Information/Write-up
Lynn Jones, a native Torontonian with a quietly assured voice and an earnest stage presence, first gravitated toward music in the warm, informal gatherings of her Italian-Canadian family. Weekends were filled with spoons, a harmonica, a concertina, guitars, and singing—apt training for someone who would soon step into the spotlight. After earning her B.A. in Modern Languages & Literature from the University of Toronto in 1964, she planned to attend the Sorbonne, but fate intervened when a club singing job blossomed into a full-time career.
By the mid-1960s she had joined an all-female outfit known as The Golden Girls, touring across Ontario and the U.S., honing her craft as both lead singer and arranger. With their matching golden outfits and blond wigs—even though Lynn herself was a natural blonde—the group became a reliable draw on the club circuit between 1966 and 1969.
In 1972, Lynn released her debut album Roses & Candy, produced by Happy Wilson and Gary Buck and arranged by John Arpin. Prior to the album’s release, she had already charted three No. 1 singles—“Applesauce,” “The Bad with the Good,” and “Gonna Put Some Lovin’ On You”—and appeared on nearly every major Canadian television show. Following the success of “Applesauce,” which reached No. 1 for two weeks in Canada and was also released in the United States, she received the RPM Award for Most Promising Country Female Singer, establishing herself among Canada’s top five female country artists. The album, long overdue according to its liner notes by John Hart, showcased her warmth, sincerity, and natural stage charisma, traits that made her a favourite on programs like Countrytime and The Tommy Hunter Show.
Studio sessions with arranger-producer John Arpin continued through the early 1970s, yielding further singles like “I Love Your Kind of Lovin’” and “Pasadena’s On My Mind,” which helped her transition into a sophisticated country-pop sound. By 1974–75, she earned Juno nominations for Country Female Artist of the Year, joining the ranks of Anne Murray, Carroll Baker, and Shirley Eikhard.
By mid-1976, RPM Weekly reported that Lynn Jones had adopted the professional name Marilyn Jones, marking her move from country to MOR and pop crossover. That summer, she released a Canadian Talent Library LP arranged and produced by Milan Kymlicka, recorded at Phase One Studios, Toronto, and distributed commercially by United Artists Records. Its lead single, “Small Town Talk” b/w “Where Is My Home,” became one of the first CTL releases to gain substantial Top 40 airplay.
RPM credited United Artists promotions manager Allan Mathews for a vigorous national campaign that brought the song into rotation at CJCH Halifax, CHSJ Saint John, and CFCY Charlottetown, calling it a “broadcast-quality, perfect production.” The magazine also reported upcoming television appearances including The Vic Franklyn Show (alongside Julie Budd, Odia Coates, and Freda Payne) and plans for an autumn special with Vic Franklyn and Craig Ruhnke. In its September 1976 Big Country Awards feature, RPM listed her among Canada’s Top Country Female Artists beside Carroll Baker, Chris Nielsen, Donna Ramsay, and Joyce Smith, while noting her successful crossover “from country to pop.”
In early 1977, Jones released her most polished single to date, “They Don’t Play Our Love Songs Anymore” b/w “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” written by Mike d’Abo and again produced and arranged by Milan Kymlicka. The single, issued on United Artists/Canadian Talent Library (UAXW-931Y), received early airplay from CHAM Hamilton and CFGM Toronto and was praised by RPM Weekly as “one of the most polished Canadian productions of the year.” By March 1977, the song had entered heavy rotation across Ontario and the Maritimes, with programmers citing its lush orchestration and heartfelt vocal as “one of the year’s best-produced Canadian ballads.”
These sessions formed the basis of her LP They Don’t Play Our Love Songs Anymore, featuring many of Canada’s top studio players—Prakash John (bass), Whitey Glan (drums), Bernie Senensky (keyboards), Brian Russell (guitar), Moe Koffman (saxophone), and Guido Basso (trumpet)—an elegant fusion of pop, country, and orchestral finesse that stands among the finest Canadian Talent Library collaborations of the decade.
Through the late 1970s, Lynn balanced performance and recording with a growing role in music education in the Peel Region, while continuing to appear on national television and in concert. Her ability to connect with audiences—marked by quick wit, humour, and genuine warmth—made her a rare Canadian female artist who succeeded both in the studio and on stage.
Though much of her later life remains private, Lynn Jones stands as a trail-blazer who helped pave the way for Canadian women in country and pop music. From the golden era of Roses & Candy through her United Artists recordings, her story reflects a time when Canadian artists were defining their own sound—and Lynn’s voice, honest, bright, and unmistakably hers, was at the heart of it.
-Robert Williston
Marilyn Jones: vocals
Brian Russell: guitar
Bernie Senensky: keyboards
Prakash John: bass
Whitey Glan: drums
Brian Leonard: percussion
Gary Morgan: saxophone
Moe Koffman: saxophone
Guido Basso: trumpet
Cathy Young: background vocals
Colina Phillips: background vocals
Judy Tate: background vocals
Laurel Ward: background vocals
Laurie Hood: background vocals
Shirley Eikhard: background vocals
Arranged and conducted by Milan Kymlicka
Produced by Milan Kymlicka
Engineered and mixed by George Semkiw
Recorded at Phase One Studios, Toronto, Ontario
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