[U]nderneath January Jones there is a girl named Jacqueline Allison, who grew up in Chicago and whose warm, unpretentious personality emerges as she gets beyond her old Las Vegas material... to contemporary songs like "Singing My Song for You". The more she relaxes into Jackie Allison and the more January Jones disappears into the mists of her past, the better she sounds.
— John S. Wilson, New York Times, 1973[1]
January Jones (the stage name of Jacqueline Allison)[1] is an American pop singer and actress, active mainly in the 1960s and 1970s. She was active in Las Vegas[2] and appeared in several Scopitone videos.[2][3]
Jones appeared at venues including the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel, the Sahara Hotel, the Eden Roc Hotel and the Latin Casino.[1][4][5]
She appeared on television shows including Girl Talk, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, That Regis Philbin Show[6] and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson [4] (nine appearances). All these appearances were between 1963 and 1967, except for her last two Tonight Show appearances, which were in 1975.[6]
Earl Wilson called her the "Scopitone queen, drawing more quarters on those [video jukebox] machines than anybody else". She often appeared in a bikini in these videos.[4]
Jones, from Chicago, was a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas before becoming a performer. Her first manager (whom she married two weeks after meeting, and later divorced) made her change her name from Jaqueline Allison to January Jones. According to Jones, "He wanted to associate me with the calendar. He said I was like a Vargas girl in Playboy".[4][1]
She took a hiatus for marriage and children in the late 1960s and early 1970s, returning to the stage in 1973 [1] but retiring later.[citation needed]
Discography
Singles
- "I Cry Alone" b/w "Try Me" (1964, 20th Century Fox)[7]
- "In This World" b/w "What About Mine" (1964, 20th Century Fox)[8]
- "Poor Someone" b/w "Whenever I Dream of You" (1966, Ascot)[9]
Compilation albums
Filmography
Films
- Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966) – Magda Anders[6]
- Quick, Before It Melts (1964) – Redhead (uncredited)[6]
- Looking for Love (1964) – Miss MacDeal (uncredited)[6]
Television
- 77 Sunset Strip (1 episode, 1964)[6]
Scopitones
- "I've Got The World On A String" (S-1014)[13][14]
- "That Old Gang of Mine" (S-1015)[14]
- "Lazy River" (S-1058)[14][15][16]
- "I Love Being Here With You" (S-1059)[14][17]
References
- ^ a b c d e John S. Wilson (June 4, 1973). "January Jones Sings At The Persian Room". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ a b "January Jones". Last.fm. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Ben Marks (September 22, 2011). "Scopitone: '60s Music Videos You've Never Seen". Collector's Weekly. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Earl Wilson (May 2, 1966). "She Wore Bikini But Didn't Get Job". Philadelphia Daily News. – via Newspapers.com (subscription required)
- ^ "It's been a song for me. [lobby card]". picclick.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f January Jones at IMDb
- ^ "Record Details". 45Cat. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Record Details". 45Cat. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "January Jones – Poor Someone / Whenever I Dream Of You". Discogs. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Cadillac "Boppin" Oldies Vol. 1". Discogs. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Rare Teen Oldies vol. 4 [product description]". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Heartbreaking Teenage Rock [product]". Spotify. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ I've Got the World on a String on YouTube
- ^ a b c d Bob Orlowsky. "Scopitone Archive by Artist: G to L". Scopitone Archive. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Chuck Miller (August 24, 2011). "K-Chuck Radio: 1960′s Music Videos, courtesy of the Scopitone". Times Union. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Lazy River on YouTube
- ^ I Love Being Here With You on YouTube