Grace Jones (born May 19, 1948)^[1] is a Jamaican–American model, singer and actress. Jones was born Grace Mendoza in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie and Robert W. Jones, who was a politician and Apostolic clergyman.^[2][3][4] Her parents took Grace and her brother Christian (now Bishop Noel Jones), to relocate to Syracuse, New York in 1965. Before becoming a successful model in New York City and Paris, Jones studied theatre at Syracuse University.

Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance club hits and a large gay following. The three disco albums she recorded — Portfolio (1977), Fame (1978), and Muse (1979) — generated considerable success in that market. These albums consisted of pop melodies such as "All on a Summer's Night" and "Do or Die" set to a disco beat as well as standands such as "What I Did for Love", "Autumn Leaves", and "Send in the Clowns". The latter song had been a hit twice with versions recorded by folk singer Judy Collins and jazz singer Sarah Vaughn.

During this period, she also became a muse to Andy Warhol, who photographed her extensively. Jones also accompanied him to famed New York City nightclub Studio 54 on many occasions.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Jones adapted the emerging New Wave music to create a different style for herself. Still with Island, and now working with producers Alex Sadkin and Chris Blackwell, she released the acclaimed albums Warm Leatherette (1980) and Nightclubbing (1981). These included re-imaginings of songs by Sting, Iggy Pop, The Pretenders, Roxy Music, Flash and the Pan, The Normal, Ástor Piazzolla and Tom Petty.

Parallel to her musical shift was an equally dramatic visual makeover, created in partnership with stylist Jean-Paul Goude, whom she eventually married and by whom she had a son. Jones adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes. The iconic cover photographs of Nightclubbing and, subsequently, Slave to the Rhythm (1985) exemplified this new identity. To this day, Jones is known for her unique look at least as much as she is for her music. Her collaboration with Sadkin and Blackwell continued with the dub reggae-influenced album Living My Life.

In the mid 1980s, she worked with Trevor Horn for the conceptual musical collage Slave to the Rhythm and with producer Nile Rodgers for Inside Story (1986) - her first album after leaving the Island Records label. The well-received Slave to the Rhythm consisted of several re-workings of the title track (the single of which hit #12 in the UK) while Inside Story produced her last Billboard Hot 100 hit to date, "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You)," one of several songs she co-wrote with Bruce Woolley.^[5] Bulletproof Heart (1989) spawned the #1 U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit "Love on Top of Love - Killer Kiss," produced by C+C Music Factory's David Cole and Robert Clivilles. Although she has yet to become a truly mainstream recording artist in the United States, (with the exception of her featured work on the Arcadia hit single Election Day), much of her musical output is still popular on the Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts and many of her songs are regarded as classics to this day. Jones was able to find mainstream success in the United Kingdom, scoring a number of Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart. To date, she has released 43 singles (commercial and/or promotional), including several non-album tracks.

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If you’re reading this, there’s a lovely copy of music from this band available HERE!

Public Image Ltd. (PiL) are an English band formed in 1978 by vocalist John Lydon (ex-Sex Pistols), ex-Clash guitarist Keith Levene, and bassist Jah Wobble. PiL are often regarded as one of the most challenging and innovative bands of the post-punk period. Though PiL has been inactive since 1992, Lydon (the band's only constant member) considers the group to be "on hiatus" rather than broken up.

Following the Sex Pistols' breakup in 1978, Lydon spent three weeks in Jamaica with Virgin Records head Richard Branson, in which Lydon assisted Branson in scouting for emerging reggae musicians. Branson also flew American band Devo to Jamaica, with an aim to installing Lydon as lead singer in the band. Devo declined the offer.^[1]

Upon returning to England, Lydon approached Jah Wobble (né John Wardle) about forming a band together. The pair had been friends since attending the same school in the early 1970s, and had sometimes played music together during the final days of the Sex Pistols. Both had similarly broad musical tastes, and were avid fans of reggae and world music. Lydon assumed, much as he had with Sid Vicious, that Wobble would learn to play bass guitar as he went. While that had proven a fatal assumption with Vicious (Lydon cites his musical inability as a prime reason for the Pistols' breakup), Wobble would prove to be a natural talent. Lydon also approached guitarist Keith Levene (né Julian Keith Levene), with whom he had toured in mid-1976, while Levene was a member of The Clash. Lydon and Levene had both considered themselves outsiders even within their own bands. Jim Walker (né James Donat Walker), a Canadian student newly arrived in the UK, was recruited on drums, after answering an ad placed in Melody Maker.

PiL began rehearsing together in May 1978, though the band was still unnamed. In July 1978, Lydon officially named the band "Public Image" (the "Ltd." was not added until several months later), after the 1968 Muriel Spark novel, The Public Image.^[2]

PiL debuted in October 1978 with "Public Image", a song written while Lydon was still a member of Sex Pistols.^[3] The single was well received and reached number 9 in the UK charts, and performed well on import in the US.

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Kid Creole and the Coconuts are an American singing group created and led by August Darnell. Their music incorporates styles like big band jazz, disco, and in particular Caribbean/Latin American salsa. The Coconuts are a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists whose lineup has changed throughout the years.

Thomas August Darnell Browder (aka August Darnell, aka Kid Creole) was born in Montreal, Canada, on 12 August 1950, and was raised in the Bronx.

Darnell began his career in a band named The In-Laws with his half-brother in 1965, which disbanded so August could pursue a career as an English teacher. He obtained a masters degree, but in 1974 again formed a band with his half-brother under the name Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. They played to some initial success, reaching a gold and Top 40-charting album with their debut release, but could not match this on subsequent releases.

Darnell began producing for other artists before adopting the name Kid Creole (from the Elvis Presley film King Creole) in 1980, and forming The Coconuts, a trio of female backing vocalist/dancers, including his wife Adriana Kaegi, and a band including vibraphone player Andy Hernandez aka Coati Mundi and legendary Jamaican drummer Winston Grennan. Cheryl Poirier joined that year as lead vocalist of the Coconuts, followed by Taryn Hagey as "Coconut #3" on background vocals in 1981. This line-up remained in place throughout the band's heyday. Hagey left the group in 1985 and was replaced by Janique Svedberg. Among the recurring Coconuts is Danish actress and musical star Gry Bay, who made headlines with her starring role in the feature film All About Anna (2005).

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