Tom Jans born 9 February 1948

Tom Jans (February 9, 1948 – March 25, 1984) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Jose, California. He is perhaps best known for his song "Loving Arms" (also known as "Lovin' Arms"), which was recorded initially by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, and notably covered by Dobie Gray, Elvis Presley and Petula Clark. 

Tom Jans was born in Yakima, Wasdhington. The son of a farmer (whose own mother played in a jazz group dubbed the Rocky Mountain Five), he was raised outside of San Jose, CA, weaned in equal measure on the Hank Williams records beloved by his father and the flamenco of his mother's native Spain. Ultimately, the Beatles proved Jans' most profound influence, however, and as a teen he learned guitar and piano, also writing poems he later set to music. After playing in a high-school rock & roll band dubbed the Breakers, Jans studied English literature at the University of California, turning down a graduate scholarship to Columbia University to pursue a career as a performer and songwriter. 

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 Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge and then by Dobie Gray and 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, telling interviewers of plans to record a new album over the summer months. 

The years to follow remain something of a mystery: no new material appeared, and instead Jans dropped from sight until 1982, when a new LP, Champion, appeared solely in a limited-edition release on the Japanese label Canyon International, its existence virtually unknown in the U.S. Jans suffered serious injuries, especially to his kidneys, in a motorcycle accident in 1983. He died at age 36 of a suspected drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, February 9, 1948. Mentor Williams's brother Paul sang "Loving Arms" at Jans's funeral. 

Tom Waits dedicated a song to Jans, whom he and his wife had befriended, "Whistle Down the Wind (For Tom Jans)" from Bone Machine. Waits said of the song, "It was written about another friend, but it was the kind of song that Tom Jans would have written. He was there in spirit". 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic)