In reflecting upon the life of John Allan Jones, I am struck by both his remarkable talent and his deep-rooted connections to the golden age of Hollywood. Born into a family with musical roots that stretch back to the silver screen, it seems only fitting that he would find his own place in the annals of show business history.
86-year-old Jack Jones, the velvety-voiced Grammy winner known for his hits “Lollipops and Roses,” “Wives and Lovers,” and “The Impossible Dream,” as well as being the captivating host of The Love Boat, has passed away.
On Wednesday evening, Jones passed away at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, following a tough two-year fight against leukemia, as reported by his stepdaughter, Nicole Whitty, to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jones was born into a family deeply rooted in the entertainment industry. His mother, Irene Hervey, earned an Emmy nomination and dedicated over five decades to acting on both film and television. Meanwhile, his father, Allan Jones, played the romantic male lead in ‘Show Boat’ (1936) and in two Marx Brothers movies, specifically ‘A Night at the Opera’ (1935) and ‘A Day at the Races’ (1937). To add to this, his father also had a successful single with “The Donkey Serenade.
From 1977, for a span of eight seasons and over 200 episodes, Jones sang praises of romance on the high seas for the ABC show The Love Boat. His song was a catchy tune that invited viewers to embark on a romantic journey – “Love, exciting and new. Come aboard. We’re expecting you.” However, Dionne Warwick took over the theme song duties starting from season nine.
The melody, penned by Charles Fox and Paul Williams, contributed an additional dimension to Jones’ long-standing professional journey.
Jones stated to Las Vegas Magazine in 2016 that the success of ‘The Love Boat’ theme made life on ships fantastic afterward. He worked there for six weeks annually, and they provided him with the best suite on the ship – the S.S. Norway. It was a wonderful experience all around.
In 1979, Jones put out “The Love Boat Theme” as a single, with “Ready to Take a Chance Again,” originally sung by Barry Manilow, on the reverse side. This song became a regular feature in his concerts. However, he didn’t shy away from making light of it.
In the film “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982), he makes a brief appearance as a suave, tuxedo-wearing lounge singer singing the theme tune. Meanwhile, in “Demolition Man” (1993), Sandra Bullock prepares for her virtual encounter with Sylvester Stallone by playing his song to set the atmosphere.
On stage, Jones was famously casual and charming with women, yet he walked down the aisle six times. Among his wives, he was most notably married to actress Jill St. John for over a year in the late 1960s. He also had a romantic connection with actress Susan George.
Back in 1959, I signed my very first recording contract with Capitol Records, and they released my initial album titled “This Love of Mine“. On it, you’ll find my lively interpretation of Steve Allen’s composition “This Could Be the Start of Something Big.
Initially, the Capitol record label aimed to transform Jones into a rockabilly singer, but eventually let him go. However, Kapp Records recognized his potential and signed him up instead. Immediately after joining them, he experienced great success with “Lollipops and Roses,” a song he recorded during a two-week leave from the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Tony Velona’s heartfelt ballad was perfectly suited for Jones’ rich voice. The song climbed to No. 12 on the Adult Contemporary chart, won him a Grammy in 1962 for best solo male vocal performance, and established him as a potential successor to Frank Sinatra.
A year after his initial success with “Call Me Irresponsible,” a song Sinatra had previously recorded, Jones won another Grammy in 1964 for “Wives and Lovers.” This upbeat tune by Burt Bacharach and Hal David peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Record of the Year, but ultimately lost to Henry Mancini’s “Days of Wine and Roses.
In 1993, Kapp stated to the Los Angeles Times that he placed the tune on the reverse side of the single. However, disc jockeys chose to flip the record and play it regardless.
Over time, “Wives and Lovers” became one of his classic hits. However, with lyrics that essentially advised women to submit to their husbands to maintain their fidelity – “Don’t think because there’s a ring on your finger, you needn’t try anymore” – it didn’t hold up over the years. By the 90s, there was increasing pressure to ban the song due to its problematic content. Jones responded to the criticism by modifying the lyrics to satirize men. Yet, he never changed the melody.
Given the controversial nature of the song, he prefaced it with a warning,” he said. “Apparently, some women are still upset about this supposedly misogynistic tune being broadcasted. With time, it’s become part of musical history, even winning a Grammy. He insists he had no malicious intent when creating it; instead, it significantly boosted his career, and for that, he remains thankful.
John Allan Jones was born in Los Angeles on January 14, 1938. He claimed that his birth day coincided with the day his father recorded “Donkey Serenade” for RCA Victor. (His father had performed this song on horseback for Jeanette MacDonald in the 1937 MGM musical “The Firefly”.)
During his teenage years, Jones began creating demo recordings as he pursued a singing career. By the year 1958, he was performing alongside his father on stage at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Jones mentioned, “Perhaps you’ve seen my video biography, but at the start of it, there’s a scene featuring a Las Vegas newspaper. My father was depicted in that paper, with me appearing below him for less prominent billing.” This discovery was made by one of my friends, a drummer, who was assisting someone in renovating a house. While excavating beneath the floorboards, they stumbled upon this very newspaper, which happened to be the edition reporting about my dad and I performing at the Thunderbird.
In summary, they played their final joint performance in 1980, starring as a father and son on the TV show “The Love Boat”. According to Jones, the plot was inspired by real events.
Apparently, Robert Alda and Alan Alda experienced an incident like this,” he noted. “They were intended to collaborate on a project, but Alan decided to pursue an opportunity that turned out to be a major success for him. This decision led to them going separate ways, though the separation may not have been as dramatic as it was portrayed in our show. The wives are said to have orchestrated their being on the ship together so they could discuss things privately.
In the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, Jones notched up nine top 10 hits, among which were three number-one hits: “The Race Is On” (1965), “The Impossible Dream” (1966), and “Lady” (1967).
In 1969, Jones was nominated again for a Grammy, this time for the song “The Impossible Dream” from the Broadway show “Man of La Mancha“. Another nomination came in 1998 for his album titled “Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett“.
Film creators often turned to Jones when they aimed to capture the relaxed ambiance of the ’60s. His music graces the soundtracks for films such as “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987), “Goodfellas” (1990), “Reckless” (1995), “Duplex” (2003), “Bobby” (2006), and “American Hustle” (2013). In the 2008 episode of “Mad Men”, his song “Lollipops and Roses” was played during the end credits, and he even made a cameo in “American Hustle”.
Apart from his stepdaughter Nicole, those who survived are also his wife Eleonora, whom he married in 2009; his biological daughters Crystal and Nicole; his additional stepdaughter Colette; his grandchildren Grace, Mercer, and Agnes; and his faithful pet, Ivy.
For over seven decades, he graced the stages of Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he put out over 50 studio albums, and even in his 80s, he still took to the stage to perform.
Jones expressed a desire for a song that could either bring laughter or tears from the audience, and make a powerful impact. He referenced John Sebastian’s “I Had a Dream” as an example of a song with a poignant message, starting with the lyric, ‘I had a dream, I dreamed we were all, all right.’ Jones found this thought to be very touching.
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2024-10-24 22:27