R.I.P., Jessica Cleaves, Formerly of The Friends of Distinction, EWF

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Thread started 05/05/14 12:47am

Identity

R.I.P., Jessica Cleaves, Formerly of The Friends of Distinction, EWF

May 5, 2014
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Jessica Cleaves, a founding member of the Friends of Distinction, died on Friday, May 2nd, in Los Angeles at the age of 65.

Cleaves, Floyd Butler, Harry Elston and Barbara Love formed the Friends of Distinction in 1968 and were discovered by football player Jim Brown who helped them get signed to RCA Records.

The group had three singles go to the top fifteen on both the Hot 100 and the R&B singles, Grazing in the Grass (1969), Going in Circles (1969) and Love or Let Me Be Lonely (1970 ). They also hit the top 15 R&B albums with Grazin' (1969), Highly Distinct (1969) and Real Friends (1970).

Cleaves left the Friends of Distinction in 1972 to join Earth, Wind and Fire.

Bandleader and founder Maurice White wanted to change things up a bit, bringing in Cleaves, Ronnie Laws, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Roland Bautista and Ralph Johnson.

Jessica was with the band when they were signed to Columbia Records, marking the beginning of their ascension to the top of their career, singing on their albums Last Days and Time (1972) and their first platinum set Head to the Sky (1973).

After Head to the Sky, Cleaves, Laws and Bautista left the band with Cleaves eventually moving on to perform with Parliament-Funkadelic where she remained through the recording of their Dope Dogs album in 1993.

Among her recordings with the group are:

Gloryhallastoopid (or Pin the Tale on the Funky) (Parliament, 1979)
Uncle Jam Wants You (Funkadelic, 1979)
Trombipulation (Parliament, 1980)
Computer Games (George Clinton, 1982)
R&B Skeletons in the Closet (George Clinton, 1986)
The Cinderella Theory (George Clinton, 1989)
Hey, Man, Smell My Finger (George Clinton, 1993)
Dope Dogs (Parliament-Funkadelic All Stars, 1994)

Cleaves activities after her years with Parliament-Funkadelic are not known.

[Edited 5/8/14 4:36am]

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Reply #1 posted 05/05/14 5:05am

phunkdaddy

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RIP Jessica was a great vocalist for both groups.

Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint

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Reply #2 posted 05/05/14 9:25am

MickyDolenz

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You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton

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Reply #3 posted 05/05/14 1:02pm

HuMpThAnG	a great vocalist
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Reply #4 posted 05/05/14 9:30pm

MickyDolenz

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Reply #5 posted 05/06/14 11:48am

paligap

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...

Wow, sorry to hear this.....I was just reading about her....

...

Rest in peace, Jessica....

....

" I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout

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Reply #6 posted 05/06/14 3:27pm

HuMpThAnG
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Reply #7 posted 05/06/14 3:34pm

MidniteMagnet

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That was her with Raw Silk?? I love this woman's voice...one of a kind. RIP!!

"Keep in mind that I'm an artist...and I'm sensitive about my shit."--E. Badu

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Reply #8 posted 05/06/14 11:15pm

Identity	Jessica with EWF, Live in 1972.
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Reply #9 posted 05/07/14 10:48am

Allanya

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rip... sad

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Reply #10 posted 05/07/14 7:04pm

Identity	George Clinton wrote on Jessica’s memorial page: “Our friend Jessica Cleaves left us today. Jessica, you will truly be missed, it was a great honor to funk with you.” [Edited 5/7/14 19:04pm]
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