The Amazing Miss Grace Jones
Supermodel, singer, actress, muse and the true Queen of Pop turns 76
The Amazing Miss Grace Jones
Over the last 40 years, many were the artists that were pointed as Queens of Pop, two names that occurs immediately when that is mentioned is Madonna and more recently Lady Gaga. But are those two important figures the actual Pop revolutionaries? As we look back at Grace Jones and her astonishing impact on visuals since the 1970’s. Granted that Jones neither sold millions of records or had a string of hits over the years on the charts, but when we look at how visual impacts modern pop music ever since the 1980’s, Grace Jones is definitely the true Queen of Pop, being music, art or culture.
Born on May 19, 1948 in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the unique Grace Jones was brought up into a religious environment, but during her teenage years, she rebelled against it, after moving with her parents to New York in the United States. During the 1960’s Grace immersed herself into the counterculture of that time by living in hippie communes, earning money as a go-go dancer, and using LSD and other drugs. At the same time, she also started to to become popular in the Gay nightclub scene in New York, where her following first started. Due to her unique and sculptural body figure, Jones quickly landed on modeling jobs. During the early 1970’s she moves to Paris where her reputation grows immensely and starts modelling to some of fashion’s biggest names including Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takad. It was then during the 1970’s that Grace came to prominence, first as a model, and towards the end of the decade as a singer, becoming an absolute icon for the Gay community due to her shows in Gay clubs at the time. During that decade, Jones befriended and became a muse for artists such as Andy Warhol or Keith Haring, and for designers such as Armani. By the 1980’s, Jones had become one of the most influential and iconic figures in the world. She scored music hits such as “I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)” and the 1985 smash hit “Slave To The Rhytm” She also launches her career as an actress, landing roles in “Conan The Barbarian” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1982 and as a Bond Girl and villain in the James Bond 1985 movie “A View To A Kill” At the time, much was told about her relationship with then rising Swedish movie star Dolph Lundgren, both causing sensation with their similar sculptural bodies that they never were shy to show off in nude photo sessions. The relationship didn’t last long, but left some memorable marks on Pop Culture history. Today, the amazing and brave Grace Jones turns 76 years old and to see how important she is in Pop culture, we look at some of her best photos and music videos.
Watch the music video for the 1981 song “I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)” by Grace Jones
Watch the iconic 1985 music video “Slave to the Rhythm” by Grace Jones
Watch more music related videos
Images and photographs can be from different ranges of sources such as Pinterest, Tumblr etc. except when/where noted. If you are the copyright holder and would like them removed or credited, please get in touch.
