About Bobby Jones

Born September 18, 1939 in Henry County Tennessee, Bobby Jones is a  Grammy, Dove, and NAACP Image Awards winning Gospel music singer and television host.  He is the executive producer and host of cable television's only national gospel program, Bobby Jones Gospel, which is seen weekly by more than five million viewers on the Black Entertainment Television network.

Jones always dreamt of a career in music. Bobby excelled academically throughout school, graduating from high school at 15 and Tennessee State University at 19 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Jones continued his education by pursuing a master's degree at Tennessee State and a doctorate from Vanderbilt. While pursuing his master's, Jones taught elementary school in the Missouri and Tennessee education systems.

In his teaching days, Jones helped develop the idea for a Black Expo in Nashville, Tenn. (Black Expo is a fair held in cities across the country which focuses on the contributions African Americans have made to their communities.) During the effort, Jones introduced the pilot for what is now Bobby Jones Gospel to WSMV-TV in Nashville . WSMV-TV picked up the show that Jones created, produced and hosted. It ran in Nashville from 1976 until it was picked up be BET for national syndication in 1980.

In 1984, he won a Grammy Award for the Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo Or Group with Barbara Mandrell for "I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today." Jones is also the recipient of a Dove Award, three Stellar Awards, and a presidential commendation from President George W. Bush.

Jones has authored two books. In 2000, his memoir, Make A Joyful Noise (St. Martins Press) included chapters about his tiff with the Winans family and his personal conversations with the Rev. James Cleveland. Both topics were controversial and caused some friction with Gospel’s first family and Cleveland ’s music organization, the Gospel Music Workshop of America. In 1999, Bobby Jones released Touched By God (Simon & Schuster), a collection of inspirational stories by top Gospel artists about how God had changed their lives.

His more recent music releases include Faith Unscripted (2007), the Ambassador (2007), and Comin' Back Hard (2009).