Patra Hails Grace Jones: “The Original Jamaican Superstar That No One Dares To Mess With”
Queen of the Pack Patra has paid homage to fashion icon, actress, author, film producer and singer Grace Jones, whose iconic song Pull Up to My Bumper, was featured as a remake on her sophomore album Scent of Attraction and landed on the Billboard Hot 100.
On Monday, Patra, whose real name is Dorothy Smith, sang Jones’ praises and shared a video clip of the scantily-clad 74-year-old performing the hit single onstage.
“When I was asked to do a remake of “pull up to my bumper”, I was surprised but happy at the same time. For those of you don’t know, she’s the original Jamaican Super star that no one dares to mess with. Proud to be Jamaican. Grace Jones aging like a real Jamaican Queen,” Patra captioned the post.
Jones, who hails from Spanish Town, migrated to Syracuse in New York at the age of 12, to join her parents.
The supermodel recorded Pull up to the Bumper in 1981. The song which was co-written by her, was released as the third single from her fifth album titled Nightclubbing for Island Records and has been described sonically, as a reggae-disco fusion with, among other things, elements of funk and R&B music.
According to the Financial Times, the song was recorded during the fruitful Compass Point sessions for Jones’s 1980 album Warm Leatherette, with the beat originally recorded by riddim twins producers Sly Dunbar & the late Robbie Shakespeare. However, Island Records owner Chris Blackwell was said to have argued that it was not the right fit for that “new wave-themed collection” resulting in the beat coming out as an instrumental B-side as Peanut Butter to Junior Tucker’s 1981 single, The Kick (Rock On).
Sly Dunbar had told Mojo magazine in December 2008, that Grace subsequently heard the beat being played one day in the studio, and declared that it was her riddim and she wanted it back, and suggested that they call Blackwell and tell him about her request, after which she teamed up with Dana Mano to pen the lyrics to the song.
Pull Up to the Bumper, which was Grace’s first Trans-Atlantic hit, had peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the US and at No. 53 in the UK. Upon its re-release in 1986, it peaked at No. 12 in the UK.
The song had sparked controversy over what many media houses regarded as its sexually suggestive lyrics. This resulted in some radio stations refusing to broadcast it due to the lines: “Pull up to my bumper baby / In your long black limousine / Pull up to my bumper baby / Drive it in between” as well as “Grease it / Spray it / Let me lubricate it” and “I’ve got to blow your horn.”
Patra’s version was also a big hit, reaching No. 60 on the US Hot 100, as well as No. 78 in Australia, No. 12 in New Zealand, and No. 50 in the UK.
Grace Jones is known for her work with prominent luxury fashion houses such as Yves St Laurent and Kenzo and for appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue.
She also starred in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill as the assassin May Day in 1985, Conan the Destroyer in 1984 alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, and also appeared alongside Eddie Murphy in Boomerang in 1992.
Grace was presented with the nation’s fifth-highest honour by the Jamaican Government, the Order of Jamaica (OJ) in 2018, for her exceptional contribution to the field of entertainment internationally.
Back then, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Jones, whom he regards as always a strong advocate for Jamaica, was befitting of the award due to not only her own work as an actress and international icon, but also because she has never forgotten her Jamaican roots and “had embellished her international profile using Jamaica, and made an indelible contribution to Brand Jamaica.”
Jones recently scored her fourth and highest Hot 100 entry with the track Move, which featured her, Beyonce, and Nigerian singer Tems. The song debuted at No. 55 on the chart.
This came 45 years after her first entry Sorry/That’s The Trouble, which peaked at No. 71 in 1977. I Need A Man peaked at No. 83 later that year, while I’m Not Perfect peaked at No. 69 in 1986.