By Nick Christophers

It takes a person with a strong will and heart to pull themselves up when they hit the bottom. Gina Jones is a living testament to that as she rose as a singer, songwriter/ entertainer crashed and burned but found it in herself to get back in the game with more energy. She grew up around music all her life since her family had a band called Ozark Rhythm Aires that she performed with from nine years old till fourteen. The band performed in all types of Branson and Lake of the Ozark’s Opry Houses, festivals and fairs in Missouri. The band cut their first record in Arkansas when Gina was only nine years old.

“My brothers and sisters were in a family band, and it came naturally. I just woke up playing guitar and singing by ear one day.”

At the tender age of fourteen, Gina decided to move on with her brother as a duo. They signed on with Universal Records in Nashville and released a record. Yet Gina a young mother at the age of 19 pursued another genre that was gaining popularity as she became the lead singer for a rock band. Gina would find herself performing in various rock bands touring on the west coast in states like Idaho, Utah, North / South Dakota and Nevada. 

By her early-twenties Gina moved to Nashville and started paying her dues singing at the Barbara Mandrel Theater, and Gilley’s on Music Row, Tootsies, Printer’s Alley at Lonnie’s Western Room and Skull’s. At this time Gina started writing more songs and was mentored by the Late Great Harland Howard and Vern Gosdin who she collaborated with on writing and singing songs into publishing at the Paul Ritchie Music Group.

When Gina was in her late twenties, she joined a new touring band called Nashville Country Music Review who opened for many key acts. On her musical journey she was influenced by many artists and their styles. Artists like Jeannie C Riley, Tanya Tucker to Connie Smith.  She also had the honor of doing a duet with Jim Ed Brown. These were artists her parents loved, and Gina performed their songs way before having the pleasure of opening for them.

Gina performed in many venues but the one that stood out was when she was the very first time on stage at the tender age of nine years old where she received two standing ovations. The other was in 2015 when she won a Battle of Bands contest in Idaho that was promoted via a voting poll of Facebook. This in turn opened the door for her to open at the Mountain Home Country Music Festival’s star-studded lineup that included, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, and Florida Georgia Line. Which was the largest venue she has ever performed at.

Out of all the over 1000 songs Gina Jones has written whether they were funny life stories or stories of how we should love people the most important were her love of writing inspiring songs.

“I didn’t start working on inspirational lyrics until I went through some real rough times in my life. I was raised an atheist when I was a child and stayed that course until I had a brush with death overdosing on meth and cocaine early one morning. I was dying in my bedroom, and I heard a voice speak to my spirit that said “Get on Your Knees and Pray for the Desire to do Drugs to Leave You” I did what the voice said, and my breath came back into my body.  I got up and dumped all the drugs I had on my table in the toilet and flushed it after having an $1500 a week

habit in 90s. I never touched it again. I never had the desire again.  After that I accepted God into my life “I began dreaming inspirational songs getting up and writing them.”

Gina was on a real mission in late 2023 to build on her God given talent. She filmed a piece in New York for an Amazon Prime series chronicling her life called “My Story” by Celebrity Filmsand if that was not enough Gina also started her own record label and vamped up her a presence as an Indie Nashville Artist with distribution and promotion by Universal – Virgin / Intercept Music where she dropped a song and video called “Saturday Night Sinner”. It was a single she wrote about how Christians should love everyone from people at the bar to the streets. It gained her over 45000 Spotify streams and over 363,000 listens on YouTube. That song that is up for ten Indie Awards from ISSA to FPCM UK Awards and has already won two WSA and EMAs.

Gina’s current release “Can You Save Me” penned by Gina and Nashville’s MuzikMafia, Damien Horne, and has already gained over 4500 listens on YouTube and over 4000 streams in less than a week. She is up for two-awards in Hollywood for the Amazon Prime “My Story” video they did about her life and the Lisa Nichols Book she Co- authored.

Speaking of books, Gina released a book about her life experiences called “Madame of Music Row” that became an Amazon Beat Seller in 2024which is something everyone should read. It is based on true events that offer the light and the dark side Gina lived through. From being a teen runaway, a child bride, promising musician, experiencing domestic abuse, being pushed into the world of drugs and prostitution, then facing attempted murder and still finding the strength to escape that hell which is truly inspirational. She was what they termed as a modern-day outlaw that without searching deep in her soul for salvation she may never have made it.

“I have known for a long time that I was supposed to write a book. It has been a calling to talk about my life story so that I can witness to the very worst of circumstances and people in those situations of life. I use it as a tool to help pull people up. I believe in putting my hand out to lift people of all walks of life up, not putting a foot down on them to keep them down. Loving people into a better life is what life is supposed to be about not judging them and throwing them away.”

So far, Gina has had the pleasure of performing and speaking about her tragic yet lifesaving journey on programs like Amazon Prime, Fox News, Nevada’s KPVM News and has been featured in many magazines such as Salt Lake Weekly and Fair Play Country Music Awards UK. In addition, she has plus traveled as the real live EX- Ho to university campuses with the Tik Tok Viral Sensation Sister Cindy to preach the “Ho No Mo Revolution”. Gina is always looking to expand her talents and horizons while pushing forward to shine her light whether it be via music, writing or speaking about her experiences to lift others or at least inspire them in a positive way.