The Jones Girls
Encyclopedia
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.
, 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. 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.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. They first recorded for GM Records in 1968, then recorded for Philadelphia International Records
Philadelphia International Records
Philadelphia International Records is a record label founded by writer-producers, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff in 1971. It was famous for showcasing the sub-genre of Philadelphia soul music and released a string of worldwide hits during the decade.-History:...
with Gamble & Huff.
History
The Jones Girls consisted of sisters Brenda, Valorie and Shirley Jones. They served as backup singers for Lou RawlsLou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, and Le Pamplemousse. They worked with Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
from 1975–78 and were the backup singers on Linda Clifford
Linda Clifford
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer and actress, who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light"....
'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
Bunny Sigler
Walter "Bunny" Sigler is a pop and R&B songwriter and record producer who has done extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and who was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s. He is nicknamed "Mr...
who also produced it with Kenny Gamble. In 2007, Shirley released an album Ladies Night Out together with Jean Carn and Cherrelle
Cherrelle
Cheryl Anne Norton, better known by her stage name, Cherrelle , is an American R&B singer who gained fame in the 1980s...
, on CD and DVD.
"Who Can I Run To
Who Can I Run To
"Who Can I Run To" is a song originally recorded by The Jones Girls in 1979. A 1995 cover version by R&B group, Xscape, spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B Singles chart and reached number eight on the pop chart...
", from the band's self-titled 1979 debut album, was covered by Xscape
Xscape (band)
Xscape, was a female American R&B group that originally started out as a quintet and then became a quartet. The group had a string of hit songs during the 1990s...
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.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Record Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1979 | The Jones Girls The Jones Girls (album) -Reception:Released in 1979, includes the million-selling single "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" which charted number five on the Soul Singles chart and number twelve on the Disco chart.-Track listing:... |
50 | 8 | Philadelphia Int'l Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records is a record label founded by writer-producers, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff in 1971. It was famous for showcasing the sub-genre of Philadelphia soul music and released a string of worldwide hits during the decade.-History:... |
||
| 1980 | At Peace with Woman At Peace with Woman At Peace with Woman is the second album by The Jones Girls. Released in 1980, the album reached number seven on the Top Soul Albums chart-Track listing:#"Children of the Night" 5:11... |
96 | 7 | |||
| 1981 | Get as Much Love as You Can Get as Much Love as You Can -Reception:Released in 1981, the album would chart at number twenty five on the Top Soul Albums chart.-Track listing:#" That Man of Mine" 4:11#"Get As Much Love As You Can" 4:23... |
155 | 25 | |||
| 1983 | On Target | — | 59 | RCA RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
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| 1984 | Keep It Comin | 201 | — | Philadelphia Int'l | ||
| 1992 | Coming Back | — | — | ARP | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Record Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 2000 | The Best of the Jones Girls | — | — | Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
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| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US Dance Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
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| 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 | ||||||