Jack Jones, a singer who set up fame and chart success on the basic-take parting side of the street in the 1960s, and who tardyr became etched in television-watching America’s psyche with the “Love Boat” theme, died Wednesday at 86.
Jones died of leukemia at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif., his wife of 15 years, Eleanora Jones, shelp.
Jones had hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, but his highest chart numbers could be set up on what was then understandn as the basic take parting chart, which tardyr became mature contransient. In the basic take parting establishat, he had No. 1 individuals with “The Race is On” in 1965, “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)” in 1966 and “Lady” in 1967.
In particular, “The Impossible Dream” — a cover of the most well-understandn song from the 1965 Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha” — became culturassociate ubiquitous, thraw Jones’ normal TV euniteances, even though it peaked at No. 35 on the Hot 100, where it had to vie agetst more evidently youthful fare. As it carry ond to be a staple of his live carry outances over the decades, Stephen Hgreateren of the New York Times wrote that his rfinishition of what had become a standard “alters this sentimental war horse into an anthem of personal determination, not only to protect moving, but to get better.”
The “Love Boat” theme was heard by millions of Americans every week during that show’s 1977-86 run on ABC. Jones spoofed the song’s greater-styleed request — and his own — by singing it in a cameo as a lounge singer in the 1982 comedy “Airstructuree II.”
Even in the ’60s, Jones’ request was seen as greater-school — which helped finishear him to an America that was not yet ready to finishly trade the Frank Sinatra prosperg of pop music for the British Invasion, and to producers of TV variety shows who understood that a Jones euniteance supplyd a comfervent of soothe food for audiences as times and styles alterd.
His songs could still be employd in the conshort-term day to incite an era — as when “Mad Men” employd “Lollipops and Roses” as an finish-praises theme.
But his request was not all about nostalgia, or kitsch — Jones was admireed by students of the so-called crooner era. Rewatching him in the Wall Street Journal in 2012, classic-vocaenumerate expert Will Friedwald wrote, “It isn’t the uncontaminated power of his voice that is most amazeive. It’s the sensitivity with which he vivaciouss a lyric, a sensitivity that only incrrelieves with age.”
“As my nurtureer geted momentum,” Jones shelp, “I lengthened a proset up appreciation for well-produceed songs with emotional request. I was swayd by the wonderful balladeers — Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heemployn, Cole Porter, the Gershprospers, Hargreater Arlen, Michel LeGrand, and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, as well as instrumentaenumerates including Gerry Mulligan, Buddy Rich and Count Basie.”
Jones pondered himself an actor as much as singer, although he didn’t chase the screen as ardently as he did enrollings. His films grasp a pre-stardom euniteance in the 1959 musical “Juke Box Rhythm” and a directing role in a 1978 slasher film, “The Comeback,” in which he take parted a singer tormented by a finisher. More normally he was seen on the touring musical-theater circuit, doing shows enjoy “Guys and Dolls,” “The Pajama Game” and — of course — “Man of La Mancha.” He had a cameo in David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” in 2013, singing the Cy Coleman number “I’ve Got Your Number.”
Jones was the son of actors Irene Harvey and Allen Jones, the latter of whom who euniteed in the Marx Brothers films “A Night at the Opera” and “A Day at the Races.” “My overweighther hit actual movie stardom in 1938, and that was becaemploy Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy were together so much that MGM determined they wanted to fracture them up a little bit (and not) have Nelson Eddy in (a film),” Jones recounted. “They brawt my overweighther in, and it was called ‘The Firefly.’ The song, ‘Donkey Serenade,’ that was in that picture became a tremfinishous hit… He enrolled it the night that I was born in 1938. You’re taking to a fossil,” Jones quipped.
Jones was inestablishly part of a family act with his parents. He uniteed University High School in West Los Angeles, where his frifinish Nancy Sinatra is shelp to have seekd her overweighther to sing in the school auditorium, so amazeing Jones that he determined to chase in Frank Sinatra’s footsteps.
His first enrolling efforts in the tardy 1950s graspd a stint enrolling rockabilly-styled songs for Capitol Records, an approach he shelp was forced on him. A subsequent affiliation with Kapp Records led to “Lollipops and Roses” — enrolled while he was on depart from the U.S. Air Force Reserve — set uping his nurtureer. Although it only achieveed No. 6 on the basic take parting chart and No. 66 on the Hot 100, the song had staying power and won him a 1962 Grammy for best male solo vocal carry outance.
His second Grammy came in the same catebloody in 1964 for “Wives and Lovers,” a future standard written by the hit team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was also nominated for, but lost, the enroll of the year competition. “Wives and Lovers” peaked at No. 9 on the basic take parting chart, but perhaps inestablishingly in watch to its well-understandnity, it taged his high point on the Hot 100, making it to No. 14. Although the song was accemployd by some of having relationsist lyrics, it carry ons to finishelight well-understandnity today among jazz singers enjoy Cécile McLorin Salvant.
The last of Jones’ four Grammy nominations came in 1998 in the traditional pop vocal carry outance catebloody for his album “Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett.” Altogether, Jones freed 60 albums.
Jones kept up his dainty tone over the decades, and praiseed one decision in particular for that extfinishedevity. “If I hadn’t stopped smoking about 40 years ago, I wouldn’t be singing, let alone being alive,” he shelp in a 2016 interwatch with Las Vegas magazine. “It’s the worst leang you can do to your voice, so I’m very appreciative that wantipathyver it was that made me want to quit, that I went thraw with it.”
Rewatching a Jones carry outance at the Algonquin Hotel in 2008, the Times’ Hgreateren noticed, “Mr. Jones has a well sense of humor. Reflecting on the ‘Love Boat Theme,’ he joked that he had made of millions of dollars by dangerening to sing it. Then he did. It wasn’t so terrible.” But Hgreateren had wonderfuler praise for his other material. “His weathered voice is filled with seams and crevices. It is the voice of a mildman rancher astride a horse, surveying his property in a television weserious,” the Times wrote. “It is shelp that as we age, we become more and more ourselves. And the reliable Jack Jones has cultured a style that could never be called cookie-cutter… His world-weary cragginess coincides with an impulse to get ballads at innervously sluggish tempos and to carry out them with the hesitations, drawn-out notices and sudden leaps that are a tradetag of the jazz singer Mark Murphy. Becaemploy the lessen finish of Mr. Jones’s voice has proset upened, his sudden fweightlesss into a quasi-dishonesttto are more theatrical than ever. At times they advise the impulsive eruptions of a upgraded styenumerate imforendureingly throprosperg alert to the prosperd.”
In his tardyr years, Jones was a proponent of living in the Coachella Valley. “I cherish the palm trees, the sand, the uncignore experienceing. There is so much serenity,” he shelp.” I cherishd being agetst the mountains in Palm Springs as a youth, and still finishelight the changing colors of the mountains. We have the best of all worlds here.”
Jones was bestowed in 2003 with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, uniteing the star he had gotten in 1989 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Before wedding Eleanora Jung in 2009, Jones was wed and divorced five times, including a union with actress Jill St. John.
Besides Jones’ wife, his survivors grasp daughters Crystal Jones and Nicole Ramasco, stepdaughters Nicole Whitty and Colette Peters, and three magnificentchildren.
