THE JONES GIRL IS BACK - SHIRLEY JONES TALKS TO … · THE JONES GIRL IS BACK - SHIRLEY JONES TALKS TO SJF Written by Charles Waring Wednesday, 07 January 2015 12:38 - Last Updated

THE JONES GIRL IS BACK - SHIRLEY JONES TALKS TO SJF

Written by Charles WaringWednesday, 07 January 2015 12:38 - Last Updated Wednesday, 07 January 2015 17:05

"It's been a lot of years, huh?" So says Motor Town singer Shirley Jones - who accompaniesher words with a wry, philosophical chuckle - as she reflects on her long recording career. Itbegan almost forty-five years ago when, as a teenager, she sang alongside her two sisters,Brenda and Valorie, as The Jones Girls. After a clutch of non-charting 45s for differentcompanies in the early to mid-'70s - among them, Holland-Dozier-Holland's Music Merchantimprint, Paramount, and Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label - the Jones siblings signed with Gamble& Huff's iconic Philadelphia International label in 1979 and scored US R&B hits with 'You GonnaMake Me Love Somebody Else,' 'I Just Love The Man,' and 'Nights Over Egypt.' In the mid-'80sthe group disbanded and Shirley - the eldest of the trio - stepped out to start a solo career thatyielded a US R&B chart topper, 'Do You Get Enough Love,' in 1986.

The Jones Girls reunited in 1992 for the album, 'Coming Back' - which was especially popular inthe UK, where it was recorded - but then fell off the radar again (sadly, the youngest of thesiblings, Valorie, passed away in 2001). Shirley served up her second solo album, 'With You' in1994 only to disappear for over a decade until she reappeared in 2010 with an indie labelinspirational album, 'Feels Like Heaven.' Five years on and the singer, now sixty-one, is backwith a fabulous new single, the slinky dancer groove, 'Because You Love Me,' released on theUK label, Expansion. In a recent interview with SJF's Charles Waring, the chanteuse talks herabout her new record, vividly recalls her days in The Jones Girls and reveals that youngermembers of the Jones family are entering the music business...

1 / 12



What's it like to have a record out again ('Because You Love Me') after such a longlayoff?

It's been great. It feels wonderful to have a single out and especially to work with(producer/composer) Errol Henry again, who did the last big project that we had done, mysisters and I, over there in the UK, the 'Coming Back' CD. It was really wonderful working withhim again after all these years.

2 / 12



How do you gauge him as a producer?

He is the absolute best. I consider him along with another person - McKinley Jackson, whomanaged us for many years ago - as a musical genius. They know how to arrange vocals aswell as instrumentation for that full, vibrant sound in recordings and I absolutely love that abouthim. So I think he's an absolute terrific producer and he's going to be doing the entire album sothat's how much I think of him.

You pre-empted a question that I was going to ask... So there is going to be a completealbum to follow?

Yes, there is and we're working on getting me back over there (in the UK). My schedule is prettybooked up for the first couple of months of the year and we're working on getting me back overthere because we want to record it over there. I love the sound over there. I love the musiciansover there and we want that flavouring. We're ready to take this album and bring this kind ofEnglish soul back here across the pond to the US instead of vice-versa (laughs).

'Because You Love Me' is a gospel-flavoured song isn't it?

Yes it is. We call it inspirational. It's feel-good music that inspires you. It's about love but it'sabout pure love this time instead of relationship love which I sang about every which way youcan during my thirty-something years in this business.

Is that going to be the theme of the album that follows?

I hate to put it in one little box but I will say yes, this album - 'Because You Love Me' - is going tobe more inspirational with more uplifting lyrics than relationship love. But I still consider itsecular in a way because it's being marketed on soul stations as well as gospel stations. It's justfeel-good music because music is universal and it transcends everything anyway and as longas it's got positive lyrics and good music and makes you feel good, so that's what we plan to dowith the rest of the album.

3 / 12



As with some of the tracks you did when you were in The Jones Girls, your new songhas a positive message, doesn't it?

Yes. Like 'Do You Get Enough Love,' asking that question... and 'Nights Over Egypt' was talkingabout more ethereal types of love. 'At Peace With Woman' was saying that there won't bepeace on earth until men and women get together... So we were always aware, my sisters andI, of the types of songs that we wanted to sing at all times.

Going right back to the very beginning, when did music first attract you and grab yourattention?

Oh my goodness. We started out gospel. My mother was the first black gospel singer that RCAsigned here in the States. They actually signed her the same day they signed Little Richardmany years ago. So we started strictly gospel as her background singers. We were known inthe Midwest - in the Detroit, Chicago, and Ohio areas - as Mary Frazier Jones and the JonesSisters for years. But course, once we became early teens - twelve, thirteen - we were alwayslistening to the radio and growing up in the city of Detroit you couldn't help but admire Motown;the Temptations, the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. They had a Motor CityRevue every Christmas Day and different artists would be on those shows. Every kid in Detroitwould put on their new clothes that they got for Christmas and go down to the Fox Theatre. Soat twelve and thirteen I really started listening to secular soul music and then a lady at FortuneRecords (Betty Robinson) came to my mother and asked if we could record a couple of songs inthe secular field and once we started that the word got around. Holland-Dozier-Holland startedrecording on us. We started doing backgrounds for them and then we signed with CurtisMayfield's label (Curtom) in Chicago. I think I was fourteen or fifteen.

How did you get to sign with Holland-Dozier-Holland?

My mum. People that we knew, they knew our reputation as singers and our harmonies. Weactually started out doing background sessions for Holland-Dozier-Holland for singers like FredaPayne because they just loved those harmonies that my mother rehearsed us on daily. We wentto the Detroit Conservatory of Music as well but my mum was our main teacher for those tightharmonies we rehearsed daily. We were so terribly young. My mum was like: if something ishappening do it because you're not going anywhere without me at that time because we were

4 / 12



so young, so innocent, but it was just something they tried and they played it on the radio in thelocal area, Detroit. And from there, I think, a couple of people heard about us and that's whenCurtis Mayfield heard about us and wanted us to join his label when our contract was up withHolland-Dozier-Holland. They were in the process of moving everything to California anyway.

When did you and your sisters start singing and harmonising together?

It was just Brenda and I and my mum at first because Valorie was so bashful and so young anddidn't want to do any of that. She just wanted to be the baby of the family and then finally shejoined us and once she joined us my mum was teaching her her part and Valorie happened tobe born with perfect pitch. She came up with all those adventurous harmonies on 'Nights OverEgypt' and 'At Peace With Woman.' She was the one who would make sure that everybody hadthe right note. So that was her expertise in the Jones Girls family. Some nights it would be herear that would keep us in the studio till four or five o'clock in the morning - it was usually eitherme singing too sharp or too flat (laughs).

As sisters your voices blended incredibly well, didn't they?

Yes, but it's the same way with our speaking voices too. People would call my house orBrenda's house or Valorie's house and say 'oh you guys sound so much alike.' That generallyhappens in family groups: the tones are pretty much the same so I think that that had a wholelot to do with the harmonies in our singing.

What was Curtis Mayfield like to work with?

He was the sweetest, kindest man - just a genius really to me. We would be in the studio and hewould guide our voices and he knew exactly how he wanted to produce us. He did most ofthose productions himself, he and a guy called Charlie 'Boy' Simmons. He's also the co-writerwith Joe Jefferson and Richard Roebuck on 'Who Can I Run To,' which is my favourite JonesGirls' song actually. That's definitely my favourite.

Why so?

5 / 12



I just love it. It's the lyrics. It's asking a question that you wouldn't normally find in a song. To methe lyrics are brilliantly written. And then the music too - so much so that the group Xscape redidit and it became a massive hit for them here in the States. It helped to give my sisters and I ashot of adrenaline when it came out in '95 over here because a lot of older people knew that wehad done it first. Actually, I remember asking Kenny Gamble back then: "please don't put 'WhoCan I Run To' on the B-side of 'You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else' because thatshould be the next single but he didn't listen and they released it as the B-side. That record solda million copies.

(pictured: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff)

6 / 12



How did you get with Gamble and Huff in the first place? Did you feel that you had goneas far as you could with Curtom?

Well, we cut a lot of tracks and most of them are on a CD called 'Keeping Up With The Joneses- The Early Years' which I didn't know even existed until a few years ago, and there's a lot ofCurtom and Music Merchant songs on it. It's a bunch of things that they had in the can fromback in those days. After Holland-Dozier-Holland had moved all of their business to California,we reconnected with them and they flew us in to do backgrounds. We were still in school andcouldn't move out to California because by this time I was in my first year of college and Brendaand Valorie were still in high school so we could only go on weekends or we would go for aweek when were out of school to do the backgrounds.

It was during that time that you hooked up with Diana Ross - how did that happen? (pictu

7 / 12



red left, The Jones Girls with Diana Ross).

Our then manager, McKinley Jackson, told us that Diana Ross was looking for some singers.She'd been turning everybody down and he said would we be interested in trying to go with her?We were like yeah, of course: that was our dream, to be the Supremes. When we were youngerwe would dress up like them and my mum would make us little outfits like the Supremes wore.At that time were with (manager/producer) Dick Scott who had us and the Dramatics. He wasgrooming us and had us singing around the Detroit area with people like Gladys Knight and theFour Tops. He would put on the shows and they would always take one of his groups to openfor these acts, who were huge. So were fans of Diana's from way back . We said yeah toMcKinley and agreed to audition for her. She immediately said: can you guys get passports,because we're going to London (laughs). So that's how all that started. When we got back to theStates to start a tour she said you guys are too good to sing backgrounds behind me oranybody else for too long. You know I change clothes a lot in my show so I want you to find asong to do when I'm off stage getting changed and I'm going to introduce you to my audienceswith that song. We chose (the Leon Ware-Pam Sawyer song) 'If I Ever Lose This Heaven'because it had a lot of harmonies.

So how did you come to the attention of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff?

We were in Philadelphia singing with Diana and Gamble & Huff and Patti LaBelle all happenedto be in the audience that night and came backstage and asked if we were interested inrecording. And, of course, we were and that's how we hooked up with them.

What were Gamble & Huff like to work with?

At that time they were running Philadelphia International like Berry Gordy was running Motown.All the writers had classrooms with a piano in and we would have a schedule where we got withthis or that person. They'd play the songs to us and then we'd sit with Gamble & Huff afterbasically singing on these little recorders in each of the writers' offices and we would tell themwhat we wanted to record in the studio. One of things that I really liked about them was thatthey respected us even though we were very young - we had been in the business a very longtime - and generally, they would let us select the songs that we wanted to record. They did notpush any songs on us at all. I think all of those guys respected the fact that we had been in theindustry for years, especially as background vocalists and one of the things that we used to

8 / 12



laugh about after-the-fact was that we should have gotten a piece of a lot of those songsbecause the backgrounds - all of them - were created by my sisters and myself. Thebackgrounds made a lot of the songs.

Yes, they were integral to the music weren't they? Another key figure for the Jones Girlsproduction-wise was Dexter Wansel. What was he like to collaborate with?

Dexter was the same. He and Cynthia Biggs, his writing partner, became our close friends andto this day we're very close. When ever I'm performing in Philadelphia the whole family -Gamble, Huff, Dexter - they all generally come to my shows and it is always fantastic seeingthose people because not only were they my favourite producers but we also hung out. Sowhenever we went to Philadelphia recording we hung out with them at their house and becamereally good friends as well.

McKinley Jackson, who was your manager, also produced you. What was the experienceof working with him like?

Oh, wonderful. We grew up with McKinley so he knew us as children. He introduced us toHolland-Dozier-Holland. And then he and I were like dating for years and so yes, he was ourmanager at the time. He's musical director for Otis Williams' Temptations so he's doing very wellnow. He's an old man now 'cos he was much older than me when we all together and he's agreat person.

What was it like recording at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia? How did the sessionsproceed?

The rhythm section would do their thing separately. We always went in to do just the vocals.They always did theirs first but primarily MFSB, they were like Philadelphia's version ofMotown's Funk Brothers because they were on all the songs.

Arguably your most iconic song is 'Nights Over Egypt' from 1981's 'Get As Much Love AsYou Can' album. Can you remember when Dexter Wansel first played it to you?

9 / 12



Yes I do. I remember it so well because we sat there and at first Brenda and I didn't think that itwas the right song for us. By this time we really good friends with Cynthia Biggs (DexterWansel's lyricist and songwriting partner) and she started talking to us about how she wrote thissong and she spent a lot of time in the library making sure that the words that we were going toeventually sing were correct. And then we tried a different version with a lead (vocal) but westarted liking it when they just said let's just try all harmonies, no lead singer, like we had doneon 'We're A Melody' on that very first Jones Girls' album. The whole time Valorie kept saying weought to do this song. She wanted it to be the first single off the 'Get As Much Love As You Can'album. If they'd have listened to her that album probably would've done a whole lot better.Nobody was paying the attention to her that they should have been. It's one of our biggestsongs around the world and Brenda and I didn't really hear it at first but we grew to love thesong once we knew what Cynthia was talking about lyrically and the way that they produced itwith these beautiful harmonies. That's why I think Valorie loved it so much because of her ear -she could hear it would be great with these different, very difficult, harmonies.

In 1983 you left Philadelphia International for RCA records. What prompted your move?

We weren't getting what we really wanted from Gamble & Huff anymore. We felt that we werebeing put on the backburner and so joined a friend of ours, Robert Wright, who was head ofsoul music at RCA. Our contract was up and rather than re-sign with Gamble & Huff we decidedto just venture out to RCA. That record, 'On Target,' was good but Gamble & Huff released'Keep It Comin'' at around the same time with songs that we had done with Keni Burkepreviously. We had had those songs in the can that we had done and they happened to releasethem, maybe at around the same time or a little after 'On Target' from what I can remember.

10 / 12



'On Target' had a completely different sound and brought you up to speed with what washappening with the new electronic dance music on the urban scene. How did it feel likeworking with Fonzi Thornton and Robert Wright, the producers and writers of 'OnTarget'?

Oh, that was fun. Fonzi's a great guy, a fun guy, and we had known him from trips to New Yorkand then Luther Vandross too, because they were best friends. He and Robert Wright, it wasfun working with both of those guys.

'Keep It Comin' seemed to derail your RCA career at that point...

Yes it did, it sold better than 'On Target' and because of that we never did another album forthem. In 84/85 there was a lot of internal stuff going on in with the group too. Basically Brendahad fallen in love and was going to move to Atlanta and Valorie wanted to experience college,because she was the only one who hadn't had an opportunity to go to college. Also, we weren'tworking with Diana anymore, though we had worked with her for years. We just felt that weshould take a break for a while and that's what we did. But I was bored and then one dayGamble rang me. He said what about you doing a solo project? I said sure and that's how wesegwayed right on into the 'Always In The Mood' CD that brought me back to Philly. We hiredBunny Sigler for that and, of course, Gamble & Huff and then Gamble gave me the bestopportunity of my life, of my writing career, when I wrote 'She Knew About Me' with him and Huffso I was excited because we sat in his office late at night writing those songs.

11 / 12



You had a number one hit with 'Do You Get Enough Love.' How did that feel? I was talking to a friend of mine about it the other day. I said to them I remember exactly where Iwas. I was going into the radio station in Chicago, Illinois, and by the time we got up there to dothe interview with the DJ, Kenny Gamble called the station and said to me: do you know thatyour record's number one in Billboard? I said what?! I was so excited. You know when somethings happen in your life and you know where you were? Well, I remember that, yes. But it took another eight years for your second album to come out, didn't it? Yes, that one ('With You') I did over there in the UK. I didn't do a second album for PhiladelphiaInternational and Kenny Gamble because their relationship folded. Everybody was put on holdfor a long time as they downsized the company. They were pretty much really going to decide ifthey were going to stay in the music business or not. So I got lost in all of that madness thatwas going on during that time but because 'Do You Get Enough Love' was a number one hitand 'Always In The Mood' was a big album over here I was able to do what I love doing, whichis work. So I did that up until '92. I got married and had my son, Cameron, in '88. He's 26 now. And is he following you into the music business? Yes he is. Rap's huge over here and in fact he has a rap group. He's 6'7" though. We went tocollege on a basketball scholarship because his dad is one of the Harlem Globetrotter's andhe's very tall. So he's followed his dad into basketball but now he's doing music and his group isup-and-coming. I just recorded something with Valorie's son. As you know Valorie passed awaya few years ago and I raised her son, Phelps. He's a couple of years older than my sonCameron. He's an excellent musician and producer. So he does songs for Cameron's rapgroup. They're called DMG - Debonair Music Group - and Phelps Jones (aka PJ). We just did aremake of 'At Peace With Woman' that has rap in it. There's a lot of violence against womengoing on and I thought that this is the time to remake it, which we did do, and I wanted to have itcoming from a young man's perspective, so my son and PJ did it. They did an excellent job withthe beat and the lyrics. It may or may not be on my next album but it will definitely be coming outat some point because it carries such a strong message from these young men. The Jones Girls reconvened in 1992 for 'Coming Back' didn't they? What circumstancesled you to come to the UK to make an album? Myrna Williams, who was managing us at that time, knew a ton of people there and we had hada couple of sold out shows at the Dominion Theatre in 1991... I was at one of them. Really? My mum came on stage and really stole the show (laughs). Rich Satnarine and PhilNugent had just started a record label, A.R.P., and were big fans of our music. Myrna said tothem the girls aren't signed to a label in the States; they're not really singing together that muchanymore and Shirley's doing her thing. They said it would be great if we could get them torecord for us. She told us that she thought that that would be a great move for us so that's whatwe decided to do. We came over with the kids - at that time we brought all of the kids, who werelike four years old or somewhere in there at the time - and they rented this home for us. Wewere there for about six weeks. That's when we met Errol Henry and a couple other of theproducers. We were blown away by their musicianship and how those guys had studied oursound because actually that album to me is one of my favourites because those guys really hadeverything going like Gamble & Huff did. They were able to get that sound, so that's why I lovethat album so much.

It was reissued last year on Expansion. Yes, because the record label had five years from when it was issued originally to get a dealand get it released over here in the states or the rights reverted back to me. Ralph Tee (head ofExpansion Records), who's a good friend of mine, asked me when I was over there (in the UK):I've been thinking about reissuing 'Coming Back.' Do you know who I can get in touch withabout re-issuing it because ARP records doesn't exist any more. I told him well, I actually ownthat. He said really? I said yeah, and so we worked out a deal and he reissued it. Looking back on your career, what's been the biggest highlight so far? My number one record ('Do You Get Enough Love'). Also, us working with Diana Ross andworking with Gamble & Huff. The most recent highlight was the way that this new record gotrecorded. I was over there on 4th July in the UK doing a soul weekender at Hayling Island.They had brought me over for the performance and I did not know that Hayling Island was about100 miles outside of London. Steve Ripley (Shirley's PR in the UK) had said that he would likeme to do a song while I was here and I said okay. He said: Errol Henry says he has a song thathe wants you to do while you're here so I said great, I've got a couple of days off so if they makethe arrangements I would love to do it only because I knew Errol's work from before. Prior tocoming over I said I need to hear it so I can rehearse and I need to read the lyrics but I nevergot them and it was kind of like okay, how am I going to do this in the timeframe that I've gotbecause I had other interviews and stuff to do. Even on my off day a promoter had set up somestuff for me and lo and behold they figured it out. They came and got me and took me to(ex-Faces member) Ronnie Lane's mobile studio, which I found out had so much history. It wasfascinating how we were able to connect and gel that quickly. Errol played the music for me firstand the reason that he did that was because he didn't know how I was going to take the lyricsthat he had written. When he played the music I said that's a beautiful song and when hestarted singing the lyrics, I said oh my goodness, I have got to do this because it's almost likeme going full circle; starting first in gospel music and now recording a song that is so upliftingand inspirational and gospel in its own way. And that's how we did it. I did the lead and all of thebackgrounds in about three-and-a-half hours - that's how much I loved it. So that's my highlightright now. I'm moving forwards now at this point in my life. I think the world wants to hearinspirational, uplifting music and that's what I plan to keep putting out there. Will you be doing some live shows in the UK? Definitely. I've been coming over there a lot. I'd done the O2 with Jean Carne and GwenMcCrae and I've played with Patrice Rushen. I've also done the Jazz Café and have been allover the UK. I'm already talking to a couple of promoters over there so hopefully I'll be overthere to finish the album and to be doing some shows while I'm there as well. 'BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME' IS OUT NOW ON EXPANSIONAS A 7-INCH SINGLE AND DOWNLOAD. SHIRLEY'S NEW ALBUM FOLLOWS LATER IN THE YEAR.

12 / 12

THE JONES GIRL IS BACK - SHIRLEY JONES TALKS TO … · THE JONES GIRL IS BACK - SHIRLEY JONES TALKS TO SJF Written by Charles Waring Wednesday, 07 January 2015 12:38 - Last Updated

Documents