Jack Jones dead: Grammy-winning crooner from “The Love Boat”

Jack Jones, a prolific nightclub singer who Frank Sinatra once called “show business's next big star,” has died aged 86.

Jones died Wednesday evening at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage after a two-year battle with leukemia, his manager Milt Suchin confirmed to The Times on Thursday. Suchin said Jones “walked by peacefully holding hands with his wife, Eleonora, and his beloved toy poodle, Ivy.”

The Grammy-winning baritone, who released more than 50 albums throughout his career, is best known for his performance of the theme song to the ABC sitcom “The Love Boat,” which ran for nine seasons from 1977 to 1986. Originally released as a single in 1979, Jones' disco-tinged tune, with a cover of Barry Manilow's “Ready to Take a Chance Again” on the B-side, was covered by entertainers such as Charo and Olivia Newton-John.

Jones is also an actor and appeared in, among others, “Juke Box Rhythm” (1959), the horror film “The Comeback” (1978) and the television film “Cruise of the Gods” (2002). He even made a cameo appearance as a nightclub singer in the 2013 film American Hustle.

Jones was once considered the heir to Frank Sinatra described by Ol' Blue Eyes himself as “the best potential singer in the industry.” He has a special quality, an all-round quality that might put him about three lengths ahead of the other guys.”

In addition to two Grammys, Jones has been honored with stars on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

John Allan Jones was born on January 14, 1938 in Hollywood to singer Allan Jones and Emmy-nominated actress Irene Harvey. It was the same day his father recorded his hit song “Donkey Serenade,” which appeared in the 1937 movie musical “The Firefly” and starred the elder Jones, according to Jones' statement. website.

Jones attended University High School in West LA while also studying acting and singing with private teachers hired by his father. One of his fondest memories of high school was the day his friend Nancy Sinatra invited her father to sing in their school auditorium. This experience solidified Jones' desire to become a professional singer.

Weeks after his high school graduation in 1957, Jones made his professional debut as part of his father's show, first in Elko, Nevada, and then at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas. Shortly afterwards he left alone.

His first breakthrough came when a demo he recorded for songwriter Don Raye found its way to Capitol Records, where the newcomer was signed in 1959. There he released his debut album “This Love of Mine”. Desert sun reported.

After creative differences with the old label, Jones moved to Kapp Records, where he released his first hit single “Lollipops and Roses” in 1961, the outlet reported. The track earned him his first Grammy Award for Best Solo Vocal Performance in 1962.

When Jones released his first album with Kapp, he was still working at his “day job” as a gas station attendant and was happy when he heard his song on the radio one day while washing a customer's windshield. He went on to release 19 albums on Kapp Records and later nabbed another Grammy for his 1963 single “Wives and Lovers,” which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Kapp “put the melody on the B-side of the single,” Jones said The times in 1993, “but disc jockeys turned it around and played it anyway.”

After the song drew criticism for its “politically incorrect” themes, Jones told The Times he replaced the lyrics “Hey little girl, do your hair, do your makeup” with the alternate lines “Hey, little boy “Fix your teeth, fix your teeth” replaces hairpiece.”

In the late 1960s, Jones moved to RCA Victor and transitioned to a more contemporary sound. His album A Time for Us (1969) features covers by renowned songwriters including Randy Newman, Carole King and Gilbert O'Sullivan.

After quitting smoking in 1980, Jones maintained control of his smooth singing voice well into his 80s and performed regularly in casino nightclubs Washington Post reported.

Jones, who has lived in the Coachella Valley for several decades, received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2003. When he celebrated his 80th birthday at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert in 2018, he joked that because many of his singing “rivals” did after his death, his goal was to “become the greatest singer in the world by default,” the Desert reported Sun.

Jones is survived by his wife Eleonora Donata Peters and stepdaughters Nicole Whitty and Colette Peters; his daughter Crystal Thomas from his marriage to Katie Lee Nuckols; daughter Nicole Ramasco from his marriage to Kim Ely; and three grandchildren.