Velvet Jones
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For the mid-1990s British indie-rock group see Naked Records
Also see Canadian Professional Wrestler, Velvet Jones (wrestler)
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Velvet Jones was an ongoing character played by Eddie Murphy on the American sketch comedy Saturday Night Live in its seventh season. Velvet was depicted as a pimp on the program and first appeared on the October 17, 1981 episode (with guests George Kennedy and Miles Davis). The first skit was a faux advertisement for Jones' book I Wanna be a Ho and the character was depicted to be the president of "The Velvet Jones School of Technology." The character spoke in Ebonics and wore loud pink and purple clothing and a slick pompadour. Subsequent episodes had Jones selling items such as Velvet Jones Harlequin Romance books, which included fictitious odd titles including Kicked in the Butt by Love[1].
This was Murphy's first season on the show as a regular where he broke out from the comedy ensemble. Velvet Jones and Murphy's other characters on the show were notable insofar as they broke taboos about the black street culture that Saturday Night Live had never addressed in prior seasons.
Velvet Jones is also the name of a Santa Barbara-based funk club and two bands, the first based in Sacramento and a defunct indie rock band from Britain in the mid 1990s, as well as a song by the Animal Liberation Orchestra (Brushfire Records). Velvet Jones is also the name of a well loved funk and soul band from Canberra, Australia.
