Song:Wives and Lovers
Album:The Best of Jack Jones
Crooner Jack Jones was successful in the early 60s. The 1963 top 20 hit Wives and Lovers was one of his two big hits. He had a lot of success in the Easy Listening market. He was born Jan. 14, 1938 in Los Angeles. His parents were singer and actor Allan Jones and actress Irene Hervey. Allan Jones scored a hit in 1938 with The Donkey Serenade. But he is probably best remembered for replacing Zeppo Marx in the 1935 classic film A Night at the Opera. After graduating from high school, Jones opened for his dad at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He released the 1959 album This Love of Mine on Capitol but it went nowhere and they dropped him. Kapp Records producer Pete King spotted Jones performing in a San Francisco nightclub. Jones charted with the 1962 single Lollipops and Roses. And then Wives and Lovers was released in 1963. It reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. And it was also a top ten Adult Contemporary hit and he had most of his success in that market. It also won a Grammy for Best Pop Male Performance. Wives and Lovers was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1963 film Wives and Lovers. But it was used to hype the film and didn't appear in it. I know that seems weird but that sort of thing was done back then. Obviously the lyrics are sexist and offensive by today's standards but things were different in 1963. Jones other big hit was his 1965 cover of country singer George Jones' hit The Race Is On. You can get all his Kapp hits on this comp. Jones left Kapp for RCA in 1967. He recorded for RCA until 1979. He was sold mostly as an easy listening artist. Jones has also recorded for MGM, Polydor and Columbia. In recent years he has recorded for small labels and he still performs. In the 60s Jones frequently appeared on TV variety shows. He has done some film and TV acting but nothing notable. He performed the theme for the TV series The Love Boat. In recent years he has done a lot of musical theater in the Los Angeles area. Here's Jack Jones performing Wives and Lovers on The Joey Bishop Show 1964.
No comments:
Post a Comment