Jack Jones -- Love Boat

In last week's ROY article, I gave tribute to Teri Garr, the offbeat comic actress who had been in movies such as "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie". I'd also been aware that a singer passed away back on October 23rd and this morning, I discovered that one of America's greatest record producers and composers had left this mortal coil yesterday. The coincidence here is that both men had the same last name.

A few decades before our own family would partake in a few cruises ourselves, we used to watch ABC's "The Love Boat", an hour-long comedy-drama involving the cast and passengers aboard the Pacific Princess and any romantic hijinks which ensued. Every week, we would see a fairly long lineup of entertainers from old and new Hollywood make their way onto the Lido Deck.

There had been the first couple of made-for-TV movies before the series began its nine-season run from September 1977. Of course, when it became a regular weekly series, a theme song was needed and so Charles Fox and Paul Williams came up with this frothy, adventurous and optimistic song called "Love Boat", to be sung by pop and jazz singer Jack Jones whose career started in the late 1950s.

Jones will always be tied to the "Love Boat" theme for most people. Although the show started in the fall of 1977, the single version of the song wasn't released until 1979. If anything, this single version goes even more disco with that wacka-wacka guitar (I can see Isaac the bartender hitting the floor hard now). There have apparently been many covers of the song over the years, but for me, it'll always be Jones inviting listeners to come aboard. He may have even performed the song on a real cruise liner. 

As I mentioned above, a lot of stars passed through the Pacific Princess, including one very young Tom Hanks. The other man in the scene, purser Gopher Smith was played by Fred Grandy who would gain further stature by becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. My condolences to Jones' family, friends and fans.

So, when "Love Boat" hit TV screens in September 1977, what was hitting the Top 3 on September 26th that year?

1. Pink Lady -- Wanted

2. Hiromi Go & Kirin Kiki -- Obake no Rock （お化けのロック）

3. Shigeru Matsuzaki -- Ai no Memory （愛のメモリー）