1982 Tom Jans – Champion

Tom Jans (February 9, 1948 – March 25, 1984) was a folk musician from San Jose, California. He is perhaps best known for his song “Loving Arms” (also known as “Lovin’ Arms”), which has been performed and recorded by dozens of artists and bands, including Elvis Presley, Dobie Gray, Dixie Chicks, Natalie Cole, Kris Kristofferson, Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark, Jon English, Rita Coolidge, Livingston Taylor, Etta James, Millie Jackson, Jody Miller, The Beautiful South and The Cats.

Playing coffeehouses in San Francisco, Jans met Joan Baez, who introduced him to her sister Mimi Fariña in 1970. Fariña had achieved cult status as part of a duo with her late husband Richard Fariña.Fariña had begun writing new songs and was looking for a partner to perform them with; Jans seemed to be a similar collaborator and the two formed a new duo. The duo played San Francisco Bay Area clubs and received notice from their performance at the Big Sur Folk Festival. The group then toured extensively as a supporting act for Cat Stevens and then James Taylor. They received a recording contract from A&M Records, releasing the album Take Heart in 1971. However, the album received little notice and the duo split up in 1972.

Jans moved to Nashville to pursue work as a songwriter, working for the publishing house Irving/Almo. His first hit as a writer was the song “Loving Arms,” initially recorded by Dobie Gray and then by Elvis Presley in 1973. Jans put the song on his self-titled solo debut album on A&M Records in 1974^. The album was produced by Mentor Williams and featured guitarists Lonnie Mack and Troy Seals. However, the record was a commercial failure and Jans opted to relocate to Los Angeles.

After a period of isolation, Jans released a second album, The Eyes of An Only Child, on Columbia Records in 1975, executive produced by Lowell George. The album featured his song “Out of Hand”, which later became a country hit for Gary Stewart. The song “Struggle in Darkness” was also a minor hit on FM radio, but the album was not a commercial success. His next album on Columbia Records, Dark Blonde (1976), also did not generate high sales, and Jans moved to Europe.

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, a Don Grusin-produced album that was released in Japan only.