Grace Jones
In personas ranging from notorious S&M Disco diva to ultracool movie star, Grace Jones is truly unique in the history of Dance music. Using striking as an adjective to describe her is an understatment. She is a statuesque Jamaican woman with sharp-cut hair to enhance her profile and clothing that always emphasizes angles over curves. With a combination of presence, talent, skilled production and, probably most of all, sheer nerve, Grace was one of the few performers who successfully evolved from a Disco star to a fixture of 80’s Dance clubs.
Following the study of theater at Syracuse University and success as a model, Grace Jones debuted onstage in New York City at the Gallery. The notoriety of use of S&M elements in her stage shows helped Grace become an underground Disco star. Soon Grace was known as Queen of the Gay Discos. Her first 12-inch single was released in late 1976 and included Sorry backed with Thats the Trouble produced by Disco pioneer Tom Moulton. Her flamboyant style was an instant hit in clubs. Her next 12-inch I Need a Man hit the Disco charts in the summer of 1977. Portfolio, her first album, featured the above tracks and an entire side devoted to Grace’s Disco versions of the Broadway showstoppers Send In the Clowns from A Little Night Music, What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line and Tomorrow from Annie. This album side brought Grace back to the Dance charts in the fall.
Again produced by Tom Moulton and featuring arrangements by John Davis, the soaring disco of Do Or Die led off Grace’s next album Fame in the summer of 1978. The 12-inch single returned her to the top of the Disco charts. Onstage and in the crowd, Grace had also become a regular at Studio 54, the most famous and notorious of New York City clubs. Her followup album Muse, released in 1979, was a disappointment. It was the final album with Tom Moulton and failed to generate the accustomed excitement among club audiences.
In response, Grace and her husband, French artist Jean-Paul Goude, began to retool her image. The first fruits of their work appeared on the critically acclaimed Warm Leatherette album released in 1980. Recorded at the legendary Compass Point studios in the Bahamas and featuring collaboration with Reggae-Dub legends Sly and Robbie, the new music was a stunning breakthrough. Dance audiences didn’t completely warm up to her new sound yet but the Reggae-Funk-Rock nexus of Warm Leatherette, Bullshit and The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game gained new fans among Punk and New Wave adherents. Her onstage persona morphed from Disco diva to one of cool, aloof androgyne.
Grace recaptured her Dance audience with the release of Nightclubbing in 1981. The funky first single Pull Up To the Bumper mesmerized dancers in both sound and video. Some consider this album her masterpiece. Living My Life, Grace’s final album recorded at Compass Point, was released in late 1982. A track from the album titled Nipple To the Bottle placed high on the Dance charts. Also included was Grace’s atmospheric Reggae-based recording of Melvin Van Peebles’ ode to New York The Apple Stretching.
Following this album Grace temporarily retired from recording music. She received a Grammy Award nomination for her 1983 video release A One Man Show. Grace also garnered acclaim as an actress in 1984’s Conan the Destroyer and 1985’s James Bond thriller A View To a Kill. She returned to the recording studio in 1985 working with producer Trevor Horn to create an autobiographical album Slave To the Rhythm. The title track topped the Dance charts. For her 1986 release, Grace sought out another of the most accomplished producers in Dance music, Nile Rodgers. The album Inside Story featured the hit Im Not Perfect-But Im Perfect For You .
In the late 1980’s, Grace continued to make acting appearances, but she has since indicated it was personally a very difficult time as many friends and fans succumbed to the AIDS epidemic. Her last studio album to date, Bulletproof Heart, was released in 1989. It featured work with a variety of producers and Love On Top Of Love-Killer Kiss was another club hit. Grace’s only studio release since has been 1993’s single Sex Drive. Grace continues to make occasional appearances in film, onstage, and giving interviews.
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