| "My Jamaican Guy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Grace Jones | ||||
| from the album Living My Life | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | January 14, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Grace Jones | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "My Jamaican Guy" on YouTube | ||||
"My Jamaican Guy" is a single by the Jamaican singer and actress Grace Jones, released in 1983.
"My Jamaican Guy" was the third single to Grace Jones' 1982 album Living My Life , her third and last album recorded in the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. The track showcased Caribbean music-inspired reggae/dub sound. Jones penned the song herself, revealing in a 2010 interview that it was written about Tyrone Downie of Bob Marley's The Wailers, who "was with somebody else. He was a beautiful guy. He doesn't even know I wrote it about him." [2] The song is largely written in Jamaican Patois. [3] [4] Jones' mother Marjorie provided backing vocals but, as a pastor's wife, wasn't credited for fear of upsetting church elders. [5]
"Cry Now, Laugh Later", another Living My Life track, was released on the side B, and later got a separate A-side release on American market. In Japan, "Everybody Hold Still" made the B-side. That release featured a unique edit of "My Jamaican Guy", as well as a different cover. The US and the UK 12" versions of the track differed substantially; the US version (7:01) was in fact the unedited and unremixed album master and was later included on the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions . The UK 12" credits separately "My Jamaican Guy" and "J. A. Guys (Dub)", but the tracks run together as one; the mix opens with the first four minutes of the Living My Life album version, then cuts to the three last minutes of the dub version "J. A. Guys" - the full length version of which in turn was released as the B-side of the US 12" "Nipple to the Bottle". Both the UK 12" mix of "My Jamaican Guy" and the "J. A. Guys" dub remain unreleased on CD.
The iconic image on the single cover was created by Jean-Paul Goude, who was the singer's partner at that time and worked on some of her record artworks. [6] [7] A version of it was later used as a cover of her final "best of" compilation to date, The Ultimate Collection .
The music video for "My Jamaican Guy" features Jones performing the song on stage, kissing her own image, and hugging her "Jamaican guy". It also includes some footage from her A One Man Show concert performance and still images of one of her most iconic images. The clip was directed by Jean-Paul Goude and produced by Eddie Babbage. [8] A slightly different, shorter version of the video was included on the A One Man Show VHS release in 1982.
In Japan, "My Jamaican Guy" was featured in the television commercial for the Ezaki Glico chocolate brand Aphros, in which a Japanese actress Yūko Tanaka appeared. [9]
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [10] | 39 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [11] | 56 |
Grace Beverly Jones is a Jamaican-American model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She notably worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.
"The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" is a 1966 song written by Smokey Robinson. It was a hit single in 1967 for the American girl group The Marvelettes for the Motown label, from their self-titled album released that same year.
Nightclubbing is the fifth studio album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released on 11 May 1981 by Island Records. Recorded at Compass Point Studios with producers Alex Sadkin and Island Records' president Chris Blackwell, as well as a team of session musicians rooted by rhythm section Sly and Robbie, the album marked her second foray into a new wave style that blends a variety of genres, including reggae, art pop, dub, synth-pop and funk. The album has cover versions of songs by Bill Withers, Iggy Pop, Astor Piazzolla, and others, and original songs, three of which were co-written by Jones.
Island Life is a compilation album by Grace Jones, released in December 1985, summing up the first nine years of her musical career. The album sits among Jones' best-selling works.
Jean-Paul Goude is a French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, advertising film director and event designer. He worked as art director at Esquire magazine in New York City during the 1970s, and choreographed the 1989 Bicentennial Parade in Paris to mark the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. In addition, over the last three decades, he has created campaigns and illustrations for brands including Perrier, Citroën, Kodak, Chanel, Kenzo, Shiseido, Cacharel, H&M, Galeries Lafayette and Desigual.
Slave to the Rhythm is the seventh studio album by Grace Jones, released on 28 October 1985 by Island Records. Subtitled a biography in the liner notes, Slave to the Rhythm is a concept album, produced by ZTT Records founder and producer Trevor Horn, that went on to become one of Jones' most commercially successful albums and spawned her biggest hit, "Slave to the Rhythm".
Fame is the second studio album by Grace Jones, released on 7 June 1978 by Island Records.
Warm Leatherette is the fourth studio album by Grace Jones, released on 9 May 1980 by Island Records. The album features contributions from the reggae production duo Sly and Robbie and is a departure from Jones's earlier disco sound, moving towards a new wave-reggae direction.
Living My Life is the sixth studio album by Grace Jones, released in 1982. It was the last of three albums she recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.
A One Man Show is a long-form music video collection featuring Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released in 1982. The video mainly consists of music videos, with some concert footage filmed when Jones was touring with the eponymous tour.
"Pull Up to the Bumper" is a 1981 song by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released as the third single from her fifth album, Nightclubbing (1981). Sonically, it is an uptempo electro-disco, post-punk, dance-pop and reggae-disco song with dub production, "pulsing drums and chic new-wave licks", as well as elements of funk and R&B music. Its lyrics were written by Jones alone, while she, along with Kookoo Baya and Dana Manno, are credited as its composers. The song's instrumental part was originally recorded in 1980 during the Warm Leatherette sessions; however, it did not make the album as Chris Blackwell found its sound not fitting in the rest of the material. It was completed for the 1981 critically acclaimed Nightclubbing album and became its third single in June 1981. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the US and number 53 in the UK. When re-released in 1986, it peaked at number 12 in the UK. The track has come to be one of Jones' signature tunes and her first transatlantic hit.
The Universal Masters Collection is a mid-price compilation of recordings by Grace Jones, first released by Universal Music in 2003.
Hurricane is the tenth studio album by singer Grace Jones, released in 2008, and her first album of new material in 19 years. The album includes a number of autobiographical songs, and the title track was first recorded as a 1997 collaboration with Tricky under the title "Cradle to the Grave". The album sold over 100,000 copies in Europe only and three years after the original release, Jones released a dub version of it. Hurricane – Dub came out on 5 September 2011.
"I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" is a single by Jamaican singer Grace Jones, released in 1981. The song is a reworking of Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango".
"Private Life" is a 1980 song written by Chrissie Hynde, and released by both English band The Pretenders, and Jamaican singer Grace Jones in 1980.
"Slave to the Rhythm" is a song by Jamaican singer, model and actress Grace Jones. It was released in October 1985 from Jones' seventh album, Slave to the Rhythm (1985), on which it is titled "Ladies and Gentlemen: Miss Grace Jones". It was produced by Trevor Horn and written by Horn, Bruce Woolley, Stephen Lipson and Simon Darlow. The song peaked at number 12 in the UK and number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video was directed by Jean-Paul Goude.
"Nipple to the Bottle" is a single by the Jamaican singer, model and actress Grace Jones, released in 1982.
"Living My Life" is a Grace Jones song released as a single in 1983.
"I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" is a song by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released as the first single from her eight album, Inside Story (1986). It was co-written by Bruce Woolley and produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic fame. For the 12" single release, "I'm Not Perfect" was remixed by Larry Levan and The Latin Rascals. The track met with commercial success, becoming one of Jones' biggest hits. It made the top 40 in several European countries and top 10 in New Zealand, and was the highest-charting single by Grace Jones on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 69, and her last song to enter this chart.
"Cry Now, Laugh Later" is a song by Grace Jones from her 1982 album Living My Life.