"Love Boat" (also known as "Love Boat Theme" and "The Love Boat") is a 1977 song performed by American singer and actor

Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer *Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971) *Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...

, used as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

in American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', when it was in its first nine season-run on TV from 1977 to 1986, on ABC. It was later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

by numerous artists.

Song information

The song was composed by Charles Fox to the lyrics by Paul Williams. It was recorded as the

for the popular American TV series ''

'' (later known in its short-lived two season revival as '' Love Boat: The Next Wave'' from 1998 to 1999), broadcast between 1977 and 1986 and originally aired on ABC. Jones's version was used in all seasons apart from the ninth, where it was replaced by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

's version. Jones released the track as a single in 1979 as "Love Boat Theme", with a cover of the

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

song " Ready to Take a Chance Again" on side B. In the same year, the song appeared on Jones's album ''Nobody Does It Better'', this time billed as "The Love Boat".

Track listing

*7" Single (US/UK) :A. "Love Boat Theme" – 2:57 :B. " Ready to Take a Chance Again" – 2:51 *7" Single (Australia) :A. "Love Boat" (Theme from T.V. Series) :B. "I Could Have Been a Sailor"

Charts

Cover versions

* Actress and singer

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist. Charo began playing guitar at the age of nine and trained under the famed A ...

, who guest starred in ''

'' series, recorded the song for her 1978 album ''Olé Olé'' and released as a single in 1980. * In 1981,

Jacques Raymond Jacques Raymond (born Jozef Remon on 13 October 1938) is a Belgian singer. He represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 with the Dutch song " Waarom?". In the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, he teamed up with Lily Castel to sing " ...

released a cover of the song which peaked at no. 27 in his native Belgium the following year. *

's version was used as the theme song in the last season of ''The Love Boat'' (1985–1986). * Dutch singer Mike Peterson recorded a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

version in 1996 under the alias The Pacific Prince. In the Netherlands, the single reached no. 17 for two weeks in November 1996. The Pacific Prince is considered a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

as he never released a follow-up single. *

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

covered the song on her 2001 comeback album ''

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

'' and released it as the lead single. *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

performed a medley of the song and her track "Loveboat" on her 2008 tour KylieX2008. *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

recorded a cover of the song for the soundtrack to the 2011 film ''

A Few Best Men ''A Few Best Men'' is a 2011 comedy film written by Dean Craig and directed by Stephan Elliott. The film stars Xavier Samuel as a young groom heading to the Australian Blue Mountains with his three best men for his wedding. A sequel, ''A Few L ...

''. * A cover by Frankie Bostello is playable in the videogame '' Just Dance 2014''. * Belgian band Swoop recorded the song for their 2015 album ''We gaan ervoor''. * A cover version was recorded and used as the opening credits song for the American & Australian versions of the Reality Competition Love Boat spin-off, '' The Real Love Boat'' with the song being sung by the show's respective hosts - with

Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The Punisher'' ( ...

and

Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...

singing the on the American ''Real Love Boat'' and

Darren McMullen Darren McMullen (born 10 February 1982) is a Scottish-Australian television and radio presenter and personality, music journalist and music critic. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and immigrated with his family to Australia at the age of 12. H ...

singing on the Australian ''Real Love Boat''.

In popular culture

lip-syncs the song in '' Airplane II'', appearing in a cameo as a lounge singer as Ted escapes from the hospital. On the "Singing the Blues" episode of ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profes ...

'', a singer performs the song during amateur night at a restaurant the friends are visiting. While most of the group aren't too impressed with the singer, a jubilant Synclaire chimes in and performs along with him. In the film '' Demolition Man'', the song was played by

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was the world's highest-paid actress in 2010 and 2014. In 2010 ...

as a romantic background music in her apartment before the "virtual sex" between her and

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

. In the film '' Summer Rental'',

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

's character Scully sings the song, describing it is as "an old sea ditty me mother taught me". The cruise ship '' Regal Princess'' of Princess Cruises played the song in the horn. In the season 6 ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'' episode “

Red Hot Catholic Love "Red Hot Catholic Love" is the 87th episode of the Comedy Central series ''South Park''. It originally aired on July 3, 2002. It was selected No. 2 on the "10 South Parks that Changed the World" list, and was also part of "South Park's Dirty Dozen" ...

”, there is a parody of the Love Boat theme song, called “The Catholic Boat”. It also parodies the opening showed in the ''Love Boat'' TV show

The season 2 ''

Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as ...

'' episode titled, "That Sinking Feeling" includes a parody of the song titled "Boat of Romance" sung by ''Love Boat'' singer Jack Jones with ''The Love Boat'' intro sequence being parodied.

References

{{authority control Songs about boats Love themes 1977 songs 1979 singles 1981 singles 2001 singles Amanda Lear songs American disco songs Charo songs Jack Jones (singer) songs MGM Records singles Songs with music by Charles Fox (composer) Songs written by Paul Williams (songwriter) Television drama theme songs Comedy television theme songs