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Biography
Sometimes the best music comes from those with the biggest divide in them. Those that constantly have a devil and an angel on their shoulder and can’t quite decide which one they want to go with. Donell Jones’ upbringing typifies this since he was born the son of a gospel singer, but early in his adolescence was tempted by the seedy goings-on of the south side of his native Chicago. Fortunately for both him and us, Jones made the right decision to immerse himself in music rather than the gangs he grew up alongside, and made his official debut as a singer-songwriter in 1993.
Shortly afterwards he struck up a friendship with a DJ named Edward “Eddie F” Ferrell, and the two formed a creative partnership with LaFace Records. After “Think Of You”, a song that Jones wrote, was taken and made a hit by some no-hoper called Usher, the higher-ups at LaFace gave Jones the all-clear to record his debut solo album. The album was released in 1996 and “My Heart” was a respectable hit for someone on their debut effort, powered by a hit cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 single “Knocks Me Off My Feet” as its lead single.
However, the stars would later align for him with his second record. “Where I Wanna Be” was a bona-fide smash, going platinum within the year and yielding smash hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic. This album made him free to do whatever he wanted to do with his follow up records, and since then his soul inflected R&B has bought him more critical notices than many others with better chart records, but the numbers were never what made Jones special. His sheer songwriting skill and golden voice did that fine, and neither of them have diminished whatsoever during his 20 plus years in show business. Highly recommended.
Live reviews
A quick bit of advice for anybody who looks at the - now hugely-commercial - R&B scene and despairs; find yourself a copy of Donell Jones’ ‘Shorty Got Her Eyes on Me’, sit back, relax and realise that it wasn’t so long ago that that particular genre was awash with genuine soul, rather than the superficial posres that largely populate it nowadays. Jones - like many of his contemporaries, who included the likes of Ginuwine and Joe - is now and has always been the very definition of a smooth, soulful crooner; despite the fact that he’s never really matched up to the success of his 1999 sophomore album Where I Wanna Be - which went platinum in his native U.S. - it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t continue to have plenty to offer. His most recent album, Forever, was dropped last year, and a top twenty chart position in the States proved that he continues to hold some serious commercial sway there. He still tours frequently, too, with his most recent lap of the UK, back in February of 2010, saw him supporting Musiq Soulchild and Avant with quick-fire sets that felt anything but; backed by a full band, he delivered hugely mellow, stripped-down versions of his classics that confirmed him as one of the masters of his craft.
Joeg_67
Wow!..first time to see him perform
Hours of waiting to see him.
Over an hour in line to get in the venue.
We had vip seats and the fold up chairs were uncomfortable.
General admission guest had to stand throughout the show. The dj played music for over 2 hours. Then a guest performer that no one knew, performed for about 30 minutes.
When Donell FINALLY! came on to perform, he was welcomed by all, I thought there may have been a couple of live band members, but instead another dj playing Donell's music and Donell singing live which was OK only!
No disrespect to Donell, we were expecting more from his catalog of music
He only sang about 5 songs which in approximate total time for him 40 minutes.
Needless to say guest were not happy with this.
Had I'd been a general admission guest I would have been extremely upset!
I hope this message gets passed to Donell's promoters. Please plan better next time.
Donell we still love you. Please continue your sharing your talent and love with us.
Eyeluvmusic
Back when R & B was not a commercial wasteland of highly auto-tuned, personality lacking 'singers', the genre was known for championing neo-soul musicians and performers. Donell Jones falls very much into this category, the Chicago singer/songwriter notes icons such as Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder as major influencers and you can see how these have affected his sound over the years.
Fortunately he has not attempted to create any dance R & B and continues to record soulful material. He includes the hits tonight in order to delight the devoted fans and these include 'This Luv' and 'Where I Wanna Be' which are sang back loudly during the choruses. This causes Donell to smile broadly and attempt to charm every lady in the room during a break in the set. He saves his A material to close with 'U Know What's Up' before returning for his recognisable cover of 'Knocks Me off My Feet' by one of his self confessed icons Stevie Wonder.
sean-ward
I absolutely LOVE Donnell Jones. I love Where I Wanna Be! My favorite album is Journey of a Gemini. I am a gemini too and feel as if this album expresses everything I feel. I've only had the opportunity to see him live once and I was so amazed. I can't wait for another visit to the Bay Area...please come soon!!
amillow72
Me and my wife went and we waited about three hours before he came up. And when you do come out the concert may have lasted for only 30 minutes. I think it was unfair that we came all that way spent all that money and it took us 2 1/2 hours to see him only for 30 minutes.
bigdee73
I attended the concert on 2/20 in Louisville, Kentucky and I loved every minute of Donell's performance!! IThe sound system was excellent and he sang a lot of my favorite songs!!! Love love Donell Jones!! I'm a fan forever!!!
lmc72769
Donell has a light sweet voice and wasn’t quite ready for the big stage last night especially not going up against the other singers! Wasn’t bad but should have done a mic check first. But was pleasant!
alicia-wright-2
