Jim Pons (born March 14, 1943) is an American bassist, author, singer, and video director who most notably played for the Leaves (1964–1967), the Turtles (1967–1970), and the Mothers of Invention (1970–1971) and Flo and Eddie (1971-1973).[1]
After leaving the music scene in 1973, he worked as a video director for the New York Jets, and briefly the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jim designed the team logo for the New York Jets, which lasted from 1978 to 1997.
In 1964, he formed the garage rock band The Leaves. The band was founded by Pons and guitarist Robert Lee Reiner, who were Fraternity students at Cal State Northridge (then known as San Fernando Valley State College).
The Leaves in 1966. (Pons top left)
They were originally called The Rockwells, prior to changing their names to The Leaves. They got the name Leaves when one of the members greeted another by saying “What’s happening?”, and the other responding with “The Leaves are happening”.[2]
The Leaves eventually secured a regular gig replacing the Byrds as the house band at the popular nightclub Ciro's on the Sunset Strip.[3] They signed with Mira Records after being heard by Pat Boone, who got them the position.
The Leaves are noted for recording an early version of the song Hey Joe, which they recorded along with their debut album in 1966. Their version of Hey Joe was #1 on the Los Angeles stations and peaked at #31 on the Billboard pop charts in May 1966.[3]
Hey Joe would achieve greater popularity in 1967 when it was covered by Jimi Hendrix. Pons stayed in the Leaves until 1967.
The Turtles
Pons joined The Turtles shortly after the Leaves. He played bass on their hit songs She'd Rather Be With Me, Elenore, She's My Girl, and You Showed Me. As a member of the Turtles, he appeared on television on both of their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and American Bandstand, among many others. Jim continued to tour with the Turtles until they split in 1970. He played on their albums, Happy Together, The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, Turtle Soup and The Turtles Greatest Hits Vols, 1 and 2.
Since the 2010s, he has occasionally guest-starred with The Turtles alongside Flo & Eddie. Pons will usually join them on stage if they are performing in Florida, where he lives.
The Mothers Of Invention
Pons was a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention (1970-1971). He played bass on their albums "Live at the Fillmore East", "Just Another Band From L.A.", and "Playground Psychotics". Pons portrayed himself in Zappa's 1971 surrealist film 200 Motels, starring the members of the Mothers Of Invention. [4]
Video Directing
In 1973 Pons left the music industry to become the film and video director for the New York Jetsfootball team; he designed the team's 1978–97 team logo.[5][6] He held this position until around the year 2000.[7]
Pons and his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2005, where he did game day video for the Jacksonville Jaguars, until he retired.
Personal life
Pons plays a U bass in a bluegrass band called Lonesome Ride in Jacksonville, Fl.
Book
In 2017, Pons wrote an autobiography titled Hard Core Love: Sex, Football and Rock and Roll in the Kingdom of God which won the 2017 Florida Writers Association BOOK OF THE YEAR award.[8] The book describes his spiritual journey during his careers in the music and sports industries.
