Name |
Jack Jones |
Height |
|
Naionality |
American |
Date of Birth |
January 14, 1938 |
Place of Birth |
Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Famous for |
Singing |
Jack Jones is an American jazz and pop singer, popular during the 1960s. Jones was primarily a straight pop singer (even when he recorded contemporary material) whose ventures in the direction of jazz were mostly of the big band/swing variety. Jones won two Grammy Awards.
He continues to perform concerts around the world and remains popular in Las Vegas. Jones is widely known known for his recordings of "Wives and Lovers" (1964 Grammy Award, Best Pop Male Performance), "The Race Is On", "Lollipops and Roses" (1962, Grammy Award, Best Pop Male Performance), "The Impossible Dream", "Call Me Irresponsible", "Lady", and "The Love Boat Theme". While performing at a San Francisco club, he was discovered by Pete King, a producer and artist for Kapp Records, who quickly signed him to the label. In August 1961 he recorded the ballad "Lollipops and Roses" (a song by Tony Velona), which became a hit in the following year. Jones's biggest pop hit was "Wives and Lovers" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. In the Kapp years, Jones recorded almost twenty albums, including Shall We Dance, This Was My Love, She Loves Me, Call Me Irresponsible, I´ve Got a Lot of Living To Do!, Bewitched, Wives and Lovers, Dear Heart, Where Love Has Gone, The Jack Jones Christmas Album, My Kind of Town, The Impossible Dream, The In Crowd, Jack Jones Sings, Lady, and Our Song Young, handsome, and well-groomed, Jack Jones was an anomaly in the sixties, eschewing rock and roll trends and opting for the big band sound, lush romantic ballads and the Great American Songbook, although sometimes he recorded something more pop, country, or bossa nova-oriented. For example: one of his biggest hits was "The Race Is On", by country music legend George Jones (no relation).
Besides the choice of material, Jones worked with such arrangers as Billy May, Nelson Riddle, Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, Jack Elliott, Ralph Carmichael, Bob Florence, Don Costa, and Pete King. Jones made his movie debut in Juke Box Rhythm (1959), playing Riff Manton, a young singer who is involved romantically with a princess (Jo Morrow). He sings three songs. Jones acted in such minor films as The Comeback and Cruise of the Gods. He had a humorous cameo in the film parody Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) as Robert Hays avoids searchlights while escaping captivity, the beams become a spotlight on Jones, performing a verse from The Love Boat theme. He became a staple on '60s and '70s variety shows, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Dick Cavett Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Jerry Lewis Show, American Bandstand, This is Tom Jones, The Dean Martin Show, The Judy Garland Show, Playboy After Dark, The Jack Benny Program, The Steve Allen Show, and The Morecambe and Wise Show in Britain.
He twice hosted NBC's top rated rock and roll series Hullabaloo, and was featured in two prime-time specials, Jack Jones on the Move (1966) and The Jack Jones Special (1974). Jones provided the famous opening theme for the television series The Love Boat from 1977 through 1985, and also made several guest appearances on the show, including one with his father Allan.