Sir Tom Jones Online

Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, OBE (born 7 June 1940), known as Sir Tom Jones, is a singer. He was born in Pontypridd in South Wales.

Personal life

Thomas Jones Woodward was born in Pontypridd, South Wales on June 7th, 1940 and could sing almost before he could walk.  As a child, he entertained neighbors singing from an orange box platform in the corner shop. 

In 1952 Tommy Woodward was diagnosed with tuberculosis causing him to spend two years confined to his room in Treforest, Wales. Tom quit school and took a variety of jobs including a builder's labourer, a glove cutter and a door to door vacuum salesman while trying to start a career in music. Tom married his childhood sweetheart, Linda, in 1956 and has one son. He boosted his earingings by singing in local clubs and pubs in the evening.   Everyone knew the talent was there.  It just needed to be brought to the attention of the right people.  

 He has remained married to Linda..Tom's son, Mark is now his manager. He lives in Beverly Hills, California and tours through most of the year.  His heart however, remains in Wales to this day.

Musical career

Tom rose to fame in the mid1960's, with an exuberant live act which included wearing tight pants 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.

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. 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 (1965) - an urban legend states that when he hit the final high note of this song, Jones actually passed out. According to the legend, the take was so good, this is the one that was released.
• "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), his highest charting US single, peaking at #2

Jones's recording career slumped on the pop charts during the seventies and eighties, although he placed sixteen singles on the Billboard Country Music charts between 1976 and 1985, and 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.[1] 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 honoured 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 at the entrance to Fredericks.   Tom's star is the only star both nominated and totally paid for by his fans.

He continues to tour and record. His most recent album is called Together In Concert, which was recorded live with John Farnham and his band.

He was awarded a knighthood in the 2006 New Years Honours list.

 

information from  Wikipedia®