“I think it’s good that I had some experience of the real world before I became successful”.
Tom Jones
Introduction
If you had to summarise what it is to be Welsh, Tom Jones is the perfect personification. A singer who breathes soul from his lungs. Raw, untamed songs that embrace multiple genres of music and volume that can shatter your front windows with ease. Lyrical deliverance that is peppered with raw sexualness off the Richter Scale and a brand of music that sends women of all ages into a frenzy, hurling their knickers onto the stage when he performs live.
Now, at 84 years old, Tom Jones is the silver fox of modern times. His voice has never waned and remains his greatest asset and weapon. Bestowed a knighthood and an OBE by royalty, the man born Thomas Jones Woodward, who has ridden the crest of the music wave for six decades, is a master of regeneration and commands a wide fanbase. He is the grandfather you would love to have. Richard Burton and Dylan Thomas all rolled into one. He is a gregarious delight who has his finger on the pulse of music and can boast Elvis Presley as one of his now spiritual friends.
Behind the Voice
I aim in this piece not to give a much-repeated recyclement of Tom’s career but will try to explore what makes this national treasure tick. This disciple of gospel, blues and country music may be a natural entertainer, but he never wanted to share the limelight. In his youth, Jones would love to go and see his Uncle Georgie perform—a singing waiter who used to perform in pubs. Tom knew from these early life experiences that he wanted to command a stage and develop his voice that had been schooled on the true greats he had first heard on the radio and much-cherished 78s and 45s. That raw and unequivocally sound of Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters from America’s Deep South lit the touchpaper for the birth of Rock and Roll.
Tom came from a working-class Welsh community that ran as deep as the treasured coal fuelling the economy. Born in Pontypridd on June 7, 1940, his father, Thomas, was a coal miner. It is a proud profession that tests an individual to the very core, backbreaking manual work that is dangerous and leaves you caked in the same dust of the coal that was mined. Jones was born into this generation of hard toil and little pay. A life that was fueled by pride and national identity. Yet Tom knew he had to escape it and make his parents proud.
Leaving school at 15, Tom worked several manual jobs, singing in clubs at night. He married his childhood sweetheart, Melinda Trenchard, in 1957 at the age of 17, and his voice soon dazzled many an audience, gaining the attention of Decca Records, who jumped at the chance to sign him up to their label after seeing him perform as the frontman for the band, Tommy Scott and the Senators. A band that produced several tracks with the record producer Joe Meek. A man with a baritone voice who produced liquid gold despite battling tuberculosis at 12. An experience that he later recalled was one of his worst—confined to a bed, only having to listen to music as his spiritual guide and salvation.
He was able to reach a top C in his youth and this helped the launch of his solo career immensely. His first single, “Chills and Fever” was quickly followed by “It’s Not Unusual”, made a hit by extensive playing by the pirate radio station, Radio Caroline. His seismic moment came in 1965 when “It’s Not Unusual” rocketed to number one and reached the top ten in the USA. He also recorded several key film scores, Thunderball and What’s New Pussycat? He also first met Elvis Presley at a chance meeting during a filming break for the King at Paramount Studios. Elvis questioned him on how he got that voice. Tom responded that it was from listening to you. The two became firm friends.
Reshaped as a crooner, Jones notched up a string of hits across the Atlantic with hits such as “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”, “I’m Coming Home” and “Delilah”. It got him gigs at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. Now wearing tight trousers and a strategically unbuttoned shirt, Tom oozed sweat and sex appeal. It was the start of a long association with Las Vegas with regular annual concerts until 2011. It would create a golden television opportunity with the creation of the variety show, This is Tom Jones. A show that ran in the UK and the USA between 1969 and 1971. He was nominated for a Golden Globe as a result. A show that showcased practically every leading music artist of the time and made a reported $9000,000. A later Tom Jones show ran in Canada between 1980 and 1981.
The Camelion
This was a career that would just grow and grow and despite now being in his eighth decade, Tom shows no signs of wanting to retire. Despite a hip operation, Jones continues to perform and his voice is as powerful as ever. Revered by his contemporaries, Jones pulls in the crowd and everyone wants to work with him. Whether it is being a judge on The Voice or an appearance on the Jools Holland Show, Tom is fascinating to watch and has a soulful voice that is to die for. Never losing his thick Welsh accent, Jones is proud of his Welsh heritage and place of birth. Wales runs through his work and shows what hard work and determination can achie
