Tom Jones
Thomas Jones Woodward was
born on June 7, 1940 in South Wales,
Great Britain, the son of coal miner. As a young lad he sang at
special occasions and in his school choir. Stricken by tuberculosis
and bedridden for almost a year, he began to explore music. Married
at sixteen years of age, Tom quit school and took a variety of jobs
supporting his wife Linda and newborn son Mark.
Discovered by Gordon Mills, a noted manager of talent
in London,
Tom Woodward would be renamed Tom Jones who in late 1964
would record his first single, “Chills and Fever” for
Decca Records.
While it was unsuccessful, his second effort a few months later in
March of 1965, “It’s Not Unusual” reached #1 in
England and was
top ten in the United States. Followed by his second gold single
and top five hit, “What’s New Pussycat”, Tom introduced
himself to
America during his first tour stateside. He received a
Grammy for Best New Artist of 1965.
For three months in 1966 and peaking at #11 during
the Christmas
holidays, Tom Jones hit with “Green, Green, Grass of Home”,
followed by “Detroit City”, “Delilah”, “Help
Yourself” and
“Love Me Tonight”. 1969 saw a return to the top ten for Tom with
“I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Without Love”.
A year later,
“Daughter of Darkness”, “I, Who Have Nothing” and
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” charted. In 1971, “She’s
a Lady” went gold
and peaked at #2 on the Hit Parade, followed by “Puppet Man”.
In 1967 the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas was first
to present
Tom Jones there, Caesar’s Palace would follow. A year later,
a
New York Copacabana night club appearance was a huge success.
“This is Tom Jones” was an internationally
successful ABC television
variety show in the late 60’s and early 1970’s. In 1999,
the Tom Jones
album “Reload” was a big sales success.
With a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and recently
Knighted
by Queen Elizabeth II, “Sir” Tom Jones has been
a resident of Bel Air, California since the mid 1970’s.