Jack Jones (American singer)

John Allan Jones (born January 14, 1938) is an American singer and actor.

Jones is primarily a straight-pop singer (even when he recorded contemporary material) whose forays into jazz are mostly of the big-band/swing variety.

He has won two Grammy Awards and has received a total of five nominations.

Jones continues to perform concerts around the world and remains popular in Las Vegas.

His recordings include "Lollipops and Roses", "Wives and Lovers", "The Race Is On", "The Impossible Dream" and "Call Me Irresponsible".

In 1959, Jones was signed to Capitol Records and released the album This Love of Mine and a few singles.

While performing at a San Francisco nightclub, Jones was heard by Pete King, a producer and artist for Kapp Records, who quickly signed him to the label.

Jones was an anomaly in the 1960s pop scene, 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 musician George Jones (no relation).

Besides the choice of material, he worked with such arrangers as Billy May, Nelson Riddle, Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, Jack Elliott, Ralph Carmichael, Bob Florence, and Don Costa.

In August 1961, he recorded the ballad "Lollipops and Roses", which became a hit the following year.

Jones' biggest pop hit was "Wives and Lovers", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

During the Kapp years, Jones recorded nearly twenty albums, including Shall We Dance, This Was My Love, She Loves Me, Call Me Irresponsible, 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, Our Song, and I've Got a Lot of Living to Do!

Jones moved from Kapp (London Records in the UK) to RCA Victor in 1967.

His first album for the label was Without Her.

The following releases If You Ever Leave Me, L.A. Break Down, and Where Is Love were in roughly the same style of the Kapp records, but with a somewhat more contemporary vocal styling.

He also sang the opening themes for television series The Love Boat and the 1968 film Anzio ("This World Is Yours").

Jones was born in Hollywood on the night his father Allan Jones recorded his signature song "The Donkey Serenade", resulting in the younger Jones' assertion that he was "practically born in a trunk."

He attended University High School in West Los Angeles and studied drama and singing.

His first professional break was with his father, who was performing at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

He recorded several demos for songwriter Don Raye, attracting attention from the music industry.

A Time for Us (1970) was one of the albums which marked his transition toward a more middle-of-the-road sound.

He began recording more contemporary material, including covers of such well-known songwriters as Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Carole King, Paul Williams, Richard Carpenter, Gordon Lightfoot, and Gilbert O'Sullivan.

Two more albums from this period were dedicated to two French songwriters: Jack Jones Sings Michel Legrand (to Michel Legrand, 1971) and Write Me a Love Song, Charlie, featuring songs by Charles Aznavour (1974).

The album Bread Winners (1972) was a tribute to the band Bread, with eight songs written by David Gates and two by Jimmy Griffin and Robb Royer.

The Full Life (1977) was produced by Jones and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys; on this album, Jones recorded the Beach Boys classics "God Only Knows" and "Disney Girls".

His last LP for RCA was With One More Look at You (1977), which includes a rendition of the Little Feat hit "Dixie Chicken"; this performance later resurfaced on Golden Throats 2: More Celebrity Rock Oddities.

In 1979 he moved to MGM Records, recording the album Nobody Does It Better, which featured a disco version of "The Love Boat", the opening theme from the TV series of the same name, and his Grammy winner "Wives and Lovers".

His second (and, due to its subsequent closure, his last) MGM album, Don't Stop Now, featured duets with Maureen McGovern.

Since 1980 he has recorded few albums and now performs in various concert arenas and occasionally appears on the supper-club circuit.

In 1982 he recorded an album for Applause Records, covering songs by The Beatles, Billy Joel, and Eagles.

Jones released I Am a Singer in 1987 for USA Records, and in 1992 he recorded The Gershwin Album for Sony Music, with songs written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.

He released the album Live at the London Palladium in 1995, recorded in London on the Emporio label.

Jones has received recognition in Japan, where many of his earlier records were released on CD.

In 1997 came New Jack Swing (Honest Entertainment), with big-band treatments of old standards and assorted pop/rock songs.

1999 saw the release of Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett (Honest Entertainment), which was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year.

In March 2008, Jones celebrated his 70th birthday and a half-century in show business with a concert at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Springs.

Guests included Patti Austin, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman.

In 2010 he recorded an album focusing on the Bergmans' work called Love Makes the Changes.

He also released an album featuring new recordings of some of his original hits, titled Love Ballad.