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions. The album's cover art resulted from another Jones/Goude collaboration; the artwork has been described as being as famous as the music on the record.[47] It features Jones' disembodied head cut out from a photograph and pasted onto a white background. Jones' head is sharpened, giving her head and face an angular shape.[48] A piece of plaster is pasted over her left eyebrow, and her forehead is covered with drops of sweat.[49]

Jones' three albums under the production of the Compass Point All Stars resulted in Jones' One Man Show, a performance art/pop theatre presentation devised by Goude and Jones in which she also performed tracks from the albums Portfolio ("La Vie en rose"), Warm Leatherette, ("Private Life", "Warm Leatherette"), Nightclubbing ("Walking in the Rain", "Feel Up", "Demolition Man", "Pull Up to the Bumper" and "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)") and from Living My Life, "My Jamaican Guy" and the album's title track. Jones dressed in elaborate costumes and masks (in the opening sequence as a gorilla) and alongside a series of Grace Jones lookalikes. A video version, filmed live in London and New York City and completed with some studio footage, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long-Form Music Video the following year.[50]

After the release of Living My Life, Jones took on the role of Zula the Amazonian in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1985, Jones starred as May Day, henchman to main antagonist Max Zorin in the 14th James Bond film A View to a Kill; Jones was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she was featured on the Arcadia song "Election Day". Jones was among the many stars to promote the Honda Scooter; other artists included Lou Reed, Adam Ant, and Miles Davis.[51] Jones also, with her boyfriend Dolph Lundgren posed nude for Playboy.[52]

After Jones' success as a mainstream actress, she returned to the studio to work on Slave to the Rhythm, the last of her recordings for Island. Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn wrote the material, and it was produced by Horn and Lipson. It was a concept album that featured several interpretations of the title track. The project was originally intended for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow-up to "Relax", but was given to Jones.[53] All eight tracks on the album featured excerpts from a conversation with Jones, speaking about many aspects of her life. The interview was conducted by journalist Paul Morley. The album features voice-overs from actor Ian McShane reciting passages from Jean-Paul Goude's biography Jungle Fever. Slave to the Rhythm was successful in German-speaking countries and in the Netherlands, where it secured Top 10 placings. It reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart in November 1985 and became the second-highest-ranking album released by Jones.[54][55] Jones earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for the title track's music video.

After her success with Slave to the Rhythm, Island released Island Life, Jones' first best-of compilation, which featured songs from most of her releases with Island (Portfolio, Fame, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing, Living My Life and Slave to the Rhythm). American writer and journalist Glenn O'Brien wrote the essay for the inlay booklet. The compilation charted in the UK, New Zealand and the United States.[56] The artwork on the cover of the compilation was of another Jones/Goude collaboration; it featured Jones' celestial body in a montage of separate images, following Goude's ideas on creating credible illusions with his cut-and-paint technique. The body position is anatomically impossible.[57]

The artwork, a piece called "Nigger Arabesque" was originally published in the New York magazine in 1978, and was used as a backdrop for the music video of Jones' hit single "La Vie en rose".[58] The artwork has been described as "one of pop culture's most famous photographs".[59] The image was also parodied in Nicki Minaj's 2011 music video for "Stupid Hoe", in which Minaj mimicked the pose.[60]

1986–89: Slave to the Rhythm, Island Life, and continued acting roles

After Slave to the Rhythm and Island Life, Jones started to record again under a new contract with Manhattan Records, which resulted in Inside Story, Jones teamed up with music producer Nile Rodgers of Chic, whom Jones had previously tried to work with during the disco era.[61] The album was recorded at Skyline Studios in New York and post-produced at Atlantic Studios and Sterling Sound. Inside Story was the first album Jones produced, which resulted in heated disputes with Rodgers. Musically, the album was more accessible than her previous albums with the Compass Point All Stars, and explored different styles of pop music, with undertones of jazz, gospel, and Caribbean sounds. All songs on the album were written by Jones and Bruce Woolley. Richard Bernstein teamed up with Jones again to provide the album's artwork. Inside Story made the top 40 in several European countries. The album was Jones' last entry to date on US Billboard 200 albums chart. The same year, Jones starred as Katrina, an Egyptian queen vampire in the vampire film Vamp. For her work in the film, Jones was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, Jones appeared in two films, Straight to Hell, and Mary Lambert's Siesta, for which Jones was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Bulletproof Heart was released in 1989, produced by Chris Stanley, who co-wrote, and co-produced the majority of the songs, and was featured as a guest vocalist on "Don't Cry Freedom". Robert Clivillés and David Cole of C+C Music Factory produced some tracks on the album.

Jones performing in 2011.

1990–2004: Boomerang, movie soundtrack recordings, and artist collaborations

In 1990, Jones appeared as herself in the documentary, Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol. 1992 saw Jones starring as Helen Strangé, in the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang, for which she also contributed the song "7 Day Weekend" to its soundtrack. Jones released two more soundtrack songs in 1992; "Evilmainya", recorded for the film Freddie as F.R.O.7, and "Let Joy and Innocence Prevail" for the film Toys. In 1994, she was due to release an electro album titled Black Marilyn with artwork featuring the singer as Marilyn Monroe. "Sex Drive" was released as the first single in September 1993, but due to unknown reasons the record was eventually shelved. The track "Volunteer", recorded during the same sessions, leaked in 2009.[62]

1996 Saw Jones releasing "Love Bites", an up-tempo electronic track to promote the Sci-Fi Channel's Vampire Week, which consisted of a series of vampire-themed films aired on the channel in early November 1996. The track features Jones singing from the perspective of a vampire. The track was released as a non-label promo-only single. To this day, it has not been made commercially available.[63] In June 1998, she was scheduled to release an album entitled Force of Nature, on which she worked with trip hop musician Tricky.[64] The release of Force of Nature was cancelled due to a disagreement between the two, and only a white label 12" single featuring two dance mixes of "Hurricane" was issued at the time;[65] a slowed-down version of this song became the title track of her comeback album released ten years later while another unreleased track from the album, "Clandestine Affair" (recycling the chorus from her unreleased 1993 track "Volunteer"), appeared on a bootleg 12" in 2004.[66] Jones recorded the track "Storm" in 1998 for the movie The Avengers, and in 1999, appeared in an episode of the Beastmaster television series as the Umpatra Warrior.

The same year, Jones recorded "The Perfect Crime", an up-tempo song for Danish TV written by the composer duo Floppy M. aka Jacob Duus and Kåre Jacobsen. Jones was also ranked 82nd place on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll". In 2000, Jones collaborated with rapper Lil' Kim, appearing on the song "Revolution" from her album The Notorious K.I.M..[67] In 2001, Jones starred in the made-for-television film, Wolf Girl (also known as Blood Moon), as an intersex circus performer named Christoph/Christine. In 2002, Jones joined Luciano Pavarotti on stage for his annual Pavarotti and Friends fundraiser concert to support the United Nations refugee agency's programs for Angolan refugees in Zambia. In November 2004, Jones sang "Slave to the Rhythm" at a tribute concert for record producer Trevor Horn at London's Wembley Arena.[68][69]

2008–present: Hurricane, recent endeavours, and Nightclubbing deluxe

Despite several comeback attempts throughout the 1990s, Jones' next full-length record was released almost twenty years later, after Jones decided "never to do an album again,"[70] changing her mind after meeting music producer Ivor Guest through a mutual friend, milliner Philip Treacy. After the two became acquainted, Guest let Jones listen to a track he had been working on, which became "Devil in My Life", once Jones set the lyrics to the song. The lyrics to the song were written after a party in Venice.[71] The two ended up with 23 tracks. The album included autobiographical songs, such as "This Is", "Williams' Blood" and "I'm Crying (Mother's Tears)", an ode to her mother Marjorie. "Love You to Life" was another track based on real events and "Corporate Cannibal" referred to corporate capitalism. "Well Well Well" was recorded in memory of Alex Sadkin, member of Compass Point All Stars who had died in a motor accident 1987. "Sunset Sunrise" was written by Jones' son, Paulo; the song ponders the relationship between mankind and mother nature. Four songs were removed from the album, "The Key to Funky", "Body Phenomenon", "Sister Sister" and "Misery". For the production of the album, Jones teamed up with Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung, and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, of the Compass Point All Stars, with contributions from trip-hop artist Tricky, and Brian Eno.[72]

The album was released on Wall of Sound on 3 November 2008 in the United Kingdom. PIAS, the umbrella company of Wall of Sound, distributed Hurricane worldwide excluding North America.[73] The album scored 72 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.[74] Prior to the album's release, Jones performed at Massive Attack's Meltdown festival in London on 19 June 2008, Jones performed four new songs from the album and premiered the music video which Jones and artist Nick Hooker collaborated on, which resulted in "Corporate Cannibal".[75][76][77] Jones promoted the album even further by appearing on talk show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performed at several awards galas, and embarked on The Hurricane Tour. The same year, Jones was honoured with Q Idol Award. In 2009, Chris Cunningham produced a fashion shoot for Dazed & Confused using Jones as a model to create "Nubian versions" of Rubber Johnny.[78] In an interview for BBC's The Culture Show, it was suggested that the collaboration may expand into a video project. Jones also worked with the avant-garde poet Brigitte Fontaine on a duet named "Soufi" from Fontaine's album Prohibition released in 2009, and produced by Ivor Guest. In March 2010 Jones performed for guests at the 18th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Viewing Party. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the world's leading nonprofit organisations supporting HIV prevention programs, and works to eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. That evening, US$3.7 million was raised.[79][80] The same year, a budget DVD version of A One Man Show was released, as Grace Jones – Live in Concert. It included three bonus video clips ("Slave to the Rhythm", "Love Is the Drug" and "Crush". 2011 saw Jones again collaborating with Brigitte Fontaine on two tracks from her 2011 release entitled L'un n'empêche pas l'autre and performed at the opening ceremony of the 61st FIFA Congress.[81] Jones released a dub version of the album, Hurricane – Dub, which came out on 5 September 2011. The dub versions were made by Ivor Guest, with contributions from Adam Green, Frank Byng, Robert Logan and Ben Cowan. In April 2012, Jones joined Deborah Harry, Bebel Gilberto, and Sharon Stone at the Inspiration Gala in São Paulo, Brazil, raising $1.3 million for amfAR (the Foundation for AIDS Research). Jones closed the evening with a performance of "La Vie en Rose" and "Pull Up to the Bumper".[82]

Two months later, Jones performed "Slave to the Rhythm" at the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II (whilst keeping a hula hoop spinning in the air throughout), and the Lovebox Festival.[83] On 27 October Jones performed her only North American show of 2012, a performance at New York City's Roseland Ballroom.[84] The same year, Jones presented Sir Tom Jones with not only the GQ Men of the Year award, but her underwear. Tom Jones accepted the gift in good humour, and replied by saying, "I didn't think you wore any".[85]

Jones is currently working on a new album with producer Ivor Guest, and on a book of memoirs, but meanwhile Universal Music Group released a deluxe edition of her Nightclubbing album as a two-disc set and Blu-ray audio on 28 April 2014. The set contains most of the 12" mixes of singles from that album, plus two previously unreleased tracks from the Nightclubbing sessions, including a cover of the Gary Numan track "Me! I Disconnect from You".

In October 2014, Jones was announced as having contributed a song, "Original Beast", to the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.[86]

Jones' memoir entitled I'll Never Write My Memoirs was released on 29 September 2015.[87]

Artistry and legacy

Image

Jones' distinctive androgynous appearance, square-cut, angular padded clothing, manner, and height of 179 cm (5'10 1/2")[88] influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s. To this day, she is known for her unique look at least as much as she is for her music[89] and has been an inspiration for numerous artists, including Annie Lennox,[90] Lady Gaga, Rihanna,[71][91][92] Lorde,[93] Brazilian Girls,[94] Grimes,[92] Róisín Murphy,[95] Nile Rodgers,[96] Santigold,[97] and Basement Jaxx.[98] Jones was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50 by the Guardian in March 2013.[99]

Voice and music

Jones has a contralto vocal range. She sings in two modes: either in her monotone speak-sing voice as in songs such as "Private Life", "Walking in the Rain" and "The Apple Stretching", or in an almost-soprano mode in songs such as "La Vie en Rose", "Slave to the Rhythm", and "Victor Should Have Been a Jazz Musician". Jones' voice spans 4 octaves, 1 note and a semitone from the low note of C2 (in "Corporate Cannibal") to the high note of E♭6 (in "Slave to the Rhythm).[91]

While her early music was rooted in the disco genre, she opted for a new wave sound in 1980s. She recorded a series of albums (1980's Warm Leatherette through 1982's Living My Life) backed by the Jamaica rhythm section duo Sly and Robbie. Her music during this era was described as a hybrid of "electronica, funk, jazz, R&B and reggae," and more generally as "new wave."[1] This hybrid influenced a variety of alternative music artists, including Massive Attack, Todd Terje, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, and LCD Soundsystem.[92]

Tours

Grace Jones on her Hurricane Tour (2009)

Personal life

Jones' relationship with her father was strained; he was strict and felt forced to disassociate himself from her because the church refused to make him a bishop as long as he was associated with his daughter. According to the particular denomination's beliefs, one should only use one's singing ability to glorify God.[22] Bishop Robert W. Jones died on 7 May 2008.[101] Her mother, Marjorie, always supported Jones' career (she sings on "Williams' Blood" and "My Jamaican Guy") but could not be publicly associated with her music.[22] Marjorie's father, William, was also a musician, and played with Nat King Cole.[22]

Jones described her childhood as having been "crushed underneath the Bible",[27] and since has refused to enter a Jamaican church due to her bad childhood experiences.[102]

Through her relationship with long-time collaborator Jean-Paul Goude, Jones has one son, Paulo. From Paulo, Jones has one granddaughter.[91] Jones married Atila Altaunbay in 1996. She disputes rumors she married Chris Stanley in her 2015 memoir I'll Never Write My Memoirs, saying, "The truth is, I only ever married one of my boyfriends, Atila Altaunbay, a Muslim from Turkey." She spent four years with Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, her former bodyguard;[103] she was the one who got him a part as a KGB officer in A View to a Kill.[104] Jones started dating Danish actor/stuntman/bodybuilder Sven-Ole Thorsen in 1990, and was in an open relationship as of 2007.[105]

Jones' brother is megachurch preacher Bishop Noel Jones, who starred on the 2013 reality show Preachers of LA.[106]

Jones' real last name is often referred to as "Mendoza", which is actually a name she used in her 20s to fool her parents.[107]

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

As actress
Year Title Role Notes
1973 Gordon's War Mary
1976 Attention les yeux! Cuidy
Quelli della Calibro 38 Herself – Club Singer
(Uncredited)
1978 Stryx (TV series) Rumstryx
1981 Deadly Vengeance Slick's girlfriend
1984 Conan the Destroyer Zula
1985 A View to a Kill May Day
1986 Vamp Katrina
1987 Straight to Hell Sonya
Siesta Conchita
1992 Boomerang Helen Strangé
1995 Cyber Bandits Masako Yokohama
1998 McCinsey's Island Alanso Richter
Palmer's Pick Up Ms. Remo
1999 BeastMaster (TV series)
Episode(s): "The Umpatra"		 Nokinja
2001 Wolf Girl (TV movie) Christoph/Christine
Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (TV movie) The Queen
2006 No Place Like Home Herself – Dancer
2008 Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! Waitress
Chelsea on the Rocks (Documentary) Bev
2015 Gutterdämmerung
Video games
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller Solene Solux
Stage work
Year Title Role Location
1997 The Wiz Evillene US Touring Revival
As musician
Year Title Notes
1982 A One Man Show "Warm Leatherette" (intro includes excerpts from "Nightclubbing"), "Walking in the Rain", "Feel Up" "La Vie en rose", "Demolition Man"
"Pull Up to the Bumper", "Private Life", "My Jamaican Guy", "Living My Life", "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)"
1983 The Video Singles Includes the videos for "Pull Up to the Bumper", "Private Life" and "My Jamaican Guy", all directed by Jean-Paul Goude.
1988 Christmas at Pee Wee's Playhouse (TV special) Guest performer: reinterpretation of "The Little Drummer Boy"
2002 Pavarotti & Friends 2002 for Angola Guest performer: "Pourquoi Me Réveiller" (feat. Luciano Pavarotti)
2005 So Far So Goude DVD only available as a bonus with the purchase of Thames & Hudson's biography on Jean-Paul Goude[108]
2010 Grace Jones – Live in NYC 1981 Remastered version of A One Man Show with 3 bonus music videos, "Slave to the Rhythm", "Love Is the Drug" and "Crush"
2012 The Diamond Jubilee Concert
(TV special)		 Guest performer: "Slave to the Rhythm"
Documentaries
Year Title Notes
1979 Army of Lovers or Revolution of the Perverts/ Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen
1984 Mode in France
1990 Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol
1996 In Search of Dracula with Jonathan Ross
1998 Behind the Music – Studio 54
2007 Queens of Disco

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fisher, Mark (November 7, 2007). "Glam's Exiled Princess: Roisin Murphy". Fact. London. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Grace Jones biography". The Guardian.
  3. 1 2 http://www.biography.com/people/grace-jones
  4. 1 2 Katz, Evan Ross, logo, August 24, 2015, "Grace Jones Perfects The Art Of Topless Hula-Hooping At Brooklyn's Afropunk Festival (NSFW)". Accessed MAy 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Daw, Robbie (May 30, 2013). "Lady Gaga Poses With Grace Jones, Who Once Very Publicly Shaded Mother Monster". Idolator. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Grace Jones". Filmreference.
  7. ↑ "Grace Jones Bio - Grace Jones Career".
  8. ↑ Our Movie Houses: A History of Film & Cinematic Innovation in Central New York. Norman O. Keim. p. 114.
  9. ↑ "Grace Jones Facts, information and pictures". Encyclopedia.com.
  10. ↑ Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999. Print.
  11. ↑ "Robert Winston Jones Obituary". syracuse.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "City of Refuge Church – Los Angeles Bishop Noel Jones". Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Miranda Sawyer. "State of Grace". the Guardian.
  14. 1 2 Jones & Morley 2015, p. 4.
  15. ↑ Jones & Morley 2015, pp. 39–40.
  16. ↑ Jones & Morley 2015, p. 15.
  17. ↑ Jones & Morley 2015, pp. 17, 20.
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  20. ↑ Jones & Morley 2015, p. 25.
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  22. 1 2 3 4 Sawyer, Miranda (11 October 2008). "State of Grace: Miranda Sawyer Meets Grace Jones". London: The Observer. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
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  25. ↑ Brown, Helen (4 November 2008). "Grace Jones at 60". London: The Telepgraph. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
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  27. 1 2 Jones & Morley 2015, p. 45.
  28. 1 2 3 "Jones the Exotic May Day". The Afro-American. 8 June 1985. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
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  49. ↑ John Paul Thurlow. "volume 2 / Some inspiration. Grace Jones Living my life. Art direction by Jean Paul Goude. 1982". pinterest.com. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  50. ↑ Jones, Grace. "Grammy Awards (1984)". imdb.com.
  51. ↑ "LOU REED, MILES DAVIS AND GRACE JONES SELLING HONDA SCOOTERS AND TDK TAPE IN THE 1980S". Dangerousminds.net. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  52. ↑ "Amazing Grace: she battles bond, rocks with "rocky iv" hunk dolph lundgren-- have you met miss jones?". Dolph: The Ultimate Guide. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  53. ↑ "Perfect Songs artists/writers Trevor Horn". perfectsongs.com. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  54. ↑ Billboard – Google Livros. Google Books. 22 November 1986. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  55. ↑ Billboard – Google Livros. Google Books. 13 December 1986. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
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  58. ↑ "How to Fake a Grace Jones Cover". Flavorwire. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  59. ↑ "Images: Grace Jones by Jean-Paul Goude". afirstclassriot.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  60. ↑ "Nicki Minaj Channels Beyoncé, Grace Jones, and Gaga in "Stupid Hoe"". thenynthlife.com. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
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  69. ↑ "BBC – collective – Produced by Trevor Horn". BBC Online. 21 November 2004. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
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  71. 1 2 Simon Hattenstone (17 April 2010). "Grace Jones: 'God I'm scary. I'm scaring myself' – Music – The Guardian". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  72. ↑ Frank Veldkamp (2009). "aulo Goude Son of a Hurricane". missgracejones.com.
  73. ↑ Lars Brandle. "'Hurricane' Jones Blows Through This October". billboard.biz. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  74. ↑ "Hurricane Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
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  76. ↑ Sam Jones (21 April 2008). "Meltdown moves from trip-hop to sci-fi with style". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
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  79. ↑ "Grace Jones to Perform at 18th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party". Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  80. ↑ "$3.7 Million Raised at Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party". Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  81. ↑ "Curtain rises on Congress". fifa.com. 31 May 2011.
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  86. ↑ Minsker, Evan (21 October 2014). "Kanye West, Chvrches, Bat For Lashes, Haim, Pusha T, Charli XCX Appear on Lorde's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1 Soundtrack". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
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  88. ↑ Sewards, Lisa. "'It's hard being a freak!' Grace Jones has built a 30-year career on scaring the hell out of us. But, she says, she's really a big softie | Mail Online". Daily Mail. London.
  89. ↑ Molloy, Ally (2010). A-Z of the 80s. London: John Blake Publishing. p. 134.
  90. ↑ O'Brien, Lucy (1991). Annie Lennox. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.
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  94. ↑ "Brazilian Girls Interview (clip 16) Brazilian Girls on fashion, Grace Jones, designers, Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, and Bjork. Produced by Uncensored Interview / Zen Cat Productions. Brazilian Girls Interview (clip 16) on July 24, 2008 in New York City (Footage by WireImage Video/Getty Images)". GETTY Images. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
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  97. ↑ "Cool Accidents, Santigold's Mixtape". Cool Accidents. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
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  99. ↑ Cartner-Morley, Jess; Mirren, Helen; Huffington, Arianna; Amos, Valerie (28 March 2013). "The 50 best-dressed over 50s". London: The Guardian.
  100. ↑ "Paulo Goude: Son of a Hurricane". Frank Veldkamp. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  101. ↑ "Robert Winston Jones Obituary". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
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  103. ↑ "Leather-bound disco queen Grace Jones and her Swedish squeeze". People (magazine). 18 July 1983. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  104. ↑ Chafetz, Gary S. (September 2008). The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Martin and Lawrence Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-9773898-8-9. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  105. ↑ Willman, Chris (11 February 1990). "Queen of Pop Shock Struts into the '90s: Before Madonna and Annie Lennox, Grace Jones paved the way. Now the multi-media artist sets her sights on 'softer'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
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