Tom Jones rose to fame in the mid-
1960s, with an exuberant live act that included wearing tight
breeches and billowing shirts, in an
Edwardian style popular among his peers at the time. He was known for his overt
sexuality, before this was as common as it has become in subsequent years.
In
1963 he became the
frontman for Tommy Scott and The Senators, a local beat group. Clad in black leather, he soon gained a reputation in the
South Wales area, although the Senators were still unknown in
London.
In
1964 they laid down seven tracks with maverick
Telstar producer
Joe Meek, and took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal, with no success. The plan was to release a
single,
Lonely Joe / I Was A Fool, but the ever-flighty Meek refused to release the tapes. Only after
It's Not Unusual became a massive hit, Meek was able to sell the tapes to
Tower (USA) and
Columbia (UK). The group returned to South Wales and continued to play gigs at dance halls and working men's clubs. One night, at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Jones was spotted by
Gordon Mills, a London-based manager originally from South Wales. Mills became Jones' manager, and took the young singer to
London. He also renamed him
Tom Jones, an ingenious moniker that not only linked the singer to the image of the title character - a good-looking, low-born stud - portrayed in Tony Richardson's film of Fielding's
Tom Jones, which was a huge contemporary hit, but also subtly emphasized his nationality. Gordon Mills gave many rock stars their stage names, among them
Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold George Dorsey). The Senators became the Playboys, and later still the Squires. It was the beginning of the second phase in Jones' career.
Record companies were finding his style and delivery to be too abrasive and raw. Jones' vocals were considered to be too raucous, and he moved like
Elvis. But eventually,
Decca rekindled their early interest, and Jones recorded his first single,
Chills And Fever in late 1964.
The single didn't chart, but the follow-up,
It's Not Unusual, (co-written by
Les Reed), was an instant hit, released in early 1965. Initially, the BBC refused to play it, but an offshore pirate station,
Radio Caroline, picked it up. Its orchestrated arrangement, coupled with Jones' energetic delivery, proved infectious, and by March 1 the song reached number one in the UK and the top ten in America. In the same year, Jones sang the theme song to the
James Bond film
Thunderball. Jones was awarded the
Grammy Award for Best New Artist for
1965. In
1966 Jones' popularity began to slip somewhat, causing Mills to redesign the singer's image into a more respectable, mature, tuxedoed
crooner.
Inspired by long-time influence
Jerry Lee Lewis' country version, Jones released his most successful single ever,
Green Green Grass of Home (written by
Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. in 1965), and began to sing material that appealed to a broad audience, as well as a string of hit singles and albums including
What's New Pussycat?,
Help Yourself and
Delilah. The strategy worked, as he returned to the top of the charts in the UK and began hitting the
Top 40 again in the
U.S.
In 1967 he performed for the first time in
Las Vegas, at the
Flamingo. In 1968, starting at New York's
Copacabana night club, women would swoon and scream, and some would throw their
knickers on stage. Soon after, he began to play
Las Vegas and began recording less, choosing to concentrate on his lucrative club performances. At
Caesar's Palace his shows were traditionally a knicker-hurling frenzy of raw sexual tension and good-time entertainment. There, they started throwing hotel room keys. Jones and Elvis became good friends, spending time together in Las Vegas. They had a friendship that would endure until Presley's death in
1977.
Jones had an internationally successful television variety show from 1969-1971 titled
This Is Tom Jones. This hit TV show was aired by the
American Broadcasting Company (ABC-TV) in America and
ITV in the UK. The
1970s saw Jones' popularity leveling off, but the hits kept coming:
Daughter Of Darkness, She's A Lady, Till and The New Mexican Puppeteer were all hits in the
UK. On
July 29,
1986, Gordon Mills, Jones' long-time manager, died of
cancer. Jones' son Mark became the singer's manager. In April
1987, the singer re-entered the singles chart with the hit
A Boy From Nowhere, which got him back into the public eye. A few months later he performed a version of
Prince's
Kiss, and recorded it with
The Art of Noise, and it was an instant hit. In 1993 he signed to
Interscope Records, releasing the album
The Lead And How To Swing It, and his profile was raised with a younger audience by a powerful performance at the
Glastonbury Festival. In
1998 he performed a medley of songs from the film
The Full Monty with
Robbie Williams at the
BRIT Awards. That same year,
Space and
Cerys Matthews released
The Ballad Of Tom Jones.
In 1999 he recorded the blockbuster album
Reload, a collection of duets with some of the year's brightest stars, which brought him back into the limelight. On new year's eve to ring in
2000, President
Bill Clinton invited him to perform at the
Millennium celebrations in
Washington. Throughout that year, Jones garnered several honors for his work, including a
BRIT Award for Best Male. In
2001 he toured throughout the
Middle East and
Europe. In subsequent years, he recorded albums in collaboration with artists such as
Wyclef Jean and
Jools Holland.
In celebration of his 65th birthday on
28 May 2005, Jones returned to his homeland to perform a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park,
Pontypridd. This was his first performance in Pontypridd since 1964.
His early hits include:
*"
It's Not Unusual" (1965), Jones' signature song.
*"
What's New Pussycat?", written by
Burt Bacharach for
What's New, Pussycat? (1965]).
*"
Thunderball", the theme for the
James Bond film of the same name (1965) - an
urban legend states that upon hitting the final high note of the song Jones actually passed out, but that the take was so good it was the version that was released. Jones later denied this.
*"
Green Green Grass of Home" (1966), his most successful single, which was interpreted by many to refer to Jones' native Wales (correctly, according to Jones
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/tomjones/pages/tom_talks07.shtml), despite having been originally written (by
Curly Putman) about the USA.
http://ingeb.org/songs/greengre.html
*"
I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (1967).
*"
Delilah" (1968), the usual choice of song for impressionists
"doing" Tom Jones, occasionally being criticized for the violent nature of the song.
*"
Help Yourself" (1968), used recently in an ad campaign for Diet
Dr Pepper.
*"
Without Love" (1969).
*"
She's A Lady" (1971), his highest charting US single, peaking at #2. Written by
Paul Anka.
Jones' recording career slumped on the pop charts during the 1970s and '80s, although he placed 16 singles on the
Billboard Country Music charts between
1976 and
1985, the biggest of which was "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow" (# 1 Country, # 15 pop) in 1977, and his touring continued successfully. When his son Mark became his manager in 1987, his musical style was taken in a different direction. His recording career was revived with his first major hit single in over a decade,
A Boy From Nowhere, taken from the musical
Matador. In
1988 he collaborated with The Art of Noise to record Prince's popular song
Kiss. Following this, he started to record in collaboration with a younger generation of musicians:
*
Prince's "Kiss" (1988, with
The Art of Noise)
*
EMF's "Unbelievable" – a staple of his
1990s live shows
*"I Wanna Get Back With You" (
1995) features
Tori Amos on its chorus vocals.
*
Talking Heads' song "Burning Down The House" (1999, with
The Cardigans)
*"Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1999, with
Cerys Matthews of
Catatonia)
*
Iggy Pop's song "Lust for Life" (1999, with
The Pretenders)
*
Randy Newman's song "
Mama Told Me Not To Come" (2000, with
Kelly Jones of the
Stereophonics)
*"Sex Bomb" (From 1999's "
Reload", with
Mousse T)
*"You Need Love Like I Do" (2000, with
Heather Small of
M People)
His
Reload album, released in 2000, became the biggest hit of his career. An album of
cover versions recorded as duets with contemporary artists, using their record producers, and utilizing their recording methods, it reached number one in the United Kingdom, and sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
http://www.tomjones.com/tomography/index.aspx?wid=632 In
2002, he released the album
Mr. Jones, which was produced by
Wyclef Jean and included the singles
Tom Jones International and
Black Betty. In
2003, he was honored with a
BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In
2004, his
Sex Bomb single became a major US club hit.
For his contribution to the recording industry, Tom Jones has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2005 the album
Together In Concert, was recorded live with
John Farnham and his band.
He has collaborated with
Chicane for
Stoned in Love, a dance track that was released 24 April 2006. It entered at number eight in the UK charts the following Sunday.
The singer was awarded an
OBE in 1999 and a
Knight Bachelor in the
2006 New Years Honors list for his services to music, and was subsequently knighted by Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II at
Buckingham Palace,
London on
March 29, 2006.
Although his manager and public relations staff has attempted to change his sex-bomb image and neutralize the knicker-throwing fans, to the delight of his audiences Jones has never felt the need to tone down his behavior in the shows. Tom Jones has remained highly respected by other singers and continues to attract audiences of all ages. As of 2007, Jones continues to tour and record. He performs the show at the
MGM Grand hotel, located on
Las Vegas Blvd, in central
Las Vegas. As of December 2007, tickets for the event in Row A costs $75(£40). He performs in a
caboret style theatre.
On 1 July, 2007, Jones was one of the invited artists who performed at
Wembley Stadium at the
Concert for Diana, joined on stage by guitarist
Joe Perry of
Aerosmith and British soul singer
Joss Stone. He sang the
British National Anthem before
Ricky Hatton's fight against
Floyd Mayweather in
Las Vegas on December 8th 2007.
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