Samantha Jones

Samantha Jones (real name Jean Owen) (born 17 November 1943) is an English singer and entertainer from Liverpool, whose career in show business spanned the mid-1960s through the early 1980s. Her recordings experienced a revival in the 1990s-2000s among devotees of English girl-group pop. She won the Sopot International Song Festival in 1971. Jean Owen started her career in 1961 as part of popular English vocal group The Vernons Girls. During her time with the group, the line-up went from sixteen members to just three girls. The Vernons Girls released several successful 45s, including "Lover Please", "Only You Can Do It," (also released by Françoise Hardy) and one of the first Beatles tribute songs, "We Love The Beatles". They also opened for The Beatles several times and appeared with them in a TV special, "Around The World With The Beatles" In 1964, with the help of producer Charles Blackwell, Jean went solo and signed with the international record label United Artists, who gave her the stage name Samantha Jones. She released several unsuccessful 45s (amongst them "Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine," later a staple on the Northern soul circuit) and one album ("Call It Samantha", US only, 1968). Samantha switched to UK label Penny Farthing in 1969 and recorded another album, "A Girl Named Sam," with acclaimed producer Mark Wirtz. One of the tracks, "Today (Without You)" gave Samantha her first taste of chart success in continental Europe, although it did not chart in the UK. A year later, Jones won Belgium's prestigious Knokke Music Festival with a version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way", which subsequently became a big hit in the Benelux countries. Shortly thereafter, she released her third LP "The Other Jones". In the 1970s, Samantha switched labels again, this time to EMI, and released two albums with veteran producer Walter J. Ridley. By then, Samantha had become a known cabaret act and performed on cruise ships such as the QE2. In the 1982 the Dutch label Dureco released the album "Goin' Places". All the while Samantha sang on numerous BBC radio shows. She ceased singing in 1986 and became a producer placing numerous musical production shows on cruise lines until she sold her interest in the mid-1990s. In 1986 Samantha became close to showbiz accountant Jose Goumal (who had been her professional adviser since 1970) , they moved in together and married 1998.Today, Samantha lives with Jose in London and Henley-on-Thames. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.