Gloria Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 7, where she first started singing. Gloria's first taste of fame came at the age of 14, when, while still at school, she formed with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston the successful gospel group the Cogic Singers. Although she remained with the group for some four years, she soon found herself drawn into the Los Angeles pop scene.
In 1964, Gloria Jones, in her late-teens, was discovered by hit songwriter Ed Cobb. Signing with Cobb's Greengrass Productions, Gloria recorded her first hit record, "Heartbeat Pts 1 & 2," which Cobb wrote and produced. She toured the country, performing on several American TV shows, footage of which still exists. One memorable performance occurred at a Rock and Soul show in Disneyland in the summer of 1965. "Heartbeat" became a classic rhythm and blues tune which later was recorded by Dusty Springfield, Spencer Davis and many other artists who attempted to capture the Gloria Jones sound.
By then, Gloria had gone on to record other songs for Uptown records, a subsidiary of Capitol/EMI. Included among these tunes was another Cobb written song, "Tainted Love". In fact the group, Soft Cell, whose version of "Tainted Love" reached #1 worldwide, originally heard Gloria sing this classic years before in Northern England. So strong was Gloria's following there that she was proclaimed the "Northern Queen of Soul." Gloria also recorded an LP for the Uptown label entitled Come Go With Me which was released in 1966.
Gloria studied piano, and acquired an advanced classical degree primarily in the works of Bach. In 1968, Gloria joined the cast of Catch My Soul, a Rock and Soul version of the play, Othello, which included cast members Jerry Lee Louis, The Blossoms, and Dr. John. During the summer of 1968, she performed in a play called Revolution, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. That winter, she joined the Los Angeles cast of Hair, the musical. Eventually, she was to meet Pam Sawyer, who asked her to write for Motown Records. Jones and Sawyer were amongst the second string of writers at Motown but still wrote for such artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, Commodores, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. As Jones was also initially a singer for the label, protocol demanded a pseudonym, so for some of her earlier co-writes she used the name LaVerne Ware.
Songs that Gloria worked on during this period include The Supremes' "Have I Lost You" (writer), Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross "My Mistake" (writer), Junior Walker's "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (writer/producer) and the Four Top's "Just Seven Numbers" (writer). The most fondly remembered song that Gloria penned was Gladys Knight and the Pips "If I Were Your Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy award in 1971. However, Gloria left Motown at the end of 1972, subsequent to the release of her much acclaimed album Share My Love.
Gloria first met Marc Bolan of T. Rex in 1969 while performing in Hair (Los Angeles cast). The late Jobriath invited the cast to a party in Hollywood for Marc. While touring in Europe, Marc and Gloria met for the second time at the Speakeasy in London. In 1972, she was recommended by Warner Brothers Bob Regere to sing backing vocals behind T. Rex at the Winterland in San Francisco. Their mutual interest in all kinds of music brought them closer together, in mixing the various sounds of Rock and Soul. This went on to influence the likes of Boy George, Marc Almond, and so many others to take their sound into the eighties.
Soon after joining T. Rex, Gloria and Marc became romantically involved. Together, they had a son, Rolan Bolan (Rolan Seymour Feld Bolan, 26.09.1975). She sang backing vocals and played clavinet with T. Rex from 1973 to 1977. Gloria released an album in 1976, called Vixen, featuring several songs written by Marc Bolan, as he also was the producer, this album also featured a re-working of 'Tainted Love"- several of these tracks date back to the then unreleased 'Sister Pat Hall" album from sessions as far back as 1973. In 1977, Gloria worked with the group Gonzales, producing several of their singles, and also penning the disco smash, 'I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet' for the group. She toured the UK with Gonzales, first on the Bob Marley tour, and then with Osibisa.
She was the driver of the car, an Austin Mini, that crashed and killed Marc Bolan on 16 September 1977. Gloria nearly died in the accident, and was in the hospital for several days afterwards. She did not learn of Marc's death until the day of his funeral. When she was well enough to leave the hospital, she soon found that Bolan's fans had looted what was left of hers and Marc's possessions, and since she and Marc were not legally married, she was not entitled to any inheritance, except for 10,000 GBP which Marc left her in his will, drafted in 1973.
Having lost her possessions, Jones and her son quickly moved back to Los Angeles where they stayed with Gloria's family.
In 1978, Gloria released the album Windstorm, which was a dedication to the memory of Marc Bolan. On the back cover, it is written "Special Dedication in memory of my son's father, the late Marc Bolan, whom we miss very much." Her single 'Bring On The Love' was a success on American R&B charts.
Gloria stayed in the music business for several years after, releasing an album produced by Ed Cobb, titled Reunited in 1981. She also collaborated again with Billy Preston and other Cogic Singers for a 1984 reunion album The Cogic's.
Gloria has since worked as a musical supervisor for films and is presently living in Sierra Leone, where she is building The Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film.
High
Gloria Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is nothing else in the world,
I'd rather wake up and see (with you).
Beautiful dawn - I'm just chasing time again.
Thought I would die a lonely man, in endless night.
But now I'm high; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.
Do you remember the day when my journey began?
Will you remember the end (of time)?
Beautiful dawn - You're just blowing my mind again.
Thought I was born to endless night, until you shine.
High; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.
Will you be my shoulder when I'm grey and older?
Promise me tomorrow starts with you,
Getting high; running wild among all the stars above.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me
In Gloria Jones's song "High," the singer expresses her gratitude for a beautiful dawn that illuminates the shore for her. The beauty of the environment is so powerful to her that she would not want to wake up to anything else in the world. While chasing time once again in life, the singer had once believed that she would perish alone as a lonely person, endlessly consumed by the night. But now she is high and runs wild among the stars above. It is hard for the singer to believe that someone remembers her, considering how lost she once was.
The singer's memories of her life journeys come to mind as she sings about the beautiful dawn melting away with the stars. She seems to appreciate someone who was with her at the beginning of her life's journey and hope that this person remembers her at the end of time. Again the singer expresses how the person is blowing her mind away, making her feel alive, and reminding her that she was not born to endless nights. Instead, she was meant to run wild with the stars above and feel high.
The last stanza of the song is the singer's request for the promise that the person will stand by her side when she gets old, be her shoulder to lean on, and that the future would always start with this person. This final request is almost like a plea to hold onto their forever memories, cherish them, and never forget them.
Line by Line Meaning
Beautiful dawn - lights up the shore for me.
The sunrise is so beautiful that it makes everything else in the world pale in comparison.
There is nothing else in the world,
Nothing else in the world can compare to the beauty of this sunrise.
I'd rather wake up and see (with you).
Experiencing the sunrise with the person she loves makes it even more special and meaningful.
Beautiful dawn - I'm just chasing time again.
The beauty of the sunrise reminds her of the fleeting nature of time and how she wants to make the most of it.
Thought I would die a lonely man, in endless night.
She once thought she would be alone and unhappy forever, but the sunrise offers hope for a brighter future.
But now I'm high; running wild among all the stars above.
The beauty of the sunrise fills her with awe and makes her feel alive and free.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.
She is grateful that the person she loves remembers her and shares this beautiful moment with her.
Beautiful dawn - melt with the stars again.
The beauty of the sunrise is so overwhelming that it feels like she is merging with the stars in the sky.
Do you remember the day when my journey began?
She wonders if the person she loves remembers when they first met and how their journey together began.
Will you remember the end (of time)?
She hopes the person she loves will be by her side until the end of time.
Beautiful dawn - You're just blowing my mind again.
The beauty of the sunrise is so mind-blowing that it leaves her speechless and in awe.
Thought I was born to endless night, until you shine.
She once thought her life would be full of darkness and sadness, but the love of the person she loves has brought light and happiness.
Will you be my shoulder when I'm grey and older?
She hopes the person she loves will be there for her in old age when she needs them most.
Promise me tomorrow starts with you,
She wants to spend the rest of her life with the person she loves and hopes every day will start with them by her side.
Getting high; running wild among all the stars above.
The love and happiness she feels when she is with the person she loves makes her feel like she is running wild among the stars.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me.
She is grateful that the person she loves still remembers and cares for her, and sometimes finds it hard to believe that they do.
Contributed by Levi O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.