He rose to fame in the mid-1960s, with an exuberant live act which included wearing tight breeches and billowing shirts, in an Edwardian style popular amongst his peers at the time. He was known for his overt sexuality, before this was as common as it became in subsequent years.
In 1963 he became the frontman for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a local beat group. Clad all in black leather, Tom soon gained a reputation in the South Wales area. The Senators were still all unheard of in London.
In 1964 they laid down a few tracks with maverick Telstar producer Joe Meek, and took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal. The plan was to release a single, Lonely Joe / I Was A Fool, but the ever-flighty Meek refused to release the tapes. The group returned to South Wales and continued to play gigs at dance halls and working mens clubs. One night, at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Tom was spotted by Gordon Mills, a London-based manager originally from South Wales. Mills became Tom's manager, and took the young singer to London. He also renamed him Tom Jones. The Senators became the Playboys, and later still the Squires.
Jones was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist for 1965. It's Not Unusual, after the song having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself. The record was the second Decca single Jones released, reaching number one in the UK charts in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US, peaking at #10 in May of that year. The single was released in the US on the Parrot label and also reached #3 on Billboard's easy listening chart. Jones used this song as the theme for his late 1960s-early 1970s musical variety series This Is Tom Jones. It has since become Jones' signature song.
In 1965 Tom sang the theme tune to the James Bond film Thunderball.
Jones' recording career slumped on the pop charts during the 1970s and 80s, although he placed 16 singles on the Billboard Country Music charts between 1976 and 1985, the biggest of which was "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow" (# 1 Country, # 15 pop) in 1977, and his touring continued successfully. When his son Mark became his manager in 1987, his musical style was taken in a different direction. His recording career was revived with his first major hit single in over a decade, "A Boy From Nowhere", taken from the musical Matador. In 1988 he collaborated with The Art of Noise to record Prince's popular song "Kiss". Following this, he started to record in collaboration with a younger generation of musicians
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 4 million copies worldwide.[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 honored with a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004, his "Sex Bomb" single became a major club hit.
On New Year's Eve 2000 President Bill Clinton invited Tom to perform at the Millennium Celebrations in Washington. Throughout 2000, Tom garnered several honours for his work, including a Brit Award for Best Male. In 2001 Tom toured throughout the Middle East and Europe. In subsequent years Tom recorded albums in collaboration with such artists as Wyclef Jean and Jools Holland.
In celebration of his 65th birthday, on 28 May 2005 Tom returned to his homeland to perform a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd. This was Tom's first performance in Ponty since 1964.
For his contribution to the recording industry, Tom Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2005 the album Together In Concert, was recorded live with John Farnham and his band.
He has collaborated with Chicane for "Stoned in Love", a dance track that was released 24 April 2006. It entered at number eight in the UK charts the following Sunday.
In 2007, he signed to New York-based independent label S-Curve, owned by music executive Steve Greenberg.
The singer was awarded an OBE in 1999 and a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Years Honours list for his services to music and was subsequently knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London on 29 March 2006.[7]
On 1 July 2007, Jones was one of the invited artists who performed at Wembley Stadium at the Concert for Diana, joined on stage by guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith and British soul singer Joss Stone. He sang the British National Anthem before Ricky Hatton's fight against Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on 8 December 2007. On 19 April 2008 he sang the Welsh National Anthem at the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight in Las Vegas.
Although his manager and public relations staff have attempted to change his sex-bomb image and neutralize the knicker-throwing fans, to the delight of his audiences Jones has never felt the need to tone down his behavior in the shows. Tom Jones has remained highly respected by other singers and continues to attract audiences of all ages. As of 2008, Jones continues to tour and record. A major portion of the year he regularly performs his show at the MGM Grand hotel, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, USA. His show at the MGM is performed in a cabaret-style theater. Other venues on his yearly schedule include numerous shows at Atlantic City, NJ and appearances in the USA, United Kingdom and Canada. In February 2007, Jones made a long-awaited South American tour.
On 17 September 2008, Jones announced the release of his retro-tinged album "24 Hours" on S-Curve Records, his first for 15 years in the US; notably, this is the first record in which he's had a direct song-writing input. It was produced largely by drum'n'bass stalwarts Future Cut.
"It's all very well just singing songs," says Jones, "but for this record I really wanted to get properly personal. I've been getting reflective recently, looking over my journey through life, and I wanted to get that down on song. This time I wanted to make something that was all about me, my stories, my life. In other words, you listen to this album and you get the real me."
Ain't No Love
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
She's always gone much too long
Any time she goes away
I wonder this time where she's gone
I wonder if she's gone to stay
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away
And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
Can't gonna leave young thing alone
'Cause ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Only dark clouds everyday
There ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Oh come back baby
Come back baby
Come back baby
Come back baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby
Anytime she goes away
The lyrics of Tom Jones's "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" is a lamentation of a man who is deeply in love with a woman who has left him. He sings about the emptiness and darkness he feels when she is gone, and how her absences make his home feel like an empty house. The opening lines reveal the central theme of the song - "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's away". The absence of the woman is likened to the absence of sunshine, and it only gets worse when she's away for too long.
The next set of lyrics reveal the thoughts going on in his mind - "I wonder this time where she's gone. I wonder if she's gone to stay." The repetition of the cause and effect phrase "ain't no sunshine when she's gone, and this house just ain't no home" underscores the depth of his despair. He is fully aware of how his emotions and living environment are entirely connected to the presence of his lover. The last lines come as a plea for her to come back to him - "Oh come back baby, come back baby, come back baby, come back baby. Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby. Anytime she goes away".
The use of the phrase "I know" repeated many times creates a sense of finality that he cannot survive without her. The song ends abruptly, giving the impression that his feelings are still unresolved, and he is still longing for her return. Overall, the lyrics of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" are expressive of the pain of love that is gone or unrequited.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
The warmth and light of life go away when she is not around.
It's not warm when she's away
The warmth is gone and life seems cold when she is not around.
She's always gone much too long
She takes too much time away from me, leaving me longing and missing her absence.
Any time she goes away
Every time she leaves, I am left feeling lonely and helpless without her.
I wonder this time where she's gone
I am curious where she's gone and whether she's going to stay for long this time around.
I wonder if she's gone to stay
I am afraid she may not come back again and may have gone forever.
And this house just ain't no home
Without her, there's no life in this house; it's empty and joyless.
And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know deep down that I need her and can't live without her.
Can't gonna leave young thing alone
I can't bear the thought of her with someone else and can't let her go.
Only dark clouds every day
Life seems hopeless and miserable without her, with only sadness and sorrow around.
Oh come back baby
Please come back to me, my life without you is incomplete and hollow.
Baby, baby, baby, baby
I am pleading for you to come back to me; I miss you more than words can express.
Anytime she goes away
No matter when she leaves, the pain of her absence is always unbearable.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bill Withers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind