Jack Jones, Singer Behind The Love Boat Theme, Dead at 86

Jack Jones, the American singer who has died at 86, found success in Britain even during the height of Beatlemania, with his smooth interpretations of classics like Lollipops and Roses and The Impossible Dream. Admired by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Mel Tormé, Jones stood out with his clean-cut, polished style in the long-haired pop scene of the 1960s, embracing big band sounds and lush ballads over pop or rock. His most famous hit, Wives and Lovers by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, became popular in Britain through radio airplay, despite not charting, and led to his own BBC series in the 1970s along with several Royal Variety performances. Though Wives and Lovers was later criticized as misogynistic, Jones’s signature smooth vocals elevated its complexity, with its changing rhythms and swing quality earning it a unique place in pop.

Jones, who was the son of Hollywood actor Allan Jones and MGM star Irene Hervey, began singing professionally after being discovered at a nightclub in San Francisco. His recording of Lollipops and Roses for the Kapp label in 1962 was a hit, leading to a string of albums and subsequent recordings with RCA Victor, covering songwriters like Randy Newman and Carole King. In the 1970s, Jones dedicated albums to French songwriters Michel Legrand and Charles Aznavour, later recording a tribute album to David Gates’s band Bread. Jones also famously sang The Love Boat theme, and in the 1980s released Nobody Does It Better, featuring a disco version of that same theme.

Jones continued performing into his eighties, releasing Seriously Frank in 2015 to celebrate Sinatra’s centenary, and completing a final British tour in 2018. His career in film and television included American Hustle and numerous guest appearances. Survived by his sixth wife Eleonora and two daughters, he was a Grammy-winning crooner who maintained a lifelong commitment to music, even after his archives were lost in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

Music by Yevhen Onoychenko from Pixabay