For nostalgic romantics

Jack Jones is coming to town. The balladeer with the perfect pipes will perform in the Jack Jones Greatest Hits Tour at Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 16. This is not his first visit but his first had been so long ago that I am sure his Pinoy fans are extra thankful, he has decided to visit again.

After an auspicious start as a teen idol with Lollipops And Roses in 1961 for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance, Jones became a favorite interpreter for movie, stage and TV songs. Wives And Lovers, an early work by the phenomenal songwriting team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach, from the movie of the same title was a huge hit in 1964. The recording gave Jones his second Best Vocal Performance Grammy. It was also, in a way Jones’ transition to more mature stuff, the better to showcase the rare clarity of his tenor and deeply felt way with a phrase.

This was followed by a succession of theme ballads. What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line; The Impossible Dream from Man Of La Mancha; Where Is Love from Oliver; Call Me Irresponsible, Love With A Proper Stranger, Where Love Has Gone, Dear Heart, The Love Bug; With One More Look At You from A Star Is Born; and who can forget The Theme From Love Boat. The latter, which was from a high rating show, is considered one of the iconic themes in television history. Everybody seems to know the song to this day. Truth to tell I do believe that even if he had not done anything else, Jones would still have been a big star loved by many because of The Love Boat.

But Jones, who started doing Las Vegas shows when he was only 19, has done a lot of other things. Aside from his popular theme songs, there was one album I distinctly remember. I still feel bad when I think that I do not have a CD copy, and this is an album that should be reissued on CDs, and that I cannot seem to locate my original LP copy. But it came out in the ‘70s and totally changed my perception of Jones as theme song singer. I thought of him then as The Love Boat singer, remember?

The album was Write Me A Love Song Charlie and featured Jones in a rare none debonair portrait on the cover. No suit and tie. He had long hair, a knit pullover, blue jeans and sneakers. He was even hiding his famous mug on his arm. Take note, although the guy could really sing, a big part of his fan appeal was his looks. He was very handsome in the blonde, blue eyed, tall and lanky way and the girls simply adored him. But he forgot all about his looks for the album.

 It was Jones himself who composed the title cut and the song was dedicated to CharIes Aznavour. France’s biggest star, Aznavour was named the Star of the Century by CNN. He is a singer, composer, actor and diplomat. The album was made up entirely of Aznavour songs in English and it was dark, sad and very beautiful. Among these were Yesterday When I Was Young, Like Roses, After Loving You and She. I know you are more familiar with the Elvis Costello version of She that was used in the movie Notting Hill. But please be reminded that the original English version was by Jones and it was a very big hit.

I do not know what hits Jones will do at the Big Dome but he should make sure that She is included, plus also all his other hits. These ones are among those the audience will expect to hear him do live. If You Go Away; The Lorelei; She Loves Me; Real Live Girl; Free Again; The In Crowd; Lady; The Shadow Of Your Smile, his famous theme songs, don’t forget The Love Boat, and a lot more.

Tickets to Jack Jones Greatest Hits Tour are priced at P4,500, P4,000, P3,500, P2,500, P1,000 and P500 and are now available at Ticketnet outlets at SM Department Stores and at the Coliseum ticket office.