Jones was born in Virginia and first sang with the Great Gate, a touring Baptist church choir led by the Reverend Billie Lee.
A single mother of four children, Jones struggled to make ends meet, and sometimes performed in local nightclubs for $10 per night.
Jones idolized Aretha Franklin, who was the same age and had also got her start in a church choir, and consciously imitated not only her voice but her physical appearance.
[1] At a January 1969 nightclub engagement in Richmond, Vickie shared the bill with Lavell Hardy, whose record "Don't Lose Your Groove" had reached Number 42 on the Cashbox singles chart.
[4] Two weeks after her arrest, Jones shared a stage with Duke Ellington, who was touring Florida at the time and was impressed by her abilities.