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Gloria Jones was born 19 October 1945 in Cincinnati, and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of 7, where she first started singing. Jones' first taste of fame came at the age of 14, when, while still at school, she formed with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston the successful gospel group the Cogic Singers, with whom, she recorded the album 'It's A Blessing'. Although she remained with the group for some four years, she soon found herself drawn into the Los Angeles pop scene.
In 1964, Gloria, in her late-teens, was discovered by the songwriter Ed Cobb. Signing with Cobb's Greengrass Productions, she recorded her first hit record, "Heartbeat Pts 1 & 2," which Cobb wrote and produced. She toured the United States, performing on several American television programs, footage of which still exists. One memorable performance occurred at a Rock and Soul show in Disneyland in the summer of 1965. "Heartbeat" became a rhythm and blues tune which was recorded later by Dusty Springfield, Spencer Davis and many other artists.
By then, Gloria had recorded other songs for Uptown Records, a subsidiary of Capitol/EMI. Included among these was another Cobb written song, "Tainted Love". Marc Almond of the duo, Soft Cell, whose cover version of "Tainted Love" reached 1 worldwide, originally heard the song in a nightclub in Northern England. So strong was her following there that she was proclaimed the "Northern Queen of Soul." Jones also recorded an album for the Uptown label entitled 'Come Go With Me' which was released in 1966.
Gloria studied piano, and acquired an advanced classical degree primarily in the works of Bach. In 1968, she joined the cast of Catch My Soul, a rock and soul version of the play 'Othello' - which included cast members Jerry Lee Lewis, The Blossoms, and Dr. John. During the summer of 1968, she performed in a play called Revolution, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. That winter, she joined the Los Angeles cast of Hair, the musical. Eventually, she was to meet Pam Sawyer, who asked her to write for Motown Records. Jones and Sawyer were amongst the second string of writers at Motown, but still wrote for such artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, Commodores, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. As Jones was also initially a singer for the label, protocol demanded a pseudonym, so for some of her earlier co-writes she used the name LaVerne Ware.
Songs that Gloria worked on during this period include The Supremes' "Have I Lost You" (writer), Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross' "My Mistake" (writer), Junior Walker's "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (writer/producer) and the Four Top's "Just Seven Numbers" (writer). The most remembered song that Jones penned was Gladys Knight and the Pips "If I Were Your Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy in 1971. However, Jones left Motown at the end of 1973, subsequent to the release of her album Share My Love.
Gloria first met Marc Bolan of T.Rex in 1969 while performing in Hair. While touring with Joe Cocker in Europe, Gloria met Marc for the second time at the Speakeasy in London. In 1972, she was recommended by Warner Brothers Bob Regere to sing backing vocals behind T.Rex at the Winterland in San Francicso. Soon after joining T.Rex, Gloria and Marc became romantically involved. Together, they had a son, Rolan Bolan. Gloria sang backing vocals and played clavinet with T.Rex from 1973 to 1977. She released an album in 1976, titled 'Vixen', featuring several songs written and produced by Bolan.
In 1977, Gloria worked closely with the group Gonzales, producing several of their singles, and also penning their disco hit, "Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet". She toured the UK with Gonzales, first on the Bob Marley tour, and then with Osibisa.
On 16 September 1977, Gloria and Marc were involved in an automobile accident that tragically cut Marc's life short. Gloria nearly died in the accident as well, and was in the hospital for several days afterwards. She did not learn of Marc's death until the day of his funeral. When she was well enough to leave the hospital, she soon found that Marc's fans had looted what was left of the couple's possessions, and since she and Marc were not legally married, she was not entitled to any inheritance, except for the £10,000 which Marc left her in his will, drafted in 1973.
Having lost her belongings and her home, Gloria and her son Rolan moved back to Los Angeles where they stayed with family.
In 1978, she released the album 'Windstorm', which was a dedication to the memory of Marc. On the back cover, it is written "Special Dedication in memory of my son's father, the late Marc Bolan, whom we miss very much." Her single "Bring On The Love" was a success on the American R&B charts, and the title cut "Windstorm" faired just as well in England.
Gloria released the album 'Reunited', produced by Ed Cobb, in 1981. She also collaborated again with Billy Preston and other Cogic Singers for a 1984 reunion album 'The Cogic's'.
She has since worked as a musical supervisor for films and is presently living in Sierra Leone, where she is building The Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film.
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