Jessica Marguerite Cleaves (December 10, 1948 – May 2, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter who was the lead singer of the Friends of Distinction,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, Parliament Funkadelic, and

Raw Silk Raw Silk was an American dance music, dance band which originated in New York City, New York. History Raw Silk first signed to West End Records, a popular Paradise Garage, garage label for which they recorded songs that became moderate hits. T ...

Early life

Jessica Cleaves was born to Mary Gladys Cleaves (née Wilkerson), a librarian, and Lane C. Cleaves II, a US Postal employee. Cleaves' paternal grandfather, Lane C. Cleaves Sr., was Presiding Bishop over Phillips Temple, CME. Cleaves attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

' School of Music and later studied at The University of California, Los Angeles. One of her classmates was the famed songwriter

Skip Scarborough Clarence Alexander "Skip" Scarborough (November 26, 1944 – July 3, 2003) was an American songwriter, best known for romantic ballads. Biography Scarborough was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He lived in Los Angeles most of his life. A prol ...

Career

The Friends of Distinction was founded by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, and beside Cleaves, it included Barbara Jean Love (plus Charlene Gibson, who replaced Love during her pregnancy). During 1971, Cleaves became a member of the band

. She went on to appear on EWF's 1972 LP '' Last Days and Time'' and 1973 album '' Head to the Sky''. After this album was released Cleaves quit EWF before founder Maurice White implemented his plans to fire her. Then Cleaves later moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

where she joined forces with George Clinton and

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

. Cleaves went on to appear on

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

's 1976 album '' Tales of Kidd Funkadelic'' and 1979 LP '' Uncle Jam Wants You''. She also sang on

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

's 1979 album ''

Gloryhallastoopid ''Gloryhallastoopid (Or Pin the Tale on the Funky)'' is the eighth album by the American funk band Parliament (band), Parliament, released in 1979. It was their penultimate album on the Casablanca Records label, and is another concept album that t ...

'', 1980 LP '' Trombipulation'' and Funkadelic's 1981 album ''

The Electric Spanking of War Babies ''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' is the twelfth studio album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in April 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and baby boomers. Sly Stone contribu ...

''. Cleaves later appeared on George Clinton's 1983 album ''

Computer Games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'', his 1986 LP '' R&B Skeletons in the Closet'' and the P Funk All Stars' 1995 album '' Dope Dogs''."Soul Singer Jessica Cleaves Dies at 65"
''Variety'', May 7, 2014.

Personal life

Cleaves died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, aged 65, following complications from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Her godson, director Armand Araujo, began filming ''Jessica Cleaves, My Friends of Distinction'' at the time of her death.

References

External links

* * 1948 births 2014 deaths American women singer-songwriters American soul singers American funk singers Earth, Wind & Fire members P-Funk members Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California {{US-singer-stub