Henry Oliver Jones (December 9, 1923 – October 4, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter.

Biography

Jones was born in

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 ...

. From the mid 1940s until the late 1950s, he was a member of various

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

vocal groups, including

The Ravens ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, The Blenders, and

The Cues The Cues were an American R&B vocal group, who recorded both under their group name and under various other names as backing singers for artists on Atlantic Records and other labels in the 1950s. They recorded as the Rhythmakers with Ruth Brown ...

. The latter group, in particular, performed as

backing singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

s for recording stars, including

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American R&B singer who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and "I ...

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

, and

Nat "King" Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. Eugene Chadbourne, "Ollie Jones", ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 20 April 2019 Jones also wrote songs, and with his vocal bandmates recorded demo recordings. His best-known compositions include "

Send for Me ''Send for Me'' is an LP album by Julie London, released by Liberty Records under catalog number LRP-3171 as a monophonic recording in 1961, and later in stereo under catalog number LST-7171 in 1961. Jimmy Rowles was the orchestra conductor. ...

", a number one R&B chart hit for

in 1957; " Love Makes the World Go Round", a hit for

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

in 1958; Fabian's 1959 hit "

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

"; "Step by Step" by

The Crests The Crests were an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. Their most popular song, "16 Candles", rose to #2 on the ''Bi ...

in 1960; "I'll Be There" by Damita Jo, a response to

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...

's hit " Stand By Me"; and " Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers", recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in 1963. Tribute: Henry Oliver "Ollie" Jones, ''The Record'' (Hackensack, New Jersey), October 9, 1990, reprinted at ''FindaGrave''
Retrieved 20 April 2019 Jones is credited at BMI with over 200 compositions. Jones, Ollie, BMI Repertoire
Retrieved 20 April 2019 Jones died in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, in 1990, aged 66.

References

1923 births 1990 deaths American rhythm and blues musicians African-American songwriters Songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American people {{US-songwriter-stub