Tom Jones

Tom Jones was born on June, 7 1940 in Pontypridd, South Wales. Tom received his first music experience singing in a church choir. He parted ways with education when he was sixteen. In a year, Jones got married and began to raise his own son. It was a difficult time in his life, as the young father took up numerous occupations to support his family, including jobs of builder, glove manufacturer and vacuum cleaner seller. After his work, Tom used to perform at pubs with some of the local musicians. He acquired notable success with his band Tommy Scott and the Senators to be known and respected among the local music lovers from the middle class. In 1964, the singer signed his first professional contract with Decca Records. After the release of the disastrous debut single, Jones came up with the splendid second effort, It’s Not Unusual, an international hit. It took Tom just about one year to turn into a star and supporting act for The Rolling Stones. As simple as the pop music was, Tom Jones managed to make his songs so much different from each other and attractive to massive audiences. In the late sixties, he worked hard to produce regularly high selling albums, including the golden record This is Tom Jones (1969).

Stage was not enough for Tom Jones to apply all his skills which led him to the ABC channel where he headed his own show featuring many music celebrities. With his inexhaustible energy, passion for music and boundless talent, John became an iconic performer. Female supporters were driven crazy and wild by his charming and strong voice along with charisma and sexy stage image. As he continued producing top quality albums and giving striking performances, Jones was eager to try new roles in modern arts. It became possible in 1987 after he starred in the Matador musical. This play featured his new song A Boy From Nowhere, one of the highest selling singles by Tom Jones. In 1988, he recorded a remake of Kiss by Prince, with The Art Of Noise. This cooperation brought Jones unexpected results lifting him up to the tops of many charts all across the world. This success showed in a brilliant way how good Tom Jones was at adjusting himself to the mainstream preferences.

In 1996, Tom Jones appeared in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks. Later the same year, he recorded Tom Jones & Friends Live with some famous soul musicians. Tom Jones came back to the charts leading positions with the smashing album Reload in 1999. This record featured him performing with a number of other celebrities. Ignoring his age, Tom Jones kept on touring. In 2005, he celebrated his sixty fifth anniversary giving a concert in his motherland of Pontypridd. In March 2006, he was proclaimed a knight with the blessing of the Queen. Living in California and South Wales, Tom Jones tours actively and never seems to lose his energy under the pressure of his years. In 2008, he released one more album, called 24 Hours. Despite his tendency to follow the modern trends, this release features retro music material.

Tom Jones’ new album Praise and Blame was released in 2010. In spite of the long career, Tom’s voice is as strong as it used to be. Praise and Blame is traditionally strong record, which is a great reason to get acquainted with the legendary singer’s creativity.