Stephen Charles “Charlie” Jones is a highly accomplished English musician and record producer. With a career spanning nearly four decades, Jones has made a name for himself as an exceptional bass guitarist. He is widely recognized for his work as a record producer, notably producing the critically acclaimed 2007 studio album “Mantaray” by Siouxsie Sioux. Jones has collaborated with numerous renowned artists and bands, including Robert Plant and the band Page and Plant. His talent and versatility have led him to work with many other popular musicians, and he has toured extensively across the country, often in collaboration with other musical acts. Jones’ exceptional skills as a co-writer were recognized with a Grammy Award for the song “Please Read the Letter.”
Quick Facts
- Name: Stephen Charles Jones
- Age: 58 Years
- Gender: Male
- Spouse: Carmen Jane Plant (m. 1991)
- Occupation: Bassist
Charlie Jones’ Career
Charlie Jones started out as a bass guitarist at a very young age. He played electric and double bass guitar in his teen years. In 1985, Jones worked under composer Toshiyuki Hiraoka in the feature drama film ‘Violent Blue’. The film was specially lauded for its background music, and Jones learned a great deal of ideas from Hiraoka.
Collaboration with Robert Plant
In the 1990s, Jones teamed up with English musician Robert Anthony Plant. Together, they worked on many of Plant’s studio albums. Their albums, ‘Manic Nirvana’, ‘Fate of Nations’ and ‘Dreamland’, received positive reviews. ‘Fate of Nation’ received overwhelming response from the audience as well as from various magazines and websites like AllMusic and Rolling Stones. Charlie Jones was the writer of the majority of the songs from all these three albums. He also contributed as a composer and writer to two other albums, ‘Sixty Six to Timbuktu’ and ‘Nine Lives,’ by Plant.
Collaboration with Page and Plant
Jones also joined the famous group ‘Page and Plant’, created by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. He contributed to their only studio album ‘Walking into Clarksdale’ in 1998, after playing a big part in their live album ‘No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded’. With Plant and Alison Maria Krauss, Charlie Jones delivered the popular track ‘Please Read the Letter’. This track was originally recorded by Plant and Page for their only studio album ‘Walking into Clarksdale’, which also featured Jones.
Grammy Award and Chart Success
Later on, Plant, Jones and Krauss released a version of that song which became even more popular and eventually won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. After its win at the Grammys, the song gained momentum in rising to the top of the hot charts and broke into the top 20 of U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 list. It also reached the 102nd spot on the UK Singles Chart.
Collaboration with Goldfrapp and Other Artists
After joining the band ‘Goldfrapp’ as their bass guitarist in 2003, Jones has contributed to seven albums, including three studio albums and a compilation album, for the band. Between 2003 and 2008, the band released the studio albums, ‘Black Cherry’, ‘Supernature’ and ‘Seventh Tree,’ all of which did fairly well in the market. Jones has also collaborated with the Canadian musician Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt for her seventh studio album ‘An Ancient Muse’. He has contributed to Susan Janet Ballion’s solo album ‘Mantaray’ and Scottish singer Jim Kerr’s first solo album ‘Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr’ as well.
Personal Life
Stephen Charles Jones was born on October 13, 1965, in Bristol, England. He married Robert Plant’s daughter Carmen Jane Plant, shortly after teaming up with him in 1991. The couple has since been happily married.