WIVES AND LOVERS * Jack Jones * KAPP RECORDS (1963) [COMPLETE ALBUM]

A CLASSIC 1963 Easy-Listening ALBUM MEMORY

Jack Jones reached the zenith of his commercial fame with his late-1963 smash, “Wives And Lovers, “Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s velveteen paean to chauvinism, pre-era domestic bliss.

Jones eighth album since 1959, the accompanied LP boasts a similarly old-guard charm, recruiting arrangers such as Marty Paich and Ralph Carmichael to collect a delightful collection of string-sweetened, jazz-influenced ballads perfectly attuned to Jones’ rich, crystalline vocals. An unusually interpreter, Jones approaches standards like “Fly Me To The Moon” and “Come Rain Or Come Shine” with intelligence and class, never succumbing to pathos — the purity of his singing never fails to astound.

His 1963 single, as titled on the album, earned Jones a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance in 1964. In recording “Wives And Lovers,” Jones’ vocals is accompanied by an orchestra arranged and directed by Peter King. On the B-side of the single, another Jones standard from 1963, “Toys In The Attic.“

The single peaked at #14 on Billboard in December 1963. The complete track listing for this album can be found here.