Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized".

Biography

Jones was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. She started singing in her family's gospel group, the Jones Singers at the age of six. Her first recording was "Lonely Teardrops" under the name of Linda Lane on

Cub Records Cub Records was an American record label, and a subsidiary of MGM Records, which started in 1958 for rhythm and blues releases. Artists who released records on Cub included the Impalas (" Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)"), Jimmy Jones (" Handy ...

in 1963. She was found performing at a local club by songwriter Jerry Harris who introduced her to producer George Kerr. After unsuccessful singles on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

in 1964 and Blue Cat Records the following year, Kerr took her to

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

' R&B subsidiary,

Loma Records Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. History In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mike Mai ...

in 1967. The first Loma release proved to be her biggest success, the ballad, "Hypnotized" reached No. 4 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 21 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. This proved to be the label's best-selling record and it was followed by two further hits, including "What've I Done (To Make You Mad)" (No. 8 R&B, No. 61 pop), and an album. Linda Jones Day 2021 (2)

After Loma closed in late 1968, Jones had a final single on the main Warner label before joining

Neptune Records Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, William Dunst and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to t ...

, run by

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

record producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Two singles, both produced by Kerr, saw some R&B success before she signed for All Platinum subsidiary, Turbo Records, in New Jersey in 1971. A powerful revamped version of the former Jerry Butler and

The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, doo-wop, R&B, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur Bro ...

hit, "For Your Precious Love" reached both the R&B (No. 15) and pop (No. 74) charts in 1972 and saw her career take off again. Reviewing her 1972 album, ''Your Precious Love'', in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote: "Jones isn't too long on artistry—she likes to dispense with formality and just start at the climax throwing her emotions and her high notes all over material like '

Dancing in the Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

' and 'I Can't Make it Alone.' Pretty amazing, in its way, and definitely recommended to people who always get out of their cars to look at waterfalls and strange rock formations." Shortly after the end of her national tour supporting the album, Jones died at her mother's home at the age of 27, while resting between matinee and evening shows at New York City's

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

in Harlem. She had been a

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

for most of her life and slipped into a coma while sleeping.

Legacy

All Platinum put out three albums of previously issued and unreleased material after her death and in 2008 her daughter Terry Jones, along with Helen Bruner, produced an album entitled, "Soul Talkin" featuring her mother's vocals. One of the tracks, "Baby I Know" was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

at the 51st Awards Ceremony in 2008. On June 3, 2021, The Grammy Museum in Newark, New Jersey added artifacts of Jones to their New Jersey Legends Exhibit, which has been a feature since 2017, that includes Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, The Sugar Hill Gang, The Rascals, Melba Moore, Naughty By Nature and others. On December 14, 2021, The City of Newark, New Jersey honored Jones with renaming Sherman Avenue, the street she lived on, to Linda Jones Way. Her daughter Terry Jones and singer Helen Burner was in attendance to accept the honor. Producer George Kerr and recording artist's

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are ...

Stuart Bascombe Stuart D. Bascombe (born January 20, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Bascombe is an original member of the Rhythm and blues, R&B/Soul music, soul vocal group Black Ivory who recorded a number of R&B hits ...

Black Ivory Black Ivory is an American R&B group from Harlem, which had a number of hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around", " You and I", " Time Is Love", and "Will We Ever Come Together". History Early days The group was originally known as th ...

, and Dolores Milligan of the band Skyy were also in attendance.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Loma Records Discography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Linda 1944 births 1972 deaths American soul singers Deaths from diabetes Musicians from Newark, New Jersey 20th-century American singers Loma Records artists