MUST HAVES. MUSIC EDITION. GRACE JONES.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Active1970s - 2020s

BornMay 19, 1948 in Spanish Town, Jamaica

Genre

R&B

Styles

Club/Dance

Disco

Post-Disco

Dance-Rock

HITS

Pull Up to the Bumper, La Vie En Rose, Private Life, I Need A Man,etc

ALBUMS

Portfolio (1977)

Fame (1978)

Muse (1979)

Warm Leatherette (1980)

Nightclubbing (1981)

Living My Life (1982)

Inside Story (1986)

Bulletproof Heart (1989)

CULTURAL IMPACT

Grace Jones was one of the most memorable artists to emerge from the late 1970s hedonistic Studio 54 disco scene in New York City. Jones was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and was raised by her parents in a strict and devoutly Pentecostal household before moving to the United States and leaving Jones and her siblings in the care of their grandmother and an abusive step-grandfather. The Jones children moved to the United States with their parents when they were 13 years old. Jones studied theater at Syracuse University before embarking on a modeling career, as evidenced by his appearance on the 1973 Philadelphia International reissue of Billy Paul's second album.

Her statuesque and flamboyant appearance became a hit in Paris and, later, New York, earning her a recording contract with Island Records. While the disco-based, Tom Moulton-produced albums Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978), and Muse (1979) did not catapult Jones into the mainstream, she did score several Billboard club hits and amass a sizable following with her sexually charged live show, earning her the title "Queen of the Gay Discos."