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Best Known For
Tom Jones is a Welsh rock, pop, blues and soul singing legend best known as a hit maker over the last five decades in the U.S. and U.K.
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Tom Jones - Full Biography (45:39)
Tom Jones - Full Biography
One of the most popular vocalists to emerge from the British Invasion, Tom Jones' rags to riches story began in the slums of Wales, took him to London and then all the way to Vegas.
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Play NowTom Jones. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:52, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065.
Tom Jones. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Tom Jones." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 10:52 http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065.
"Tom Jones," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Tom Jones," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Tom Jones [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065.
Tom Jones, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Tom Jones. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-jones-21026065. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Synopsis
Tom Jones is a Welsh singer born on June 7, 1940, in Pontypridd, Wales. Influenced as a child by American blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll, over the past five decades the singing legend has produced hits in both the United States. and the United Kingdom. Highlights include classics such as Once Upon a Time; With These Hands; What’s New Pussycat?; Green, Green Grass of Home and Delilah. Drawing on his extensive musical experience,
Quotes
"For the last 40 years I've travelled the world singing and entertaining, bringing a bit of Wales and Great Britain to my friends, colleagues and audiences. I wear my nationality on my sleeve and I'm proud of it!"
Jones became a judge on the BBC reality show The Voice in 2012.
Early Life
Born Thomas John Woodward, Jones entered the world on June 7, 1940, in Pontypridd, Wales. The son of Thomas Woodward and Freda Jones, from an early age Jones loved to sing at gatherings and in the school choir.
He enjoyed listening to music, including BBC radio, which featured American blues, R&B and rock—genres which later influenced his musical style.
As a teen he was more interested in booze and girls rather than his education, so it was no surprise when he quit school at age 16. To earn money he worked as a builder's laborer and a door-to-door vacuum salesman.
Early Career
In 1963, Jones formed the band Tommy Scott and the Senators. The crowds loved them, but growth was limited due to their non-urban location. This changed the next year, when London-based Gordon Mills discovered Jones, bringing him to London and becoming his manager.
With a new solo career, the artist changed his name to Tom Jones. Decca Records signed him, but his first single, Chills and Fever, didn't catch on. However, his second single, It's Not Unusual, peaked at No. 1 on British charts in 1965.
With success came a U.S. appearance, on The Ed Sullivan Show. From 1965 through 1968, Jones had several hit singles, including Once Upon a Time; With These Hands; What’s New Pussycat?; Thunderball; Green, Green Grass of Home and Delilah.
'This Is Tom Jones'
From 1969 to 1971, Jones starred in his own TV show, This Is Tom Jones, which aired in both the United States and Great Britain. He spent much of the 1970s touring internationally, releasing albums, hanging out with Elvis Presley and launching a record label, MAM Records, with his manager.
In 1986, Mills passed away, and Jones' son, Mark, replaced him as the singer's manager. The next year Jones released the song A Boy From Nowhere, which put him back on the British charts. From 1988 to 1991, Jones worked on collaboration projects, including Prince's hit song Kiss, which won the MTV Breakthrough Award. Jones also partnered with singer Van Morrison to release the album Carry a Torch.
Later Career
Through the rest of the 1990s, Jones released albums such as The Lead and How to Swing It and Reload, which went platinum six times in the United Kingdom. He also branched into TV and film, appearing as himself on The Simpsons, hosting the MTV Europe Awards and American Music Awards, and acting in the films Mars Attacks and Agnes Brown.
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