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."
At This Moment
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would do At This Moment
When you're standing before me
With tears in your eyes
Trying to tell me that you
Have found you another
And you just don't love me no more
I would say At This Moment
When I'm faced with the knowledge
That you just don't love me
Did you think I would curse you
Or say things to hurt you
Cause you just don't love me no more
Did you think I could hate you
Or raise my hands to you
Now, come on, you know me too well
How could I hurt you
When Darlin' I love you
And you know, I'd never, never hurt you
What do you think
I would give At This Moment
If you'd stay, I'd subtract
Twenty years from my life
I'd fall down on my knees
Kiss the ground that you walk on
If I could just hold you again
The lyrics of Tom Jones's "At This Moment" describe the emotional response of a man upon learning that his partner has found another and no longer loves him. Jones sings about the disbelief, pain, love, and dedication he feels towards his partner. He asks what his partner thinks he would do or say in this situation, suggesting that he would hurt her if he were the type to lash out. However, he follows this up by saying that he could never hate her, raise his hands to her, or hurt her in any way because he loves her too much.
Line by Line Meaning
What did you think
What did you expect
I would do At This Moment
I would do in this particular moment
When you're standing before me
When you are facing me
With tears in your eyes
Crying
Trying to tell me that you
Attempting to inform me that you
Have found you another
Have found someone else
And you just don't love me no more
And you no longer have feelings of love for me
What did you think
What did you expect
I would say At This Moment
I would speak at this particular moment
When I'm faced with the knowledge
When I am confronted with the fact
That you just don't love me
That you no longer have feelings of love for me
Did you think I would curse you
Did you assume I would speak ill of you
Or say things to hurt you
Or say hurtful things to you
Cause you just don't love me no more
Because you no longer have feelings of love for me
Did you think I could hate you
Did you believe that I could hate you
Or raise my hands to you
Or become physically violent with you
Now, come on, you know me too well
Now, come on, you know me too well
How could I hurt you
How could I cause you pain
When Darlin' I love you
When, my love, I have feelings of love for you
And you know, I'd never, never hurt you
And you know, I would never cause you pain
What do you think
What do you expect
I would give At This Moment
I would offer at this particular moment
If you'd stay, I'd subtract
If you were to stay, I would remove
Twenty years from my life
Twenty years from my life
I'd fall down on my knees
I would kneel down
Kiss the ground that you walk on
Kiss the ground that you walk on
If I could just hold you again
If I could embrace you once more
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Vera
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Annette Oellrich
He will be the best ever such an incredible sexy and powerful voice❤️❤️❤️❤️
valentina storojuc
МОЙ ЛЮБИМЫЙ ТОМ ДЖОНС !!! Талантливый , уникальный , потрясающий певец !!!
Deb Hower
I loved this entire concert! He gives it his all!!
Maria Egreder
Thank you very much Tom Jones, the King!
Bernadette
He is the King! 🤟
Bernadette
More energy than any other singer! Mercy! Thank you, you are memorable!!!!
Marilyn Whitmire
Magnificent voice that touches the heart.
robert gowing
Have been to his shows six times in my life wish it had been 6000 times brilliant performer and the VOICE is out of this world
Bernadette
You lucky, Mr. Gowing! He is one of the most Entertaining Gentleman!!
Tai Chi Goodness
Nothing but respect for Tom and his loyal friends! Bless you all!