Rickie Lee Jones Bio
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter whose career spans five decades and fifteen studio albums. Known for blending rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz, Jones rose to international prominence with her self-titled 1979 debut, which peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 and produced the Top 5 single “Chuck E.’s in Love.” She has earned two Grammy Awards from eight nominations and wide critical acclaim for her distinctive, expressive voice and eclectic songwriting. Over her career, Jones has collaborated with artists such as Tom Waits and Dr. John, experimented with diverse musical styles, and maintained a reputation as an individualistic and genre-crossing artist.
Early Life and Background
Rickie Lee Jones was born the third of four children to Richard and Bettye Jones on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, on November 8, 1954. She was named after her father, Richard Loris Jones, a singer, songwriter, painter, and trumpet player. Her mother, Bettye, was raised in orphanages around Mansfield, Ohio. Jones has a brother, Daniel, and two sisters, Janet Adele and Pamela Jo.
Her paternal grandfather, Frank “Peg Leg” Jones, and her grandmother, Myrtle Lee, were vaudevillians based in Chicago. Peg Leg Jones built his act around singing and accompanying himself on ukulele, soft-shoe dance, acrobatics, and comedy, and his stage tradition became part of the family’s musical inheritance. The household environment, filled with the sounds of her father’s trumpet playing and her grandfather’s vaudeville routines, gave Jones an early and lasting exposure to live performance.
At the age of four, Jones moved with her family to Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived until she was fourteen. The years she spent in the Arizona desert helped shape the restless, observational qualities that later emerged in her songwriting, even as her family’s musical roots in Chicago continued to influence her artistic sensibility.
Path to Music
After leaving Phoenix, Jones eventually made her way to Venice, California, where she began singing traditional jazz standards and her own original compositions in local bars and coffee houses at the age of twenty-one. It was in this vibrant Los Angeles club scene that she met pianist and songwriter Alfred Johnson, with whom she co-wrote early songs such as “Weasel and the White Boys Cool” and “Company,” both of which would later appear on her debut album. Her reputation as a gifted, distinctive vocalist began to spread through these small but influential venues.
In 1977, Jones met singer and songwriter Tom Waits at the Los Angeles club The Troubadour, and the two became close friends before beginning a romantic relationship that lasted about two years. Their connection placed her at the center of a circle that included figures such as Chuck E. Weiss, a friendship that would directly inspire one of her most famous songs. The Venice and Troubadour scenes gave Jones the formative platform she needed to refine her craft and prepare for a wider audience.
Rickie Lee Jones Career
Early Career (1979–1982)
Rickie Lee Jones released her self-titled debut album in March 1979 to immediate critical and commercial success. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, achieved platinum certification, and produced the jazz-flavored hit single “Chuck E.’s in Love,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Featuring guest appearances by Dr. John, Randy Newman, and Michael McDonald, the record established Jones as one of the most original new voices in popular music.
Her appearance on Saturday Night Live on April 7, 1979, just one month after her debut’s release, helped turn her into an overnight sensation, and Time magazine soon dubbed her “The Duchess of Coolsville” after covering her first professional show in Boston. By the end of 1979, she had performed at Carnegie Hall, toured extensively, and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a photograph taken by Annie Leibovitz. At the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, Jones secured four nominations and won Best New Artist, a remarkable debut for any recording artist.
Breakthrough (1981–1989)
Jones followed her debut with Pirates in 1981, an album that drew high praise from critics and matched the commercial success of its predecessor. Pirates reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, achieved gold certification, and ranked No. 49 on NPR’s 2017 list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women. Singles such as “A Lucky Guy,” “Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue),” and “Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking” became fan favorites, and Rolling Stone gave the album a five-star review while featuring her on the cover for a second time.
After recording the independent EP Girl at Her Volcano in 1983, Jones released her third studio album, The Magazine, in September 1984. The record was produced with James Newton Howard and featured a three-song suite called “Rorschachs” built on multi-tracked vocals and minimalist synthesizer patterns. A four-year recording hiatus followed, brought on in part by the deaths of her mentor Bob Regher and her father, Richard Loris Jones, in 1984.
She returned in 1989 with Flying Cowboys, produced with Walter Becker of Steely Dan, which generated two major singles: “Satellites,” a No. 1 hit on the new Adult radio format, and “The Horses,” co-written with Becker. “The Horses” was later covered by Daryl Braithwaite, whose version became a No. 1 hit in Australia in 1991, and the song also appeared in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. The album reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified gold in 1997.
Notable Works and Milestones
Jones’s signature recordings include her 1979 self-titled debut, the single “Chuck E.’s in Love,” and the follow-up album Pirates (1981), each of which helped define her reputation for genre-blending artistry. Her collaborations, including “Makin’ Whoopee” with Dr. John, brought her additional Grammy recognition and reinforced her standing as a versatile vocalist comfortable in pop, jazz, and rock settings. Across her discography, Jones has consistently been praised for her expressive, smoky voice and her willingness to weave folk, jazz, and R&B into songs with a distinct pop sensibility.
Rickie Lee Jones Award Nominations
Across her career, Rickie Lee Jones has received eight Grammy Award nominations spanning more than four decades. Her first nominations came at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980, when she was recognized for Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, with the album itself also earning a nomination for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical. Additional nominations followed in categories such as Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female; Best Jazz Vocal Collaboration; and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, the last coming for her 2023 album Pieces of Treasure.
Rickie Lee Jones Awards Won
Rickie Lee Jones has won two Grammy Awards from eight nominations, a record that reflects both her commercial impact and her critical standing within the recording industry. Her first Grammy came in 1980 at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, where she won Best New Artist on the strength of her self-titled debut. Her second Grammy arrived in 1990, when her duet with Dr. John on “Makin’ Whoopee” won Best Jazz Vocal Collaboration, highlighting her range as a vocalist capable of moving between pop and jazz traditions.
Rickie Lee Jones Family
Rickie Lee Jones was born into a deeply musical family headed by her father, Richard Loris Jones, a singer, songwriter, painter, and trumpet player, and her mother, Bettye Jones, who was raised in orphanages around Mansfield, Ohio. She shares her childhood with a brother, Daniel, and two sisters, Janet Adele and Pamela Jo. Her paternal grandparents, Frank “Peg Leg” Jones and Myrtle Lee, were vaudevillians based in Chicago, and her grandfather’s combination singing, ukulele, soft-shoe, and comedy routine gave the family a direct line to America’s variety-performance tradition.
Personal Life
In 1977, Rickie Lee Jones began a relationship with singer and songwriter Tom Waits after meeting him at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, and the couple dated for about two years before separating in 1979. She later had a daughter, Charlotte, whom she raised while continuing her music career. After spending years on the West Coast, Jones relocated from Los Angeles to New Orleans, where she has made her home in recent years.