Grace Jones: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Grace Jones built a persona at the intersection of Jamaican dub, Parisian couture, New York disco and performance art — a singer whose records were as designed as her sleeves. This mix traces the chansons and art-rock she reinterpreted, the Compass Point rhythm section that rebuilt her sound, and the visual collaborators who made her a sculpture in motion.

The Kynda mix for Grace Jones

• Key Influence · La Vie en rose by Édith Piaf (1947). Jones's 1977 disco reworking of Piaf's chanson — stretched past seven minutes with producer Tom Moulton — was her first signature record and the bridge between her Paris modelling years and her recording career. Living in France while working for Yves Saint Laurent and Kenzo, she absorbed the chanson tradition's theatrical delivery, and Piaf's wounded grandeur underwrites the arch, declamatory vocal style Jones carried into her Island albums.
• Influencia Obscura · Warm Leatherette by The Normal (1978). Daniel Miller's one-man synth single, a Ballard-inspired fantasy of car-crash eroticism released on the label that became Mute, was an obscure British electronic artefact when Jones made it the title track of her 1980 Compass Point debut. Choosing it signalled that her reinvention would run through cold European electronics filtered through Sly and Robbie's rhythm — not through disco.
• Local Roots · Catch a Fire by The Wailers (1973). Jones was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and signed to Island Records, the label Chris Blackwell used to carry Jamaican music to a rock audience with this album. Blackwell later installed Jones at his Compass Point Studios in Nassau with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, applying the same strategy — Jamaican musicians, international repertoire — to her reinvention at the turn of the 1980s.
• Beyond the Medium · White Women by Helmut Newton (1976). Newton photographed Jones during her modelling years, and his hard-flash tableaux of powerful, armoured women in heels and tailoring are the visual grammar her record sleeves inherited. Jones's achievement was to take fashion photography's constructed image and make it the primary text of a pop career, so that the album cover and the body were as much the work as the song.
• Peer · I Feel Love by Donna Summer (1977). Summer and Giorgio Moroder's all-synthesiser disco record arrived the same year Jones broke through with her Piaf cover, and the two women represented divergent routes out of disco: Summer toward Euro-electronic rapture, Jones toward dub austerity. Both were Black women whose careers were shaped by European studios and producers, and both outlived the 1979 disco backlash by mutating.
• From the Canon · Nightclubbing by Grace Jones (1981). The Compass Point album that fused everything: Sly and Robbie's rhythm section, Wally Badarou's keyboards, Piazzolla's tango, Iggy Pop's Berlin decadence and 'Pull Up to the Bumper.' Jean-Paul Goude's cover portrait — angular flat-top, cigarette, Armani jacket — became the defining image of her career and the clearest statement of what a pop record could be when the sleeve carries equal weight.
• Key Collaborator · Language Barrier by Sly and Robbie (1985). Dunbar and Shakespeare anchored the Compass Point All Stars that remade Jones across Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and Living My Life, supplying the elastic, cavernous rhythm beds that let her speak rather than sing. Their own album, produced with Bill Laswell, shows the same restless hybrid instinct — reggae foundations opened up to electronics, funk and avant-garde guests.
• Legacy · Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe (2018). Monáe has repeatedly named Jones among her models, and the debt is structural: the tuxedo as armour, the android persona, the album conceived with an accompanying visual film. Monáe's career-long insistence that a Black woman's pop image can be a designed, androgynous, science-fictional construct rather than a marketed intimacy descends straight from the Compass Point and Goude years.

What influenced Grace Jones

• La Vie en rose by Édith Piaf (1947). La Vie en rose (Édith Piaf) — titan for Grace Jones “The second side of the album opens up with a seven-minute reinterpretation of Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" followed by three new recordings, two of which were co-written by Jones, "Sorry", and "That's the Trouble".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Idiot by Iggy Pop (1977). The Idiot (Iggy Pop) — titan for Grace Jones “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain"), Bill Withers ("Use Me"), Iggy Pop/David Bowie ("Nightclubbing") and Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That Face Before").” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Libertango by Astor Piazzolla (1974). Libertango (Astor Piazzolla) — ghost for Grace Jones “In 1981, singer/model/actress Grace Jones famously incorporated his "Libertango" into her hit song "I've Seen That Face Before" on her platinum selling "Nightclubbing" album.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• FKA Twigs. Jones includes FKA Twigs among artists she considers her successors. “And these are my pupils - Gaga, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry , Rihanna, Miley, Kanye West , FKA Twigs and... Doris.” (Time Out)
• Ian Curtis. Doran compares the albums' alienation to Ian Curtis. (via Nightclubbing) “Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing were "post-punk pop" albums that, "delved into the worlds of disco, reggae and funk much more successfully than most of her ' alternative ' contemporaries, while still retaining a blank-eyed alienation …” (Wikipedia)
• Ne me quitte pas by Jacques Brel (1959). Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel) — titan for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Warm Leatherette by The Normal (1978). Warm Leatherette (The Normal) — ghost for Grace Jones “The album included covers of songs by The Normal ("Warm Leatherette"), The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"), Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ("Breakdow…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• White Women by Helmut Newton (1976). White Women (Helmut Newton) — culture for Grace Jones “Jones was photographed by Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and emerged as one of the most prominent Black models of the 1970s.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Black Book by Robert Mapplethorpe (1986). Black Book (Robert Mapplethorpe) — culture for Grace Jones “She also knew artist Richard Bernstein, and artist and social activist Keith Haring, who painted her head-to-toe for a series of photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe and for her role in the 1986 film Vamp.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Eartha Kitt (1927). Nightclubbing (Grace Jones) — legacy for Eartha Kitt (via Nightclubbing) (musicbrainz.org)
• Le Smoking by Yves Saint Laurent (1966). Le Smoking (Yves Saint Laurent) — culture for Grace Jones

Peers and kindred spirits

• Nile Rodgers. Jones teamed up with Nile Rodgers on Inside Story. “Jones teamed up with music producer Nile Rodgers of Chic , whom Jones had previously tried to work with during the disco era.” (Wikipedia)
• Janelle Monáe (1985). The article identifies Janelle Monáe as a collaborator of Jones. (also via Nightclubbing, Grace Jones, Dirty Computer) “I think that me and Grace recognize our similarities and also what makes us uniquely us-and that's a beautiful space to be, where I can honor her for her, and she can honor me for me.” (The A.V. Club)
• Keith Haring (1958). Jones recalls Haring painting directly on her body. (also via I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)) “Haring painted a skirt for Grace Jones to wear in her music video " I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You) " (1986) and he was the assistant director for the video.” (Wikipedia)
• Iggy Pop. Jones covered “Nightclubbing,” credited here to Iggy Pop and David Bowie. (also via The Idiot) “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan (" Walking in the Rain "), Bill Withers (" Use Me "), Iggy Pop / David Bowie (" Nightclubbing ") and Ástor Piazzolla (" I've Seen That Face Before ").” (Wikipedia)
• Gorillaz. Jones appeared on Gorillaz's song “Charger.” “She later continued to collaborate with contemporary artists such as Gorillaz and Janelle Monáe , and received another Grammy nomination for her work as a featured artist on Renaissance (2022) by Beyoncé .” (Wikipedia)
• Jean-Paul Goude. Jones frequently collaborated with designer Jean-Paul Goude. (also via Jungle Fever) “she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae , funk , post-punk , and pop music , frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie .” (Wikipedia)
• The Normal. Jones covered the Normal's song “Warm Leatherette.” (also via Warm Leatherette) “The album included covers of songs by The Normal (" Warm Leatherette "), The Pretenders (" Private Life "), Roxy Music (" Love Is the Drug "), Smokey Robinson (" The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "),” (Wikipedia)
• Brian Eno. Eno contributed production advice and performances to Jones’s album. “In 2008, he worked with Grace Jones on her album Hurricane , and was credited for "production consultation" and as a member of the band, playing keyboards, treatments and background vocals.” (Wikipedia)
• Welcome to the Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984). Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) — collaborator for Grace Jones “The project was originally intended for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow-up to "Relax", but was given to Jones.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Tom Moulton. Jones worked with producer Tom Moulton. “Jones was signed by Island Records , who put her in the studio with disco record producer Tom Moulton .” (Wikipedia)
• Sly & Robbie. Jones frequently collaborated with Sly & Robbie. “she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae , funk , post-punk , and pop music , frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie .” (Wikipedia)
• Compass Point All Stars. The Compass Point All Stars aided Jones on Warm Leatherette. “With anti-disco sentiment spreading, and with the aid of the Compass Point All Stars , Jones transitioned into new wave music with the 1980 release of Warm Leatherette .” (Wikipedia)
• The Pretenders. Jones covered the Pretenders' song “Private Life.” “The album included covers of songs by The Normal (" Warm Leatherette "), The Pretenders (" Private Life "), Roxy Music (" Love Is the Drug "), Smokey Robinson (" The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "),” (Wikipedia)
• Roxy Music. Jones covered Roxy Music's song “Love Is the Drug.” “The album included covers of songs by The Normal (" Warm Leatherette "), The Pretenders (" Private Life "), Roxy Music (" Love Is the Drug "), Smokey Robinson (" The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "),” (Wikipedia)
• Smokey Robinson. Jones covered Smokey Robinson's “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game.” “The album included covers of songs by The Normal (" Warm Leatherette "), The Pretenders (" Private Life "), Roxy Music (" Love Is the Drug "), Smokey Robinson (" The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "),” (Wikipedia)
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Jones covered “Breakdown” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (" Breakdown ") and Jacques Higelin ("Pars"). Sly Dunbar revealed that the title track was also the first to be recorded with Jones.” (Wikipedia)
• Jacques Higelin. Jones covered Jacques Higelin's “Pars.” “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (" Breakdown ") and Jacques Higelin ("Pars"). Sly Dunbar revealed that the title track was also the first to be recorded with Jones.” (Wikipedia)
• Joy Division (1976). Jones covered Joy Division's “She's Lost Control.” “An extended version of "Private Life" was released as a single, with a cover of the Joy Division song " She's Lost Control ", a non-album track, as the B-side.” (Wikipedia)
• Flash and the Pan. Jones covered Flash and the Pan's “Walking in the Rain.” “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan (" Walking in the Rain "), Bill Withers (" Use Me "), Iggy Pop / David Bowie (" Nightclubbing ") and Ástor Piazzolla (" I've Seen That Face Before ").” (Wikipedia)
• Bill Withers. Jones covered Bill Withers's “Use Me.” “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan (" Walking in the Rain "), Bill Withers (" Use Me "), Iggy Pop / David Bowie (" Nightclubbing ") and Ástor Piazzolla (" I've Seen That Face Before ").” (Wikipedia)
• David Bowie (1947). Jones covered “Nightclubbing,” credited here to Iggy Pop and David Bowie. “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan (" Walking in the Rain "), Bill Withers (" Use Me "), Iggy Pop / David Bowie (" Nightclubbing ") and Ástor Piazzolla (" I've Seen That Face Before ").” (Wikipedia)
• Ástor Piazzolla. Jones covered music by Ástor Piazzolla on “I've Seen That Face Before.” “The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones's covers of songs by Flash and the Pan (" Walking in the Rain "), Bill Withers (" Use Me "), Iggy Pop / David Bowie (" Nightclubbing ") and Ástor Piazzolla (" I've Seen That Face Before ").” (Wikipedia)
• Melvin Van Peebles. Jones covered Melvin Van Peebles's “The Apple Stretching.” “the album resulted in Jones's final contribution to the Compass Point trilogy, with only one cover, Melvin Van Peebles 's " The Apple Stretching ".” (Wikipedia)
• Gary Numan (1958). Jones recorded a cover of Gary Numan's “Me! I Disconnect from You.” “The set contains most of the 12" mixes of singles from that album, plus two previously unreleased tracks from the Nightclubbing sessions, including a cover of the Gary Numan track "Me! I Disconnect from You".” (Wikipedia)
• Sting. Sting wrote “Demolition Man,” which Jones recorded for Nightclubbing. “Sting wrote " Demolition Man "; he later recorded it with The Police on the album Ghost in the Machine .” (Wikipedia)
• Tricky. Jones worked with Tricky on the planned album Force of Nature. “In June 1998, Jones was scheduled to release an album titled Force of Nature , on which she worked with trip hop musician Tricky .” (Wikipedia)
• Lil' Kim (1994). Jones appeared on Lil' Kim's song “Revolution.” “In 2000, Jones collaborated with rapper Lil' Kim , appearing on the song "Revolution" from her album The Notorious K.I.M. .” (Wikipedia)
• Brigitte Fontaine. Jones and Brigitte Fontaine recorded the duet “Soufi.” “Jones also worked with the avant-garde poet Brigitte Fontaine on a duet named "Soufi" from Fontaine's album Prohibition released in 2009, and produced by Ivor Guest.” (Wikipedia)
• Catch a Fire by The Wailers (1973). Catch a Fire (The Wailers) — geography for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Remain in Light by Talking Heads (1980). Remain in Light (Talking Heads) — geography for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Live at the Paradise Garage by Larry Levan (1979). Live at the Paradise Garage (Larry Levan) — geography for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• I Feel Love by Donna Summer (1977). I Feel Love (Donna Summer) — peer for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Unbehagen by Nina Hagen Band (1979). Unbehagen (Nina Hagen Band) — peer for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Klaus Nomi by Klaus Nomi (1981). Klaus Nomi (Klaus Nomi) — peer for Grace Jones (musicbrainz.org)
• Language Barrier by Sly and Robbie (1985). Language Barrier (Sly and Robbie) — collaborator for Grace Jones “The strong rhythm featured on Nightclubbing was produced by Compass Point All Stars, including Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Mikey Chung, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson and Barry Reynolds.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Jungle Fever by Jean-Paul Goude (1981). Jungle Fever (Jean-Paul Goude) — collaborator for Grace Jones “In the early 1980s, she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae, funk, post-punk, and pop music, frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Grace Jones influenced

• Doechii (1998). Doechii names Grace Jones as another alt-whimsical archetype she is drawn to. (also via Nightclubbing) “expressed admiration for artists including Trick Daddy , Beyoncé , Eminem , Grace Jones , Paramore , Madonna , KRS-One , and MF Doom” (Wikipedia)
• Beyoncé. Grace Jones — Influence (Critic) for Beyoncé · hand-labeled by Tony Brancato, 2022 (also via Nightclubbing) “Kyle Munzenrieder of W magazine wrote that "everyone from Madonna to Björk to Beyoncé to Lady Gaga has taken more than a few pages from her playbook".” (Wikipedia)
• Lady Gaga (1986). Grace Jones is named as an inspiration for Gaga. (also via Born This Way) “And these are my pupils - Gaga, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry , Rihanna, Miley, Kanye West , FKA Twigs and... Doris.” (Time Out)
• Nicki Minaj. Minaj mimicked Jones's pose from the Island Life artwork. “She points to “echoes” of Jones’s work in musicians as varied as Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, FKA twigs, Grimes, Róisín Murphy and Janelle Monáe.” (BBC Culture)
• Annie Lennox (1976). Jones is named as an inspiration for Annie Lennox. “And these are my pupils - Gaga, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry , Rihanna, Miley, Kanye West , FKA Twigs and... Doris.” (Time Out)
• Rihanna (1988). Jones is named as an inspiration for Rihanna. “Rihanna… she does the body-painting thing I did with Keith Haring , but where he painted directly on my body, she wears a painted bodysuit. That's the difference.” (Time Out)
• Madonna (1958). Munzenrieder describes Madonna as drawing on Jones. ““You know Madonna used to come around and watch me,” she explains. “I know because kids would always say, ‘You know who was there? Madonna was there”” (Dazed)
• Issey Miyake (1938). Jones's visuals made her a muse for Issey Miyake. “I wear his clothes every day to this day, and even those pieces I've worn for years still surprise me,” Jones recalled in her 2015 autobiography, I’ll Never Write My Memoirs .” (Harper’s Bazaar)
• Thierry Mugler. Jones's visuals made her a muse for Thierry Mugler. “Singer Grace Jones was one of Mugler's original muses, and the duo worked together for years, including for her on-stage looks, while she also appeared on his catwalk numerous times.” (Harper’s Bazaar)
• Gozer. Character design of Gozer drew from these performers' looks. “the character changed to one inspired by the androgynous looks of Grace Jones and David Bowie” (Wikipedia)
• Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe (2018). Dirty Computer (Janelle Monáe) — legacy for Grace Jones “She later continued to collaborate with contemporary artists such as Gorillaz and Janelle Monáe, and received another Grammy nomination for her work as a featured artist on Renaissance (2022) by Beyoncé.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Born This Way by Lady Gaga (2011). Born This Way (Lady Gaga) — legacy for Grace Jones “To this day, she is known for her unique look at least as much as she is for her music and has been an inspiration for numerous artists, including Annie Lennox, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Janelle Monáe, and Nile Rodgers.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Overpowered by Róisín Murphy (2007). Overpowered (Róisín Murphy) — legacy for Grace Jones “Critic Mark Fisher, writing in the UK music magazine Fact, located her music in a glam rock lineage that includes Roxy Music, Grace Jones, and the New Romantics, noting Murphy's attention to the cultivation of artifice and persona.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Lorde. Jones is named as an inspiration for Lorde. “she is known for her unique look at least as much as she is for her music [ 122 ] and has been an inspiration for numerous artists, including Annie Lennox , [ 123 ] Lorde , [ 124 ] Lady Gaga , [ 125 ] Rihanna , [ 126 ] Janelle Monáe , [ …” (Wikipedia)
• Björk (1965). Munzenrieder describes Björk as drawing on Jones. “Kyle Munzenrieder of W magazine wrote that "everyone from Madonna to Björk to Beyoncé to Lady Gaga has taken more than a few pages from her playbook".” (Wikipedia)