Jill Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1962-07-11)July 11, 1962 (age 63) Lebanon, Ohio, US |
| Genres | R&B, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, actress |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Paisley Park/Warner Bros. Records, Peace Bisquit |
Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist forTeena Marie andPrince in the 1980s. She is best known for her various collaborative works with Prince in the 1980s and 1990s, including herself-titled debut album in 1987. Since 2001, she has released three acoustic and dance albums, with her most recent being 2016'sI Am.
Jones was born inLebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model, is of African American heritage, and her father, a jazz drummer, isItalian.[1] Jones was raised mostly by her grandparents, until relocating to Los Angeles when her mother remarried.[1] She began a singing career at age 15 as a backup vocalist forTeena Marie, whom her mother managed.
Jones performed as backing vocalist on a number of Teena Marie'sMotown albums in the early 80s and also co-wrote the songs "Young Girl In Love" fromLady T (1980) and "The Ballad of Cradle Rob and Me" fromIt Must Be Magic (1981). She metPrince in 1980 at age 18, when Teena Marie was the opening act during hisDirty Mind tour.[1] Prince loved her voice, encouraged her to sing, and stayed in touch with Jones.[2]
She became a backup vocalist for Prince when he invited her to theSunset Sound recording studios in 1982, to sing backing vocals for several tracks on the album1999.[2] She was credited under just her initials J.J. She also was featured in music videos for the songs "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", as well as extended rarely aired music video for "Automatic", and then joined the tour for1999 to sing backing vocals with the Prince side-projectVanity 6.[2] After the tour, she moved toMinneapolis and became Prince's on-and-off again girlfriend.[3][4] She had a bit part as a waitress in the filmPurple Rain (1984),[2] and had an appearance in the sequelGraffiti Bridge (1990), where she takes off an undergarment to end a conflicting scene with Prince.
Her debut album was the self-titledJill Jones (1987), released on Prince'sPaisley Park Records. Prince was credited as a co-writer with Jones, but wrote all of the songs himself.[2] Lead single "Mia Bocca" became a top 10 hit in Italy in July 1987, peaking at #6.[5] Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics, but was not a commercial success. As of 2007, the album has been out of print for many years.
Jones recorded numerous demo tracks in London in the late 1980s, including the tracks "Deep Kiss", "Unattainable Love", "Long Time", "Red", "White Dogs" & "Tango", among others. In 1989, she contributed a song ("The Ground You Walk On") to the soundtrack for the filmEarth Girls Are Easy.
Several demos were recorded for a second album on Paisley Park, and a video was filmed for the track "Boom Boom", but an album never surfaced. In 1993, she released the dance single "Bald" on Flying Records.
Jones also did backing vocals forApollonia 6 and recorded the Prince-written single "G-Spot", which was remixed for a 12" release byBlondie'sJimmy Destri. She also sang lead vocals on Japanese artistRyuichi Sakamoto's single "You Do Me" from his 1990 albumBeauty. In addition, Jones wrote and co-produced the song "The Great Pretender" forLisa Lisa. She was also lead vocalist for the band Baby Mother, who recorded an album in 1995 forLondon Records, which remains unreleased. In 1996, she toured performing co-lead vocals as part ofChic withNile Rodgers andBernard Edwards before Edwards' death, and can be heard on the 1999 Chic releaseLive at the Budokan.
The Prince song "She's Always in My Hair", aB-side to the single "Raspberry Beret" (1985), was written about Jones.[3]
Though Prince aided in the production of her first album, there was no input from Prince on the sessions for Jones' intended second album, which was more pop-rock oriented. From 2001 to the present, Jones has been performing acoustic rock as well as producing edgy and modern dance tracks.
She is also featured in the unreleased Vanity 6 song "Vibrator". In this song, she does a skit in a department store whereVanity goes to get batteries for her vibrator. Prince is also in the skit.
Jill provided vocals on a cover version ofCarly Simon's "Why" onRonny Jordan's albumA Brighter Day in 2000 as well as contributing a cover version ofBlondie's "Call Me" to aGiorgio Moroder tribute album. This was subsequently issued as a single with various remixes, including ones byTodd Terry andMantronix.
With the help of formerPaisley Park photographer and close friend David Honl, Jones released a second album entitledTwo in 2001, with instrumentalist Chris Bruce. Jones performed lead vocals on the 2004 albumWasted, which was credited to The Grand Royals featuring Jill Jones. A collaboration withdance outfit Funky Junction resulted in the single "Someone to Jump Up", which has appeared on variousHedkandi compilation releases.
In 2008, Jones joined a performance in New York byJeremy Gloff, coming up on stage to sing with Gloff's cover of her song "So Much in Love"[6] On April 28, 2009, Jones released "Living for the Weekend" on the Peace Bisquit label. AlthoughWasted andTwo are out of print, both albums can be found on theiTunes Store, along with "Living for the Weekend".
2014 saw the release of the single "This Is How It Feels" with Italiantechno actGet Far. In August 2015, Jones made the track "Forbidden Love" available viaSoundCloud. This track is from her dance album,I Am released in February 2016 via Peace Bisquit. Currently, she maintains her own fan pages onTwitter andFacebook.
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