Artist:Gloria Jones
Song:Tainted Love
Album:101 Anthems
Soul singer Gloria Jones never had a hit single. But she became famous when Soft Cell scored a top ten hit with their 1982 cover of Tainted Love. She was already a Northern Soul favorite in England which is where the Soft Cell guys heard the song. Gloria has had a long career as a background singer and songwriter. She appears in the 2013 documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom. I reviewed that film on the blog. She was born Oct. 19, 1945 in Cincinnati. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was seven. As a teen, she recorded an album with the gospel group The COGIC Singers. Billy Preston was also in that group. Then she signed with producer Ed Cobb and he signed a distribution deal with Capitol Records. Cobb was a member of the vocal group The Four Preps. As a producer, he is best known for The Standells classic Dirty Water. When Gloria was unable to score a hit single, She appeared in the 1968 musical Catch My Soul. Then she got into studio work first as a background singer, then as a songwriter and producer for Motown after they moved to Los Angeles. She co-wrote the 1971 Gladys Knight & the Pips classic If I Were Your Woman. Gloria first met T. Rex leader Marc Bolan while she was in the Los Angeles cast of Hair in 1969. She met him again in London in 1972. She moved to London, joined T. Rex and they had a son. Gloria also worked with the British funk band Gonzalez. On Sept. 16, 1977, Gloria was driving the car that struck a tree and killed Bolan. Gloria survived because she was wearing a seat belt. She was supposed to face charges of being unfit to drive. But she moved back to Los Angeles. And that's when Soft Cell recorded Tainted Love. They heard the song in London clubs. It revitalized Gloria's career especially in England. She toured as a nostalgia act mostly in Europe. You can get Gloria's recording of Tainted Love on this 5CD various artists budget comp from EMI. She seems to be retired now. She hasn't posted on Facebook since 2015. Here's Gloria Jones performing Tainted Love on German TV.
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