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."
Am I Wrong
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If being right means being without you
I'd rather live a wrong doing life
Your mama and daddy say it's a shame
It's a downright disgrace
Long as I got you by my side
I don't care what your people say
In loving a married man
If I can't see you when I want to
I'll see you when I can
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
Am I wrong to fall so deeply in love with you
Knowing I got a wife and two little children
Depending on me too
And am I wrong to hunger
For the gentleness of your touch
Knowing I got somebody else at home
Who needs me just as much
And are you wrong to fall in love
With a married man
And am I wrong trying to hold on
To the best thing I ever had
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
Are you wrong to give your love
To a married man
And am I wrong trying to hold on
To the best thing I ever had
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
I don't wanna be right
If it means sleeping alone at night
I don't wanna be right
If it means coming home at night
I don't wanna, I don't wanna
I don't wanna never, never, never be right
The lyrics of Tom Jones’s song I Don’t Wanna Be Right describe a forbidden love that the singer shares with a married woman. He acknowledges the fact that it is morally and socially unacceptable to be in a relationship with a married woman, but despite that, he cannot resist his love for her. He emphasizes that he would rather live a wrong doing life by being in love with her than to be right by staying away from her. The social pressure and disapproval from their respective families and friends also do not matter to him as long as he has her by his side.
The lyrics also have a sense of guilt and self-doubt. The singer acknowledges that he already has a wife and two children who depend on him, and the woman he is in love with also has somebody else at home who needs her just as much. He questions whether he is wrong to fall so deeply in love with her and to hunger for her touch. Similarly, he wonders whether the woman is wrong to give her love to a married man.
Line by Line Meaning
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
I would rather be wrong for loving you, than be right and not have you in my life
If being right means being without you
Being right in this situation would mean not having you in my life
I'd rather live a wrong doing life
I am willing to live a life that may be considered wrong by society, if it means I can be with you
Your mama and daddy say it's a shame
Your parents do not approve of our relationship and believe it is disgraceful
It's a downright disgrace
Our relationship is seen as completely shameful by others
Long as I got you by my side
As long as I have you in my life, I am content
I don't care what your people say
I do not care about the opinions of those who disapprove of our relationship
Your friends tell you there's no future
Your friends believe that our relationship will not lead to a future together
In loving a married man
As I am already married, our relationship is seen as morally wrong
If I can't see you when I want to
If I cannot see you at the times that I desire, I will make do with when I can see you
Am I wrong to fall so deeply in love with you
I question if it is wrong for me to have such strong feelings towards you when I am already married
Knowing I got a wife and two little children
I am aware that I am already committed to another person, who relies on me
And am I wrong to hunger
I question whether it is wrong for me to crave your affection despite already having a family
For the gentleness of your touch
I desire the physical intimacy that we share, which is lacking in my current relationship
Who needs me just as much
My wife and children also rely on me and need my attention and care
And are you wrong to fall in love
You may be considered wrong for falling in love with someone who is already married
With a married man
As I am already married, our relationship is seen as morally wrong
And am I wrong trying to hold on
I question whether it is wrong for me to continue holding onto a relationship that is deemed as wrong
To the best thing I ever had
Despite the potential consequences, I believe that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I do not want to let go
Are you wrong to give your love
You may be considered wrong for giving your love to someone who is already married
If it means sleeping alone at night
I do not want to be right if it means sleeping alone at night without you by my side
If it means coming home at night
I do not want to be right if it means coming home to an empty house without you there
I don't wanna never, never, never be right
I never want to be right if it means sacrificing my love for you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Carl Mitchell Hampton, Homer Banks, Raymond E. Jackson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oleh Moski
Ain't That a Lot of Love 0:45
(Homer Banks cover)
Hard to Handle 3:30
(Otis Redding cover)
Help Yourself 7:00
Never Tear Us Apart 10:30
(INXS cover)
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone 13:45
(Elvis Presley cover)
Burning Down the House 17:30
(Talking Heads cover)
Delilah 21:15
(Les Reed cover)
She's a Lady 24:35
Without Love (There Is Nothing) 27:00
(Clyde McPhatter cover)
Sometimes We Cry 31:00
(Van Morrison cover)
Crapped Out Again 36:00
(Keb’ Mo’ cover)
Venus 40:00
(Shocking Blue cover)
If I Only Knew 42:05
You Need Love Like I Do 47:45
Mama Told Me Not to Come 51:25
(Randy Newman cover)
Give Me One Reason 54:35
(Tracy Chapman cover)
Am I Wrong 58:45
(Keb’ Mo’ cover)
A Boy From Nowhere 1:02:39
(Mike Leander cover)
I'll Never Fall in Love Again 1:08:04
(Lonnie Donegan cover)
Green, Green Grass of Home 1:12:40
(Johnny Darrell cover)
What's New Pussycat? 1:16:00
You Can Leave Your Hat On 1:18:05
(Randy Newman cover)
Sex Bomb 1:22:00
It's Not Unusual 1:25:30
(Les Reed cover)
It's Your Thing 1:28:00
(The Isley Brothers cover)
Are You Gonna Go My Way 1:34:00
(Lenny Kravitz cover)
Kiss 1:38:00
(Prince cover)
And please watch my video: Tom Jones Glastonbury 2009
Bart van Drunen
Sir Tom at his best. What an energy, what a voice, what a band...absolutely one of his all time best performances. Would have been great to be there.
plokijn12
One of the greatest voices of all time, no doubt !
K Rob
Agreed.
michaelericksonmusic
This is arguably Tom in peak form. GREAT band! I'm wondering where they all have gone thereafter. A great concert moment.
Stephanie Davies
Still has the pipes! Glad he let his Gowrie and stopped dying. He looks great with a beard, closed cropped hair and natural color. He still has that magic and charisma!
Al Ts
My brother (passed away) & I grew up as a kids to Sir Tom Jones music we would sing & times impersonate Tom, the entire concert brings tears of joy, i was blessed to see Tom twice in Albuquerque NM & Tucson AZ each concert melted my heart and soul, Sir Jones you are a unique one of kind superstar, keep performing it brings me my brother spirit alive within me!!
Gigi Sasz
@Erika Keese you are trying to say you are into Tom?! Love Tom Jones? Your English is a lot better than my German!! 😃
David Lau
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Erika Keese
No, I want to say that my English is not so good as I want to speak oooohwith every word I do it worse..... Hope you know what I mean
Erika Keese
Isn't he great? I am German and my English is not what I want to be. But we are in Tom. That counts.