Tom Jones (singer)

Tom Jones (born June 7, 1940) is a Welsh pop singer with a large and powerful voice. He was born Thomas John Woodward in Pontypridd, Wales.

Musical career

He rose to fame in the mid-1960s, with an exuberant live act which included wearing tight breeches and billowing shirts, in an Edwardian style popular amongst his peers at the time. Jones was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist for 1965.

Related Topics:
1960s - Edwardian - Grammy Award for Best New Artist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following several hits in the UK, he moved to the US and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. He was known for his overt sexuality in the 1960s, before this was as common as it became in subsequent years. Women would swoon and scream, and in 1968, starting at New York's Copacabana night club, some would throw their panties on stage. Soon after, he began to play Las Vegas, where he still plays today for 10 to 12 weeks each year. There, they started throwing hotel room keys.

Related Topics:
UK - The Ed Sullivan Show - 1960s - 1968 - Copacabana - Panties

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jones had an internationally successful television variety show from 1969-1971 titled This Is Tom Jones.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His early hits include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "It's Not Unusual" (1965)
• "What's New Pussycat?", written by Burt Bacharach for Woody Allen's What's New, Pussycat? (1965)
• "Thunderball", the theme for the James Bond film (1966)
• "The Green, Green Grass of Home" (1966), his most successful single, which became associated with his native Wales, despite being written about the USA
• "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (1967)
• "Delilah" (1968), the usual choice of song for impressionists "doing" Tom Jones
• "Help Yourself" (1968)
• "Without Love" (1969)
• "She's A Lady" (1971)

Jones's recording career slumped during the seventies and eighties, though his touring continued successfully. When his son Mark became his manager in 1987, a change of image followed, and he is now highly respected by other singers and, today, attracts new audiences of all ages.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His recording career was revived in 1987 with his first major hit single in over a decade, "A Boy From Nowhere'", taken from the musical Matador. Following this, he started to record with a younger generation of musicians. These recordings included:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Prince's song "Kiss" (1988, with The Art of Noise)
• EMF's "Unbelievable" ? a staple of his 1990s live shows
• 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)
• "Tom Jones International" (2003)

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 utilising their recording methods, it reached number one in the United Kingdom, and sold over 5 million copies world-wide.http://www.tomjones.com/site/about/biog.php In 2002, he released his latest album, Mr. Jones, which was produced by Wyclef Jean and included the singles "Tom Jones International" and "Black Betty". In 2003, he was honoured with a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004, his "Sex Bomb" single became a major US club hit.

Related Topics:
Reload - 2000 - Cover version - 2002 - Mr. Jones - Wyclef Jean - 2003 - Brit Award - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He continues to tour and record. Mr. Jones can be heard singing the theme song to the cartoon show Duck Dodgers of the 24-1/2 Century with the Flaming Lips. Jones's most recent album is titled Tom Jones and Jools Holland, and was released in 2004. His even more recent album is called Together In Concert, which was recorded live with John Farnham and his band.

Related Topics:
Duck Dodgers of the 24-1/2 Century - Flaming Lips

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~