Born 81 Years Ago Today in Ohio, the Queen of Northern Soul Who Wrote Hits for The Supremes, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye

October 19, 2026, 7:30pm

On this day (October 19) in 1945, Gloria Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She started her singing career with a gospel group as a teenager. She found her first hit as a recording artist a few years later. Jones toured the United States and grew a strong following in England. After Motown Records hired her as a songwriter, she penned songs recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and many others.

Jones’ family moved from Ohio to Los Angeles when she was seven. When she was 14, she formed the COGIC Singers with Frankie Kahrl and Billy Preston. The gospel group stayed together for four years and recorded one album. In her late teens, Jones drifted away from gospel music and became enmeshed in the Los Angeles pop scene. At 19, Ed Cobb discovered her and wrote and produced her first hit record, “Heartbeats Pts 1 & 2.”

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In 1965, Jones became the first artist to record the Cobb-penned “Tainted Love.” Later, covers recorded by Soft Cell and Air Supply popularized the song.

In the late 1960s, Jones began performing in musicals. Her first was Catch My Soul, a soul version of Othello, which also featured Jerry Lee Lewis and the Phil Spector-produced girl group the Blossoms. She later joined the Los Angeles cast of Hair. During her time on the stage, she met Pam Sawyer, who invited her to write for Motown. According to AllMusic, she wrote several songs for Motown artists, including “My Mistake,” which became a hit for Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye.

Gloria Jones Goes to the UK

Like many soul singers, Gloria Jones found more success across the pond than she did in the United States. After moving to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, she found a massive following of Northern Soul fans. She became so popular there that she was dubbed the Queen of Northern Soul.

Jones first met T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan while she was performing in Hair in 1969. Three years later, when he was touring Europe, the pair met up again. She joined the band in 1973. She sang and played keys on five albums between 1974 and 1977. Jones and Bolan also started a romantic relationship and were together until he died in a car accident in September 1977. They had one son, Rolan Bolan.

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