Jack Jones adds romance to Valentine's Day

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 HE IS the ultimate singing heartthrob in the last half a century.

Jack Jones is the singer of your favorite timeless love ballads, like “What I Did For Love,” “She,” “Lollipops And Roses” and many others.

He is in Manila and is adding romance in the city’s air today with his romantic ditties.

Last night, the famed balladeer was on the Smart Araneta Coliseum stage in his very own Jack Jones in a Valentine Concert serenading Manila’s romantic couples.

Tonight, he will be at the Manila Hotel Tent and will similarly make more hearts swoon for romance.

Proceeds from the latter have been earmarked for the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

Last Tuesday, we met the singer at the Roma Salon of The Manila Hotel. He came with his wife of five years, Eleonora, who says she doesn’t sing, not even in the bathroom. He loves to say that his present wife is his first, although the singer had been married five times before, the first to actress Jill St. John, the Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever.

Jack Jones rose to fame in the ‘60s. He became famous not only for his hit songs but also for the fact that he was young, attractive and unlike most music idols of the time, he was well groomed.

He has appeared in the movies and appears as a nightclub singer in the Oscar-nominated American Hustle.

He said he didn’t know he was going to play a brief role in the movie until the director. David Russell put him on the set along with three other musicians and asked him to sing an old jazz ditty.

Jones had starred in his own TV specials, hosted the show Hullaballoo and guested in various series. He also performed in musical theater, among which was the role of Don Quijote in Man From La Mancha. He said it was his most memorable role.

“Lollipops And Roses,” which was released in 1962 was his first big seller. This was followed by many other hits that his fans in the Philippines are looking forward to watching him perform live in his upcoming shows.

He likes to talk about an anecdote the first time he visited the Philippines in the ‘60s. The promoters of the show asked him to sing “Lorelei.” But the singer said, “No, I don’t sing it.”

The promoter said, “It’s the reason you’re here (in Manila).”

Apparently, Jones was unaware that the song was such a big hit among Filipinos.

“Well, I just had to learn the song with the band and sing it. Now, I still perform it, especially if I knew there would be Filipinos in the crowd.”