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

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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 List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States. 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 M ...

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 com ...

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

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

' R&B subsidiary,

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

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, also known as simply the 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), o ...

. 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. 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, Kenny Gamble 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 th ...

, run by

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

, 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, R&B, doo-wop, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthu ...

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 influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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 Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha and the Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for two ...

' 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 (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

in Harlem. She had been a

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

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 Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...

, 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

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 were in attendance to accept the honor. Producer George Kerr and recording artists

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American R&B 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 ...

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 R&B/soul vocal group Black Ivory who recorded a number of R&B hits in the 1970s, including "Don' ...

Black Ivory Black Ivory is an American rhythm and blues, R&B group from Harlem, which had a number of hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around (R&B Song), Don't Turn Around", "You and I (Black Ivory song), You and I", "I'll Find Away (Loneliest Man ...

, and Dolores Milligan of the band

Skyy SKYY vodka is an American vodka spirit produced by the Campari America division of Campari Group of Milan, Italy, formerly SKYY Spirits LLC. SKYY Vodka is 40% ABV or 80 proof, except in Australia and New Zealand where it is 37.5% ABV / 75 Proo ...

were also in attendance.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Loma Records Discography
*

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