The Impossible Dream (Jack Jones album)

The Impossible Dream
Studio album by Jack Jones
Released	1966 [1]
Genre	Traditional Pop, Vocal
Length	28:24
Label	Kapp
Jack Jones chronology
Jack Jones Sings (1966) The Impossible Dream (1966) We'll Be Together Again (1966)

The Impossible Dream is the 21st studio album by American singer Jack Jones, released in 1966.

Background

After the success of his ballad cover of the song "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)", which reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100, #32 on Cashbox Top 100 Singles and #1 on the Easy Listening chart, ^[2] he recorded an album with the same name.

Overview

The album consists entirely of cover songs, featuring many pop hits and songs from musicals.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
AllMusic	[4]

Billboard wrote that "This is Jones' most commercial and artistic effort. Spotlighting his hit The Impossible Dream (The Quest)," the magazine also noted that Jones excels with his "sensitive reading of "The Shadow of Your Smile". Adding that "...his fresh new swing version of "You Better Go Now" and his wild jazz-flavored treatment of "What Now My Love, "Strangers In The Night, (the B-side of his hit song), and "My Best Girl" from Mame are standouts". ^[5]

Cashbox magazine stated that "The melodious tones of Jack Jones should make this set, that is titled after and contains the chanter’s current chart climber “The Impossible Dream,” a major sales item", adding that "... with the total result being a session jammed packed with easy to listen to and enjoy sounds". ^[6]

Chart performance

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LP's chart on July 16, 1966, and peaked at No. 9. It stayed on the chart for sixty six weeks ^[7] and is his highest-charting album in the US. ^[8]

Track listing

The Impossible Dream – Jack Jones

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Impossible Dream (The Quest)"	Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh	2:19
2.	"The Shadow of Your Smile"	Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster	2:31
3.	"I Will Wait for You"	Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel	2:28
4.	"Then Was Then and Now Is Now"	Cy Coleman, Peggy Lee	2:43
5.	"All or Nothing at All"	Jack Lawrence, Arthur Altman	2:52
6.	"Feeling Good"	Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse	3:07
7.	"Alfie"	Burt Bacharach, Hal David	2:33
8.	"Strangers in the Night"	Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder	2:26
9.	"What Now My Love"	Gilbert Bécaud, Carl Sigman	2:30
10.	"This Is All I Ask"	Gordon Jenkins	3:21
11.	"My Best Girl"	Jerry Herman	2:22
12.	"You Better Go Now"	Irvin Graham, Bickley Reichner	2:27
Total length:			31:46

Charts

Chart (1966)	Peak position
US Top LPs (Billboard) [9]	9
US Cashbox Top 100 Albums [10]	23

References

1. William Ruhlmann. "The Impossible Dream – Jack Jones". AllMusic. Netaktion, LLC. Retrieved 2025-07-12. Overview, track listing, and credits for Jack Jones's 1966 album The Impossible Dream.
2. Dade, Dino-Ray (2024-10-24). "Jack Jones Dies: 'Love Boat' Theme Singer & 2‑Time Grammy Winner Was 86". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 2025-07-12. Jack Jones, who sang the song "The Impossible Dream," died at 86 after battling leukemia.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 766. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
4. Jack Jones. _The Impossible Dream_. Album information, AllMusic. June 1966. The Impossible Dream – Jack Jones (AllMusic). Archived at Web Archive.
5. "New Action LPs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1966-10-01. p. PT1. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 2025-07-12. Jack Jones's album The Impossible Dream is listed among the "New Action LPs," indicating notable movement on the chart.
6. Cashbox magazine, July 2, 1966. Album Reviews, page 184
7. "Jack Jones – The Impossible Dream (1966)". tsort.info. Tsort Music Information Archive. Retrieved 2025-07-12. Chart performance and metadata for Jack Jones's 1966 album The Impossible Dream.
8. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop LPs, 1955–1996 (4th ed.). Record Research Inc. p. 76. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
9. "Pop Spotlight". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1966-10-29. p. 11. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 2025-07-12. Jack Jones's album *The Impossible Dream* is featured in the "Pop Spotlight" section.
10. Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 186. ISBN   0-8108-2005-6.