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J.P. Jones Biography

jp-jones
  • Born: April 10, 1949
  • Years Active: 1990s-2000s
  • Genre: Country

John Paul "J. P." Jones was born on April 10th, (b.1949.) He was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he taught himself to play the piano by banging away on the one that belonged to his parents. As a teen, when his banging became the smooth notes of gospel and classical tunes, Jones polished his skills further by playing at his family's church gatherings. He also taught himself to play the guitar along the way. When J. P. Jones signed up for seminary school, It seemed gospel was his calling, along with the clergy. Things don't always end the way we plan, and he dropped out of the seminary near the end of the '60s to attend a college where he could study musical composition. He graduated with top honors. In the early '70s, Jones performed at clubs and festivals with lineups that included the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt. In 1973, Jones was signed to contract by Columbia Records and released a self-titled debut album. It would be nearly 20 years before he would complete another full-length work of his own. While those long years went by, Jones recorded a couple of singles, many demos, wrote dozens of songs, and performed wherever and whenever he could. To pay the bills during these tough years he worked as a commercial artist in New York. In 1991, J. P. Jones laid the foundation for his Vision Company Records. That same year, he finally released a sophomore album, Voluntown. In 1994, he completed Broken Open and then Bard three years later. The excellent albums Angels on the Road and Ashes followed. In 2000 Jones started off the year with another release, Back to Jerusalem. ~ Charlotte Dillon, Rovi

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