b. Gloria Richetta Jones, 19th October 1945, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
Gloria Jones was born in Cincinnati, and relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 7.
When she was 14 years old she formed (with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston) the gospel group the Cogic Singers.
With the group, Gloria recorded the album 'It's A Blessing'.
She remained with the Cogic Singers for four years, before meeting the songwriter Ed Cobb.
In 1964, Gloria signed with Ed's Greengrass Productions, where she released her first single in 1965, 'Heartbeat Pts 1 & 2', a tune later recorded by the likes of Dusty Springfield and Spencer Davis.
She was also recording for other imprints at this time, including Uptown Records, a subsidiary of Capitol/EMI.
Gloria also recorded an album for the Uptown label entitled 'Come Go With Me' in 1966.
tainted love b/w my bad boy's comin' home - 1965 / come go with me - 1966
She also recorded for the Minit label, releasing several singles including, 'Look What You Started' b/w 'When He Touches Me' in 1968, 'Come Go With Me' b/w 'How Do You Tell An Angel' in 1966, 'Finders Keepers' b/w 'Run One Flight Of Stairs' in 1966, 'Heartbeat' b/w 'Heartbeat Pt.2' in 1965 and 'Tainted Love' b/w 'My Bad Boy's Comin' Home' in 1965.
The latter song became a U.K. 'Northern Soul' classic in 1965 for the Champion Records imprint, before the New Romantic group Soft Cell achieved chart success with the song in 1981.
In 1968, she joined the cast of 'Catch My Soul', a musical version of the play Othello, which included the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, The Blossoms, and Dr. John.
Gloria also performed in a play called 'Revolution', at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
She was also enlisted to the cast of the Los Angeles version of Hair, the musical.
It was a chance meeting with Pam Sawyer, that Gloria was asked to write for Motown Records.
The duo penned several songs for the likes of Gladys Knight & the Pips ('If I Were Your Woman'), The Supremes' ('Have I Lost You'), Commodores ('The Zoo, The Human Zoo'), The Four Tops ('Just Seven Numbers'), Sisters Love ('Give Me Your Love'), Junior Walker ('I Ain't Going Nowhere') and The Jackson 5.
At times, Gloria maintained a songwriting anonymity, penning songs under the name of LaVerne Ware.
share my love - 1973 / vixen - 1976
In 1973 she recorded 'Share My Love' for Motown before moving to London.
Gloria co-wrote the Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross, 1974 hit duet, 'My Mistake'.
That same year, she joined T. Rex (which by that time was becoming less popular) as a keyboardist and backing vocalist.
with mick ronson and marc bolan
Gloria first met Marc Bolan (of the group) in 1969 whilst performing in 'Hair', later meeting for a second time at the Speakeasy in London.
They both became a couple with Marc helping Gloria on a solo album called 'Vixen' in 1976, playing guitar and writing songs for the album.
Gloria sang backing vocals and played keyboards with T. Rex between 1973 and 1977.
In 1977, she worked with the group U.K. Soul Group, Gonzales, producing several of their singles, and writing the hit 'Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet' for the group.
Marc and Gloria both had a son, called Rolan Bolan, their time together coming to a tragic end when Marc was killed in an Austin Mini that Gloria was driving, which crashed on the 16th of September 1977 on the way home to Marc's Richmond property.
Having lost her possessions, following the looting of the couples property, whilst she was hospitalised, Gloria relocated back to Los Angeles where she has recorded for labels including Capitol ('Windstorm', 1979), AVI and Sidewalk.
windstorm - 1979 / reunited - 1982
'Windstorm' was dedicated to the memory of Marc Bolan.
She was also a lead singer in the group Aquarian Dream on a couple of their albums during this period.
Gloria later released an album (produced by Ed Cobb), entitled 'Reunited' in 1981.
She also collaborated again with Billy Preston and other Cogic Singers for a 1984 reunion album 'The Cogic's'.
Gloria now resides in New Salem, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Chris Mitchell.
Albums:
Come Go With Me (Uptown Records 1966)
Share My Love (Reel Music Records 1973)
Vixen ( EMI Records 1976)
Windstorm (EMI Records 1979)
Reunited (AVI Records 1982)
