Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz.

[3] AllMusic stated: "Few singer/songwriters are as individual and eclectic as Rickie Lee Jones, a vocalist with an expressive and smoky instrument, and a composer who can weave jazz, folk, and R&B into songs with a distinct pop sensibility.

[5] Jones won her second Grammy Award in 1990 for "Makin' Whoopee", a duet with Dr. John, this time in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group.

[11] Her paternal grandfather, Frank "Peg Leg" Jones, and her grandmother, Myrtle Lee, were vaudevillians based in Chicago.

[12] A singer, dancer, and comedian, Peg Leg Jones's routine consisted of singing and accompanying himself on ukulele, soft shoe dance, acrobatics, and comedy.

[13] At the age of 21, Jones began singing traditional jazz and original compositions in bars and coffee houses in Venice, California.

There she met Alfred Johnson, a piano player and songwriter, with whom she wrote "Weasel and the White Boys Cool", and "Company", which would later appear on Jones's debut album.

Her appearance – as an unknown (one month after her debut record had been released) – on Saturday Night Live on April 7, 1979, sparked an overnight sensation.

Members of her group included native New York guitarist Buzz Feiten, who was featured on the album and would appear in her recorded works for over a decade.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, the cover image showed Jones posing in a crouched stance, wearing a black bra and a white beret.

[19] In 1980, Francis Ford Coppola asked Jones to collaborate with Waits on his upcoming film One from the Heart, but she balked, citing their recent breakup in late 1979.

[5] Rolling Stone remained a fervent supporter of Jones, with a second cover feature in 1981;[21] the magazine also included a glowing five-star review of Pirates.

64, but "Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)" and "Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking" became minor Top 40 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

[7]: 332 In 1983, Jones lived in Paris for four months, writing new material for her third full-length solo album, The Magazine, released in September 1984.

The Magazine was produced by Jones and James Newton Howard and included a three-song suite, subtitled "Rorschachs", which featured multi-tracked vocals and minimalist synth patterns.

[24] During this period, she replaced Shirley Jones for the role of the Fairy Godmother in Filmation's 1987 film, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, including a performance of the original song "Love is the Light Inside Your Heart".

[25] After a successful tour of Norway and Sweden, and then opening for Ray Charles in Israel with Michael Lang managing her, she returned to the US, signed to Geffen Records by Gary Gersh, who teamed her with Steely Dan's Walter Becker for her long-awaited fourth album.

[5] Her 1988 collaboration with Rob Wasserman, "Autumn Leaves" on his album Duets, earned Jones a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female in 1989.

[2] Her duet with Dr. John, a cover of "Makin' Whoopee", won her second Grammy Award in 1990, this time in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Collaboration.

Jones' first solo shows in 1994 paved the way for her acoustic album Naked Songs, released in September 1995 through a one-off deal with Reprise Records.

[28] Emphasizing her experimentation and change, Jones embraced electronic music for Ghostyhead, released on Reprise Records in June 1997.

In November 2001, Artemis issued a release of archival material titled Live at Red Rocks with cover art by a young fan who had recently died in a swimming accident.

After Ghostyhead, Jones largely retired from public view, tending her garden and bringing up her teenage daughter Charlotte.

[29] Released on the independent label V2 in October 2003, The Evening of My Best Day featured influences from jazz, Celtic folk, blues, R&B, rock, and gospel, and spawned a successful and lengthy spurt of touring.

[31] A lavish package designed by Lee Cantelon, the alphabetically arranged release featured album songs, live material, covers, and demos, and featured essays by Jones as well as various collaborators, as well as tributes from artists including Randy Newman, Walter Becker, Quincy Jones, and Tori Amos.

It included "Circle in the Sand", recorded for the soundtrack to the film Friends with Money (2006), for which Jones also cut "Hillbilly Song".

[33] For her next project, Balm in Gilead (2009), Jones opted to finish half-written songs dating back as far as 1986 ("Wild Girl") as well as include new ones (the 2008-penned "The Gospel of Carlos, Norman and Smith", "Bonfires").

The album also included a new recording of "The Moon Is Made of Gold", a song written by her father Richard Loris Jones in 1954.

Ben Harper, Victoria Williams, Jon Brion, Alison Krauss and the late Vic Chesnutt all made contributions to the album.