(July 15, 2024) The Jones Girls At Peace With Woman could be considered the artistic high point for one of the most loved vocal groups of the 1980s. The album had several songs that received significant airplay or became highly regarded album tracks. That list includes their remake of The Stylistics “Children of the Night,” the title track and “Dance Turned Into Romance.”
“I Just Love The Man” may be the album’s most talked about track. The tune combined a bluesy bass line with the lush instrumental arrangements that are signatures of a Philadelphia International Records song. The story line involved a family intervention with sisters Brenda and Valorie confronting Shirley about her good-for-nothing man.
“I Just Love The Man” alternates between Valorie and Brenda’s spoken monologues where they implore Shirley to dump this ne’er do well chump. They tell Shirley her she’s a quality woman who can do better, and Brenda and Valorie provide numerous examples where Shirley’s man fails to step up. Shirley fiercely defends her man in a sung response that likely makes Women and Gender Studies professors wince.
The Jones Girls were a trio that sang about relationships. Their songs often addressed the conflicting realities that come to the forefront in any relationship. The Jones Girls sang about real stuff, and the scenario Valorie, Brenda and Shirley Jones lay out is “I Just Love The Man” is drawn from interventions many of us have been involved in – on one side or the other.
Sadly, Brenda and Valorie have passed away. Shirley Jones continues performing and releasing new music, while also honoring her sisters on her most recent recording, Shirley Jones and the Jones Girls: Reflections, In Loving Memory. Shirley Jones will soon release a limited edition of Reflections on vinyl and that LP will include a concert version of “I Just Love The Man,” in which Shirley Jones recreates her sisters’ spoken monologues, while also singing her famous part. It’s a touching, honest and entertaining tribute to Valorie and Brenda Jones that can be heard here.
By Howard Dukes
