Grace Jones

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Biography

Grace Jones (born May 19, 1948) is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.

Jones started out as a model and became a muse to Andy Warhol , who photographed her extensively. During that era she regularly went to the New York City nightclub Studio 54 . Grace secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgyny|androgynous look with square-cut hair and angular, Shoulder pads (fashion)|padded clothes. Many of her the singles were hits on Billboard (magazine)|Billboard 's Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts, for example 1981 " Pull Up to the Bumper ", which spent seven weeks at #2 on the U.S. dance chart. Jones was able to find mainstream success in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, scoring a number of Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart . Her most notable albums are Warm Leatherette (album)|Warm Leatherette , Nightclubbing and Slave to the Rhythm , while her biggest hits (other than "Pull Up to the Bumper") are " I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) ", " Private Life ", " Slave to the Rhythm (song)|Slave to the Rhythm " and " I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You) ".

Jones is also an actress. Her acting occasionally overshadowed her musical output in America; but not in Europe, where her profile as a recording artist was much higher. She appeared in some low-budget films in the 1970s and early 1980s. Her work as an actress in mainstream film began in the 1984 fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger , and the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill . In 1986 she played a vampire in Vamp (film)|Vamp , and both acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 film Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang with Eddie Murphy . In 2001, she appeared in Wolf Girl alongside Tim Curry .

Life and career

Background and early career

Grace Jones was born in Spanish Town , the daughter of Marjorie and Robert W. Jones, who was a politician and Apostolic Church (denomination)|Apostolic clergyman. Her parents took Grace and her brothers, Chris and Noel Jones (Bishop Noel Jones), and relocated to Syracuse, New York|Syracuse in 1965, where she studied theatre at Syracuse University . Before becoming a successful model in New York City and Paris, Jones studied theatre at Onondaga Community College . In the 1973 film '' Gordon's War , Jones played the role of Mary, a Harlem mule (smuggling)|drug courier .

Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits and a large gay community|gay following. The three disco -oriented albums she recorded – Portfolio (Grace Jones album)|Portfolio (1977), Fame (album)|Fame (1978), and Muse (Grace Jones album)|Muse (1979) – generated considerable success in that market. These albums consisted of pop melodies set to a disco beat, such as " On Your Knees (Grace Jones song)|On Your Knees " or " Do or Die (Grace Jones song)|Do or Die " and standards such as "What I Did for Love" from musical A Chorus Line , Jacques Prévert 's " Autumn Leaves (song)|Autumn Leaves ", " Send in the Clowns " from Stephen Sondheim 's A Little Night Music and Édith Piaf 's signature tune " La Vie en rose ". During this period, she also became a muse to Andy Warhol , who photographed her extensively. Jones also accompanied him to New York City nightclub Studio 54 on many occasions. The colourful artwork and design for Jones' three first albums and accompanying single releases were created by another of Warhol's longtime collaborators, Richard Bernstein, arguably best known for his many cover illustrations for Interview (magazine)|Interview Magazine in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1978, she appeared with French model and singer Amanda Lear in the controversial six-episode Italian TV series Stryx .

Early 1980s: Compass Point Studios period

At the beginning of the 1980s, Jones adapted the emerging New Wave music to create a different style for herself. Still with Island, and now working with producers Chris Blackwell , Alex Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars , and recording at Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas , she released the acclaimed album Warm Leatherette (album)|Warm Leatherette in 1980. This included re-imaginings of songs by The Pretenders (" Private Life "), Roxy Music (" Love Is the Drug "), Tom Petty (" Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)|Breakdown "), The Normal (" Warm Leatherette ") and Smokey Robinson (" The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "). The record met with even greater success than her previous disco albums and the song "Private Life" was her first to enter UK Singles Chart , still remaining one of her highest-charting singles in that country. Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist Jean-Paul Goude . Jones adopted a severe, androgyny|androgynous look, with square-cut hair and angular, shoulder pads|padded clothes. The cover photographs of Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing exemplified this new identity.

1981 saw the release of Nightclubbing , a rapid follow-up to Warm Leatherette . Jones chose a number of well-known hits to reinterpret, including The Police 's " Demolition Man (song)|Demolition Man ", Iggy Pop 's and David Bowie 's "Nightclubbing" and Ástor Piazzolla 's " I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) ". The latter would become one of the Jones's most recognisable tunes and the self-penned, post-disco dance track " Pull Up to the Bumper ", which spent seven weeks at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and became a Top 5 single on the U.S. Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs|R& B chart when released as a single in the fall of 1981. However, both Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing albums also included a few tracks co-written by Jones herself, such as " A Rolling Stone " and " Feel Up ". In the UK, Nightclubbing claimed the number one slot on music magazine NME|New Musical Express ' NME album of the year|Album of the Year listing. In 1981, Jones, appearing alongside noted psychotherapist Sonja Vetter, caused a controversy slapping chat show host Russell Harty across the face live on air after he turned to interview other guests and she felt she was being ignored. This topped a 2006 BBC poll of the most-shocking British TV chat show moments.

In 1981 and 1982, Jones toured the UK, Continental Europe, Scandinavia and the US with her A One Man Show|One Man Show , a performance art /pop theatre presentation devised by Jean-Paul Goude and Jones herself, in which she performed tracks from the albums Portfolio , Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing dressed in elaborate costumes and masks – in the opening sequence as a gorilla – and alongside a series of Grace Jones lookalike s. 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 next year. Her collaboration with Blackwell, Sadkin and the Compass Point All Stars continued with the dub music|dub reggae -influenced album Living My Life (album)|Living My Life (1982), which featured the self-penned " My Jamaican Guy ", sung in Jamaican Patois|patois and a cover of " The Apple Stretching " by Melvin Van Peebles . In 1984, Jones's work as an actress in mainstream film began, with the role of Zula, the woman warrior|Amazon , in Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and former National Basketball Association|NBA player Wilt Chamberlain . She next landed the role of May Day (James Bond)|May Day in the fourteenth James Bond movie A View to a Kill (1985).

Late 1980s and 1990s

In the mid-1980s, she worked with Trevor Horn and Bruce Woolley for the concept album|conceptual musical collage Slave to the Rhythm , which was released in the fall of 1985. The well-received album consisted of several re-workings of the Slave to the Rhythm (song)|title track , which is arguably the most popular song ever delivered by Grace Jones. Although never charted in the Hot 100,the single did well on the R& B charts,Dance charts and in the UK, peaking at number 12. Slave to the Rhythm , together with Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing albums, is now recognised as one of Grace Jones's best works. In December, her first retrospective album was released. Island Life collected most of the singles from her 1977 debut up to recent 1985 hits. It included new versions of "Love Is the Drug" and "Pull Up to the Bumper," which were re-issued and charted again. Her next studio release, the first album after leaving the Island Records label, was Inside Story (Grace Jones album)|Inside Story (1986), on which she worked with Nile Rodgers . It produced her last Billboard Hot 100 hit to date, " I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You) ", one of several songs she co-wrote with Bruce Woolley .

She sang vocals along with Simon Le Bon in the international top 10 dance-pop hit " Election Day (song)|Election Day ", which Le Bon's then band Arcadia (band)|Arcadia released in October 1985. She appeared in the 1986 vampire film Vamp (film)|Vamp where she played a queen vampire .

Her ninth studio album, Bulletproof Heart (1989), spawned the Number 1 U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs|Hot Dance Club Play hit " Love on Top of Love|Love on Top of Love (Killer Kiss) ", produced by C+C Music Factory 's David Cole (producer)|David Cole and Robert Clivillés . The second and the final single, " Amado Mio ", was a cover version of the song used in 1946 film Gilda and originally performed by Rita Hayworth . Bulletproof Heart met with lukewarm reception. In 1992 Jones appeared in Eddie Murphy film Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang , for which she also contributed the song " 7 Day Weekend (song)|7 Day Weekend " to its Boomerang (soundtrack)|soundtrack , and released two more singles in 1993: " Evilmainya ", recorded for the film Freddie as F.R.O.7 , and " Sexdrive (song)|Sexdrive ". She recorded two albums during the 1990s, but they remain unreleased thus far. In 1994, she was due to release an electronic music|electro album titled Black Marilyn with artwork featuring the singer as Marilyn Monroe ; in 1998, she was scheduled to release an album entitled Force of Nature , on which she worked with trip hop musician Tricky . The release of Force of Nature was cancelled due to a disagreement between them and only a white label 12" single featuring two dance mixes of " Hurricane (Cradle to the Grave) " was issued; a slowed-down version of this song became the title track of her comeback album released ten years later. In 1999 she appeared in an episode of the BeastMaster (TV series)|Beastmaster television series as the Umpatra Warrior.

Recent career

In 2000, Jones cut "The Perfect Crime"(to the show Crime Perfeito ), an up-tempo song for Danish TV written by the composer duo Floppy M. aka Jacob Duus & Kåre Jacobsen. Also in 2000, Jones collaborated with rapper Lil' Kim , appearing on the song "Revolution" from her album The Notorious K.I.M. . http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1023051,00.html A year later, she appeared alongside Tim Curry in Wolf Girl (also known as Blood Moon ), as a transvestite circus performer named Christoph/Christine. On 28 May 2002, she performed onstage in Modena, Italy with Italian opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti during his annual Pavarotti and Friends concert to support the UN refugee agency's programs for Angola n refugees in Zambia. Together they performed the aria "Pourquoi me réveiller? " from Jules Massenet 's opera Werther . In November 2004, Jones sang her hit "Slave to the Rhythm" at a tribute concert for record producer Trevor Horn at London's Wembley Arena . In April 2005 Jones raised a controversy, when she was accused of verbally abusing a Eurostar train manager in a quarrel over a ticket upgrade, and she either was escorted off the train or left of her own accord, later saying that she had been mistreated. In February 2006, Jones was the celebrity runway model for Diesel (brand)|Diesel 's show in New York.

Producer Ivor Mervyn Vigors Guest, 4th Viscount Wimborne|Ivor Guest confirmed that he and Jones had completed recording her new album in 2007. Other participants on the album included the original Compass Point All Stars line-up, including Sly and Robbie , Mikey Chung and Wally Badarou , joined by Brian Eno , Bruce Woolley , Tricky and Tony Allen (musician)|Tony Allen . The Hurricane (Grace Jones album)|Hurricane album (initially to be titled Corporate Cannibal ) was released on 27 October 2008, on Wall of Sound / PIAS Records , meeting with positive reviews. " Corporate Cannibal " became the album's lead single, with its music video directed by Nick Hooker. Jones embarked on a concert tour at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009, and appeared at Secret Garden Party and Latitude Festival to promote the new album. The video for the second single, " Williams' Blood ", used live footage from the Hurricane Tour. Grace Jones also collaborated with the avant-garde poet Brigitte Fontaine on a duet named "Soufi" from Fontaine's album Prohibition released in autumn 2009, and produced by Ivor Guest. On 26 April 2010 Grace Jones performed at Royal Albert Hall , receiving rave reviews. A One Man Show was released on DVD, as Grace Jones – Live in Concert , in 2010 with 3 bonus videoclips ("Slave to the Rhythm", "Love Is the Drug" and "Crush"). " Love You to Life " was the third commercial single off Hurricane . In 2011 Jones again collaborated with Brigitte Fontaine on two tracks from Fontaine's 2011 release entitled ''L'un n'empêche pas l'autre and performed at the opening ceremony of the 61st FIFA Congress . Autumn 2011 saw the release of the " dub " version of Hurricane . The singer is currently recording her next album for a 2012 release and has collaborated with Boy George on an as yet unreleased track.

Style, image and voice

In the late 1970s, Jones adapted the emerging New Wave music style and adopted a severe, androgyny|androgynous look, with square-cut hair and angular, shoulder pads|padded clothes, created in partnership with stylist Jean-Paul Goude . She would also exemplify the so-called " flattop|flat top " hairstyle in many of her concerts in the 1970s, which would become popular among black men in the 1980s. Her first album cover to feature this hairstyle was 1980's Warm Leatherette (album)|Warm Leatherette . Her strong visual presence was an advantage for her music videos and concert tour s. In her concert performances, she adopted various personas and wore outlandish costumes, particularly during her years with Goude. One such performance was at the Paradise Garage in 1985, for which she collaborated with visual artist Keith Haring for her costume. Haring painted her body in tribal patterns and fitted her with wire armour. The muralist also painted her body for the video to " I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You) " and the 1986 vampire film Vamp (film)|Vamp . Grace Jones's striking appearance, height (5'10½" or 1.79 m), and manner 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 and has been an inspiration for numerous other artists, including Annie Lennox , Lady Gaga and Rihanna .

Jones is a contralto . Although her image became equally as notable as her voice, she is a highly stylised vocalist. She sings in two modes: in her monotone speak-sing as in songs such as "Private Life", "Walking in the Rain" and "The Apple Stretching" and in an almost- soprano mode in songs such as "La Vie en rose" and "Slave to the Rhythm". Her voice spans two and a half octave s.

Personal life

At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, Grace Jones had a relationship with Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren and with French graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude , with whom she has a son, Paulo. Jones has been married twice; her first husband was producer Chris Stanley whom she married in 1989. She married second husband, bodyguard Atila Altaunbay in 1996. The couple later divorced. Her current boyfriend is music producer Ivor Guest, 4th Viscount Wimborne|Ivor Guest .

Discography

Portfolio (Grace Jones album)|Portfolio (1977)

Fame (album)|Fame (1978)

Muse (Grace Jones album)|Muse (1979)

Warm Leatherette (album)|Warm Leatherette (1980)

Nightclubbing (1981)

Living My Life (album)|Living My Life (1982)

Slave to the Rhythm (1985)

Inside Story (Grace Jones album)|Inside Story (1986)

Bulletproof Heart (1989)

Hurricane (Grace Jones album)|Hurricane (2008)

Filmography

Movies

1973: '' Gordon's War

1976: ''Let's Make a Dirty Movie

1976: Colt 38 Special Squad

1979: Army of Lovers or Revolution of the Perverts (documentary)

1981: Deadly Vengeance

1984: Made in France (documentary)

1984: Conan the Destroyer

1985: A View to a Kill

1986: Vamp (film)|Vamp

1987: Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell

1987: Siesta (film)|Siesta

1990: Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (documentary)

1992: Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang

1995: Cyber Bandits

1998: ''McCinsey's Island

1999: ''Palmer's Pick Up

2006: No Place Like Home

2008: Falco – Verdammt, Wir Leben Noch!

2008: Chelsea on the Rocks

Television work

1978: Stryx

1982: A One Man Show

1988: '' Pee-wee's Playhouse|Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

1999: BeastMaster (TV series)|Beastmaster

2001: Wolf Girl

2001: Shaka Zulu: The Citadel

Awards and nominations

Jones is a three-time Saturn Award nominee, a Grammy Award|Grammy nominee, an MTV Video Music Awards nominee, a Razzie Award nominee and a Q Awards winner. She has also ranked 82nd on VH1 's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.

Grammy Awards

1983: Best Long Form Music Video for her A One Man Show (Nomination)

MTV Video Music Award

1986: Best Female Video for " Slave to the Rhythm (song)|Slave to the Rhythm " (Nomination)

Q Music Award

2008: Q Idol (Winner)

Razzie Awards

1987: Worst Supporting Actress for Siesta (film)|Siesta (Nomination)

Saturn Awards

1985: Best Supporting Actress for Conan the Destroyer (Nomination)

1986: Best Supporting Actress for A View to a Kill (Nomination)

1987: Best Supporting Actress for Vamp (film)|Vamp (Nomination)

Copyright Citations

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