Maxine Jones (born January 16, 1962), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman, best known as a founding member of the R&B/ pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. She sang lead vocals on the group's signature singles " My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and " Don't Let Go (Love)", both of which garnered international success and sold over a million copies. Throughout her career, Jones has sold over 20 million records with En Vogue. Her work has earned her several awards and nominations, including two
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
, a
Billboard Music Award
The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a Billboard charts, music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annu ...
, four
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...
, and four
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of '' Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
In 1988, Jones was chosen along with Dawn Robinson and Cindy Herron to be in a three-woman girl group by producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy. After adding Terry Ellis to the line-up, the group became a quartet and chose the name En Vogue. They began recording their debut album in 1989 and finished in 1990. In 1990, En Vogue released their first single " Hold On", which became a number one single on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart.En Vogue Chart History ''Billboard''. Retrieved March 4, 2019 Later that year, the group released their debut album '' Born to Sing'', which sold a million copies the United States.
The group released their second album ''
Funky Divas
''Funky Divas'' is the second studio album by American recording group En Vogue, released by Atlantic Records division East West on March 24, 1992, in the United States. Conceived after the success of their Grammy Award–nominated debut album ...
'' in 1992, which sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. The album's lead single " My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", which features Jones on lead vocals, peaked at number two on the
Billboard 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), ...
36th Annual Grammy Awards
The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening ...
.En Vogue , Artist National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2019 Jones also shares lead vocals on one of the album's top-charting singles " Free Your Mind". "Free Your Mind" won two
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
Video Music Awards, for "Best R&B Video" and "Best Dance Video". En Vogue released an EP in the fall of 1993, entitled '' Runaway Love''. The lead single " Whatta Man", featuring co-lead vocals by Jones and a collaboration with
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...
, peaked in the top-ten on the Billboard charts and sold over a million copies. In 1995, En Vogue was featured on the single " Freedom (Theme from Panther)".
In 1996, En Vogue released " Don't Let Go (Love)" with Jones singing co-lead vocals of the song. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the motion picture '' Set It Off''. Released in the autumn, it became the group's biggest hit to date going number one worldwide. It also sold over 1.8 million copies worldwide and became certified platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. In response to the large commercial success of "Don't Let Go (Love)", the group steadfastly went to work on its third album. As the album was nearing completion, Robinson chose to leave the group in April 1997 after difficult contractual negotiations reached a stalemate. The ending result saw En Vogue re-recording their third album with Jones singing lead vocals on more of the songs. In June 1997, the group released their third studio album '' EV3'', which went platinum. In 2000, they released their fourth album, ''
Masterpiece Theatre
''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...
''. The following year, Jones left En Vogue to focus on family and was replaced by Amanda Cole. After the release of En Vogue's fifth album, Jones returned to the group. In late 2004, Jones toured with En Vogue while Cindy was on maternity leave and continued to perform with En Vogue until April 2012.
On September 26, 2011, Ellis, Jones, and Herron released a single "I'll Cry Later" from their forthcoming album that was planned for a December release. Negotiations for the album release resulted in Jones leaving En Vogue, which was discussed with Robinson on
Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
nearly a year later on October 17, 2012.
2012–13: Heirs to the Throne and En Vogue to the Max
In October 2012, Jones and Dawn Robinson appeared on
Access Hollywood
''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
to announce they are forming a new girl group called Heirs to the Throne. The duo launched their website, Twitter, and Facebook for the new group. They also performed at several venues with Shaunté Usual as their third member. The following year, Robinson and Jones parted ways and Jones went on to form her own group called "En Vogue to the Max". It was later announced that the former group mates Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis sued Jones for use of the En Vogue name and demanding one million dollars for damages. However, Ellis and Herron could not demonstrate harm done to the company from Jones' use of the name. Robinson participated as a witness in the trial but ultimately stated that she was not directly involved in the dispute, as she had surrendered her rights to use the name herself when she departed from the LLC years earlier. She also appeared as a judge in season two's Paramount Idol, alongside Bruce Flohr and Andy Waldeck.
2014–2024: Solo career and The Funky Divas
In 2014, Jones began recording her first solo album with producer DJ King Assassin entitled, ''To the Max''.Former En Vogue Member Maxine Jones Readies New Single "Didn't I" Top40-Charts. Retrieved March 24, 2014 Jones released a single "Didn't I" on May 15, 2014. In 2015, Jones began her own radio show called "Max Radio". In 2016, Jones went on tour for the stage-play "Suspicion, Lies, and Death by Pies!" by Teresa D. Ballard. In March 2017, Jones announced the forthcoming release of her autobiographical self-help book "A Smart Girls Guide to Girl Groups" in the summer through Welstar Publications, LLC. In June 2017, Jones released a cover version of " Don't Let Go (Love)" as a duet with Australian singer Greg Gould.
In October 2019, Jones reunited with En Vogue for an on-stage performance to salute music industry executive
Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American record company executive. Since 2019, she is the Chairman and CEO, chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested ...
at the City of Hope Gala 2019. This marked the first time all five members performed together. In late 2019, Jones and Dawn Robinson toured under the group name The Funky Divas but later disbanded in 2020. In November 2022, Jones released a single titled "Not Your Freak" featuring
Big Freedia
Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper, singer and performer known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helpi ...
Maxine's vocal range spans three octaves and two notes. She is a classically trained
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
. As a member of En Vogue, Jones was often credited for harmonizing the low parts of their songs. Her lowest note was recorded on the song "Love Won't Take Me Out" wherein she sang a G2. Her highest note was recorded on Silent Night (Happy Holiday Mix)", whereas she sang a B5 note. Jones often took on heavy songwriting in the group. She also sang lead vocals on their biggest hits including: " Whatta Man", " Don't Let Go (Love)", " Give It Up, Turn It Loose", and their signature song " My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)".
Influences
Jones names
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...
as her major musical influence. Her musical influences also include
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
,
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
;Singles
* "Didn't I" (2014)
* " Don't Let Go (Love)" (with Greg Gould) (2017)
* "Not Your Freak" (featuring
Big Freedia
Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper, singer and performer known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helpi ...