Dr. Eddie W. Jones, Sr. was born December 13, 1951, to Rev. Eddie Jones, Jr. and Alma (Garrison) Jones in Pearl, Mississippi. In 1975, he married his wife, Maxine. He had four children.

Before moving to Arkansas, Dr. Jones earned his D.M.A. from the University of Memphis, his Master of Music degree in Music Education from Miami University (OH) and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Tougaloo College. In his employ as Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Jones taught Voice, Choral Methods, Music Education, and conducted both the UA Concert Choir and the UA Inspirational Chorale. His voice students have been winners in both the State and Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions, the former of which he is a past President. His students have also been winners at the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) competition. Over 95% of them have gone on to teach in the music profession or chosen to attend prestigious graduate schools in music.

Dr. Jones has guest conducted, adjudicated choral festivals, conducted master classes, and presented worship seminars both nationally and internationally. Additionally, choirs under Dr. Jones’ direction have toured across the United States, eastern and western Europe and Asia, including a spring 2007 trip to China by the UA Inspirational Chorale. During that tour, the singers had the privilege of performing the concert version of “The Gospel Feast” at the famous Beijing Concert Hall. Touring Ireland several times, he participated in the Kilkenny International Gospel Festival in 2012 as guest lecturer; in 2013 as guest conductor featuring the UA Inspirational Chorale as the workshop demonstration choir; and in 2014 as the festival’s workshop conductor.

Dr. Jones arranged and composed over 30 musical selections including “Fall Again”, “Just a Little Talk With Jesus”, “No Not One”, “Brand New Day”, and “Precious Lord”. Some of the major choral works Dr. Jones conducted include compositions by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Bernstein. In addition, he prepared choirs for performances of Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’s Requiem, and Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 in collaborative orchestral concerts. Additionally, the UA Concert Choir was chosen as the chorus to perform in the University of Arkansas Opera Workshop’s presentation of Suor Angelica.

Dr. Jones maintained an active research agenda. He wrote articles on hymnist Charles Price Jones and the musical arrangements of 20th century artist, Roland Hayes. His research on Black Gospel Music resulted in his development of the copyrighted dramatic presentation, “The Gospel Feast”, which was used to inform the public about the history of Black Gospel Music. Among his greatest achievements was completion of the book Gospel Music: The Sound of Hope, published posthumously.