Motown songster Gloria Jones, beloved in Britain’s Northern soul scene, sang the often-covered track “Tainted Love.” The 1960’s B-side broke into the mainstream in 1981 when synthpop duo Soft Cell covered the song. “Tainted Love” dominated the music charts, prompting fans to rediscover the originator.
Born in 1945, Gloria Richetta Jones grew up singing in her church choir. The young musician performed in the gospel group “The Cogics,” starting at age 14.
Jones joined forces with future “Tainted Love” songwriter and music producer Ed Cobb while working as a backing vocalist at Motown Records.
“Motown was essentially the heartbeat of the young people of America,” said Jones in an interview with We Are The City. “It was the counter beat to any negativity happening in the world. We were healing as much as creating joy.”
Though she found success as a backup singer, Jones’ released the singles “Heartbeat Part 1” and “My Bad Boy’s Coming Home” as a solo artist, followed by her first solo LP, “Come Go With Me.”
She would go on to release many albums in her career—including 1973’s “Share My Love” and 1976’s “Vixen”—but her solo projects never garnered much mainstream success.
Jones thrived behind the scenes, on the cusp of stardom. As a prolific Motown songwriter and producer, Jones worked with British hitmaker Pam Sawyer. As two of the first women in music production, the duo worked on songs for superstar groups and solo artists, from Diana Ross to Jackson 5.
Jones even dabbled in theater with a stint in the rock musical “Hair.”
After falling in love with glam rocker Marc Bolan of the band T.Rex, Jones moved to England and joined the rock group.
Tragically, 29-year-old Bolan died in a fatal car accident in 1977. Jones was in the driver’s seat. The following year, she dedicated her fourth solo album to Bolan’s memory.
After Soft Cell’s cover pierced pop culture, “Tainted Love” fans sparked renewed interest in Jones’ Northern soul tunes.
In the last decade, Jones shifted focus to The Marc Bolan School Of Music. She founded the organization, located in Sierra Leone in West Africa, to provide a safe haven for youth to learn and create music. “Essentially, my drive behind this project is that I want to help rebuild the destroyed community and heart of Sierra Leone,” Jones told We Are The City.
