The 10 best Grace Jones songs
No artist is going to get anywhere by only having a great voice. Although many musicians think that ability is all that matters, the biggest stars in the world are equally concerned with the visual medium behind everything when it comes to making their mark on music history. And even when she debuted in the 1970s, no one could take their eyes off of Grace Jones if they tried.
While Jones emerged from the disco scene and became a mainstay at Studio 54, she was far more than the flashes in the pan surrounding her. Whereas most people were looking to have fun and make music that people could dance to, Jones was indebted to the art rockers that came before her, like David Bowie and Roxy Music, and listening to her back catalogue, her best moments are about looking beyond the catchy tune.
Although the imagery on her album covers is already striking, the music within is even more electrifying. Whether looking at her beginnings in disco or reimagining herself as a dance artist, Jones commanded every stage she stepped on when belting out these songs, turning any stadium that she played in into a sweaty club every single time she opened her mouth.
Even when she was performing songs by other artists, she showed off her diverse range in a way that few were able to equal then, and no one has managed to touch since. Whereas Jones might not be as prolific a songwriter as the Bob Dylans of the world, every song she covered or released on her own belonged to her in the first thirty seconds of it playing.
The 10 best Grace Jones songs
10. ‘Williams’ Blood’ – Hurricane
For Jones, a comeback album was always going to have to be groundbreaking, and after nearly two decades away from the scene, Hurricane proved that no amount of time away from the spotlight would ever damage Jones’s monumental impact and ability to make intimacy feel as grand and electrifying as spectacle. With Hurricane, Jones not only reinstated her position in the music industry but demonstrated her ability to reinvent herself without compromising on all the reasons she became successful in the first place.
‘Williams’ Blood’ is undeniably the highlight of the album and Jones’ broader return. It focuses on her personal upbringing and experiences with feeling shackled to family expectations in the spotlight. In many ways, this song feels like a signifier of Jones’ career coming full circle and how, even as one of the biggest and most celebrated stars of all time, she can channel the negative aspects into works of art.
9. ‘Do or Die’ – Fame
It’s about time that many people give disco its due apology for how it was treated during its golden age. Although many people claimed that it was the death of good music, many of the greatest names in the genre could take that four-on-the-floor rhythm and make it feel like something that mattered much more than filling up the dance floor. And when Jones strutted onto the stage with ‘Do or Die’, the hypnotic groove of the track was enough for any musician to fall in love with.
Whereas a lot of dance songs rely on one riff to steer them through the entire song, this feels like a mini journey within the span of six minutes, featuring a few wild left turns in the chord progression that make it sound like if a classical producer decided to become a disco icon for one song. As opposed to sacrificing one genre for the other, ‘Do or Die’ is the kind of tune that most can listen to passively and then get a lot more when listening outside of the club.
8. ‘Private Life’ – Warm Leatherette
Although originally by The Pretenders, Jones’ take on ‘Private Life’ proved she is better equipped than anybody else to take an existing song and make it completely her own. Jones’ signature smoothness also pronounced the song’s themes of disillusionment, making it a fitting addition to her continual command of the spotlight.
While the original version also forced a broader sense of raw aggression, mainly thanks to Chrissie Hynde’s charged delivery, Jones’ appeared icier, showing that her endearing exterior was never a front and that the suspicions were correct–she was the most authentic musician around at the time.
7. ‘She’s Lost Control’ – Warm Leatherette
Around the same time Jones’ star was rising, the sounds of post-punk had started to seep its claws into the mainstream. Although bands like Sex Pistols brought destruction everywhere they went, the New York scene was as interested in disco as they were in revolutionary acts like Television working their way through CBGBs. While Joy Division was a much more visceral band than anyone else on the scene, ‘She’s Lost Control’ is almost too perfect for her image.
What Ian Curtis did with the song could never truly be topped, but when Jones got ahold of it, she actually made something upbeat out of the tune. Whereas Joy Division’s song sounded like it was taking place as Curtis was on the edge of sanity, Jones is practically living the story of this woman who’s lost control, only this time flipping it to someone letting loose on the dance floor instead of on the verge of a mental break.
6. ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango) – Nightclubbing
Clearly, there’s a reason why Nightclubbing became one of Jones’ most iconic albums, as ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)’ also proved her ability to blend overt sensuality with reggae and tango tunes, redefining what it meant to blend various sensibilities with a quintessential 1980s-esque darkness. Written about the haze of Parisian nightlife, this classic pays homage to existing during times of dread but succumbing to instant gratification anyway.
Despite the chaos emanating from the track, the music video yielded its own flavour of prominence with an image that best defined who Jones ever was as an artist. It featured the musician playing the accordion against a minimalist backdrop and her own shadow, showing that, no matter what she sang about, she would always do it with a copious amount of ‘cool’.
5. ‘La Vie En Rose’ – Portfolio
Most people usually have their work cut out when making their first album. It’s one thing not to have anyone breathing down your neck about what they expect from you, but not knowing where to take the song with no experience recording is a daunting task for anyone to take on. If it worked in the clubs, it had the potential to work in the studio, and Jones actually showed far greater depth than anyone thought was possible when adopting one of the most beloved easy-listening songs of all time.
Compared to other artists who would put a straight beat behind this tune, hearing Jones take the pieces of ‘La Vie En Rose’ and chop them up to suit her own style is exactly what any artist should do when approaching a song this beloved. Everyone has heard the original a hundred times, but bringing in pieces of R&B into the mix is something that no one had even considered yet. And judging by how Lady GaGa has flirted with recording standards, there’s a good chance she listened to this deep cut before shifting her image around.
4. ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’ – Nightclubbing
For many, Nightclubbing was the musical biggest sign of the changing times. Aside from the obvious social commentary, the whole endeavour was filled with a kind of sensual groove only someone as confident as Jones could ever pull off. Moreover, ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’ centralised everything great about the album while simultaneously being one of her most controversial songs ever.
With sexually suggestive lyrics like, “Pull up to my bumper baby / In your long black limousine / Pull up to my bumper baby / And drive it in between,” the song epitomised the unapologetic sensuality Jones exuded during her Nightclubbing years while paying homage to 1980s-specific nightlife and all its accompanying tricks and tropes.
3. ‘Demolition Man’ – Nightclubbing
For any great song, you need to have a firm foundation underneath it all. Many artists have tried their hand at shaking their groove thing every once in a while, but if all they have to go on is some weak attempt at what they think disco music is, everything is going to collapse (just ask The Rolling Stones). While Sting did have a nice attempt at a reggae-tinged rock and roll tune on ‘Demolition Man’, Jones’s version made the song shine far brighter than The Police ever imagined it could be.
Considering her image as one of the most eye-catching figures in any disco, hearing her gender-flip this song about someone about to explode at a moment’s notice felt like it was tailor-made for her voice, especially when playing off of the signature bassline in the verses. And no matter how much Sting was looking to have a good time, Jones held the entire audience in the palm of her hand whenever she played this tune the same way a drill sergeant grills their soldiers.
2. ‘Nightclubbing’ – Nightclubbing
There are many reasons why ‘Nightclubbing’ became one of Jones’ most popular songs, one of which is the serendipitous affair that once brought together three of the biggest names in the business–Jones, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop. “Feeling like a woman, looking like a man,” Jones sings on the first track, indicating the power of androgyny while parading every reason to ever get into the buzzing nightclub scene.
‘Nightclubbing’ was a force–not only did it defy racial stereotypes, pushing against the limitations often placed on Black artists, but it also blended various genres and transcended biases, conveying a sense of resistance and resilience. The song epitomised the message at the epicentre of the album, changing the face of both culture and modern pop while setting alight a path that would be filled by other trailblazing female musicians.
1. ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ – Slave to the Rhythm
Every so often, a song comes along that’s fully formed without the proper voice. Although many artists can try their hand at cutting their tunes on their own, there’s no telling what it’s going to sound like when they have a proper powerhouse behind it. And while Frankie Goes to Hollywood could have done a serviceable job at ‘Slave to the Rhythm’, hearing Jones wrap her voice around the tune is the definition of a perfect marriage.
As opposed to the simplistic groove that Trevor Horn and Co came up with, Jones was the one to truly breathe life into the song, especially considering what the mentality of her music was all about. The whole point of her beginnings in disco is about serving the rhythm of the song, and considering what she would bring to the rest of the world in the 1980s, this was the kind of tune that reminded everyone that if a song didn’t swing, it wasn’t worth fleshing out.
