Tom Jans
Encyclopedia
Tom Jans was a folk musician
from San Jose, California
. He is perhaps best known for his song "Lovin' Arms" (also known as "Loving Arms"), which has been performed and recorded by dozens of artists and bands, including Elvis Presley
, Dixie Chicks
, Natalie Cole
, Kris Kristofferson
, Olivia Newton-John
, Rita Coolidge
, Livingston Taylor
, Etta James
, Jody Miller
and The Beautiful South
.
Jans toured extensively with Mimi Fariña
-- Joan Baez
's sister -- and released a duo album with Fariña in 1971 entitled Take Heart. After splitting with Fariña in 1972, Jans recorded four records as a solo artist, the best of which was a self-titled release for A&M Records in 1974, which included his version of "Loving Arms".
His other albums were The Eyes of An Only Child (1975) and Dark Blonde (1976), both recorded for Columbia Records, which took his music in a more rock-oriented direction. When the Columbia releases failed to find an audience, his career lost momentum and although Jans continued to perform, he issued no recordings until 1982's Champion, an album that few have heard and remains so obscure that it remains difficult to confirm that it was released.
Jans suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1983. Jans died of a drug overdose in 1984. Most of his recordings have not been reissued on CD in the United States and are therefore hard to find except in their original LP releases. Tom Waits
dedicated a song to Jans,
"Whistle Down The Wind (For Tom Jans)", which was featured on Bone Machine
.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
from San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. He is perhaps best known for his song "Lovin' Arms" (also known as "Loving Arms"), which has been performed and recorded by dozens of artists and bands, including Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
, Livingston Taylor
Livingston Taylor
Livingston Taylor is an American singer-songwriter, born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He attended the Westtown School in Pennsylvania...
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Jody Miller
Jody Miller
Jody Brooks is an American country music singer. Born as Myrna Joy Miller, she was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Oklahoma.-Career:...
and The Beautiful South
The Beautiful South
The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch , Dave Stead and Dave Rotheray , all of whom stayed with the group throughout...
.
Jans toured extensively with Mimi Fariña
Mimi Fariña
Mimi Baez Fariña was a singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez .- Early years:Fariña's father, a physicist affiliated with Stanford University and MIT, moved his family...
-- Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
's sister -- and released a duo album with Fariña in 1971 entitled Take Heart. After splitting with Fariña in 1972, Jans recorded four records as a solo artist, the best of which was a self-titled release for A&M Records in 1974, which included his version of "Loving Arms".
His other albums were The Eyes of An Only Child (1975) and Dark Blonde (1976), both recorded for Columbia Records, which took his music in a more rock-oriented direction. When the Columbia releases failed to find an audience, his career lost momentum and although Jans continued to perform, he issued no recordings until 1982's Champion, an album that few have heard and remains so obscure that it remains difficult to confirm that it was released.
Jans suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1983. Jans died of a drug overdose in 1984. Most of his recordings have not been reissued on CD in the United States and are therefore hard to find except in their original LP releases. Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
dedicated a song to Jans,
"Whistle Down The Wind (For Tom Jans)", which was featured on Bone Machine
Bone Machine
Bone Machine is a critically acclaimed and award-winning album by Tom Waits, released in 1992 on Island Records. It won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, and features guest appearances by Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, Primus' Les Claypool, and The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards.Bone...
.