[Archive]: R&B Soul Singer Photographs

A collection of 37 loose photo album pages containing 154 color photographs most measuring 4" x 6", without captions. All items about near fine. A collection of snapshot photographs compiled by R&B singer Milira Jones in the early 1990s. A photocopied magazine article featured here discusses Jones’ life and her first single, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s "Mercy, Mercy Me" which climbed to number 21 on the R&B singles chart. Describing her upbringing the article reads, "this 19-year-old comes from a musical family. Her mother and aunt were backup singers for Jackie Wilson as members of the Wilsonettes. They saw the potential Milira had and encouraged her." The photographs seen here show Jones and other singers and celebrities posed at events including the 1990 Video Music Awards. Some of the notable people include Mike Tyson, Spike Jones, Erik B., Heavy D, Rakim, The Good Girls, Rosie Perez, Russell Simmons, Kool Moe Dee, and Barry Gordy, among others. Milira is seen posed backstage at events in various stage outfits and with other entertainers, at an airport, in the back of a limo, and on a bus with other Motown acts. The collection illustrates the whirlwind of being a young, talented singer signed by a major label. Milira Jones was born in Hollis, New York and earned a contract with Apollo Records, a Motown label, after an amateur night at the Apollo Theatre in the late 1980s. Prior to her discovery she had spent years singing with various gospel groups. In 1990 her first album, *Milira* was released and reached number 29 on the Billboard R&B carts and two singles on the album made the top 40. Her follow up album, *Back Again!!!* was marginally successful with another two singles making the top 40. However after a failed third album released on her own label she decided to retire from music and teach in Queens, New York. As of 2019 she had stopped teaching and released her fourth album, *No Mo Pain*. An interesting collection of snapshots compiled by a young R&B singer in the 1990s.…