One of the strongest voices in pop, Tom Jones rose from humble beginnings in a poor mining town in Wales to become an enduring international performer.
Tom Jones’s career in p op music defies categorisation. The swarthy Welsh singer with the powerful delivery continued to attract a wide variety of admirers in the music world well into the late 1990s.
Jones was born on June 7, 1940, as Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, Wales, the son of a coal miner. By 17, already a husband and father, Woodward was working odd jobs by day and singing in the pubs by night. In 1963, Gordon Mills, a musical entrepreneur, discovered Woodward performing as the leader of Tommy Scott and the Senators. Mills signed him under the name Tom Jones, and took him to London.
Jones’s first single flopped, but the second, “It’s Not Unusual,” became a No. 1 hit in Britain and reached the U.S. Top 10. This success and the sexy image he projected, which resulted in extraordinary scenes with women throwing underwear at h im during performances, assured him media attention. Jones followed the success of “It’s Not Unusual” with the theme from the film What’s New Pussycat, another huge hit that firmly established him in the U.S. But by 1966, his star was fading and even the title track of a James Bond movie, Thunderball, failed to make the British Top 30.
Jones’s career seemed to be over, but Mills revamped his image, casting aside the tight trousers in favour of a tuxedo in order to play for a more mature, prosperous audience. The strategy worked; Jones’s recording of “Green Green Grass of Home” was an enormous success and topped the charts at the end of 1966. More hits followed, including the dramatic song “Delilah,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Detroit City,” and “I’m Coming Home.” In 1969, Mills took Jones to the U.S. to host his own television variety show, This Is Tom Jones. The programme featured a variety of musical guests, from Tony BENNETT and Sammy Davis, Jr., to The WHO, Joe Cocker, and Janis Joplin. The show had top ratings, and when it ended, Jones took his act to the lucrative Las Vegas circuit and other prestige nightspots. The venture proved so successful that he had no financial incentive to continue recording. Jones’s story could have ended there. After Mills died in 1986, Jones’s son, Mark Woodward, took over managing his father’s career and Jones returned to recording. Soon there was a remarkable resurrection of Jones’s image. First, Art of Noise, an art-house pop group, backed Jones on a recording of PRINCE’S “Kiss.” A collaboration with Van MORRISON that followed was received with critical acclaim. Jones hosted a television series for the British independent ITV network, and he stole the show during benefit concerts. He also appeared as himself on an episode of The Simpsons. In 1994 the critically acclaimed album, The Lead and How to Swing It, was released. Jones proved that his talent was no fluke.
One of the strongest voices in pop, Tom Jones rose from humble beginnings in a poor mining town in Wales to become an enduring international performer.
In the kitsch revival of the late 1990s, Jones fitted in perfectly. His seemingly ageless sex appeal remained popular with his traditional audience and with his younger, post-funk following.
Greg Bower
SEE ALSO:
CHARTS; FILM MUSIC; POP MUSIC.
FURTHER READING
MacFarlane, Colin. Tom Jones: The Boy from Nowhere (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988);
St. Pierre, Robert. Tom Jones (Bristol: Parragon, 1996).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
The Best of Tom Jones; Close Up, Move Closer, What a Night.