History The Joneses

There are at least two groups named The Joneses:

1. The Joneses were a punk rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1981 by guitarist and singer Jeff Drake, the band included numerous players over the years. The incarnation of the Joneses that was voted "Best Live Band" in the 1984 L.A. Weekly Reader's Poll included, in addition to Drake, three ex-The Mau-Mau's, Scott Franklin (the Cramps), Paul Black(L.A. Guns), and Johnnie Sage (Christian Death).

The Joneses first seven-inch, 45 rpm single was "Criminals in My Car" b/w "Jonestown." They next released a pair of songs, "Graveyard Rock" and "Pillbox," on the 1982 [/abel]BYO Records compilation, "Someone Got Their Head Kicked In." The EP "Criminals" was the Joneses next released recording. "Hell Comes to Your House, Volume 2," included the three Joneses tracks: "I'm Bad," "She's So Filthy," "Black Cat Bone." "Keeping Up With the Joneses," was released by Doctor Dream Records in 1987. "Criminal History," released by "Sympathy for the Record Industry" in February 2000, is a 20 track retrospective of the Joneses recorded material.

Jeff Drake later teamed up with his brother Scott "Deluxe" Drake in band The Vice Principals.

Fun Fact: The Joneses' most popular song "Pill Box" was written by Jeff Drake when he was 16.

2. An R&B group active during the 70s. Most known for their 1974 hits "Hey Babe" and "Sugar Pie Guy", which reached No 18 and 10 on the R&B charts, respectively. Both songs opened with distinctive scatted vocals from the Joneses' lead singer, Harold Taylor. Another member, Glenn Dorsey, wrote 7 out of 8 songs from their album of the same year, Keepin' Up With the Joneses (the other song, I Promise You, was written by Wendell Noble, another group member).

The Joneses split in 1975 but returned in 1977 with a self-titled album on Epic Records, produced by Philadelphia International guitarist Bobby Eli. This second album was recently released as a remastered CD in the UK by Big Beat Records.

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