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."
Behind Closed Doors
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She never makes a scene by hanging all over me in a crowd
'Cause people like to talk, Lord, don't they love to talk
But when they turn out the lights, I know she'll be leaving with me
And when we get behind closed doors
And she lets her hair hang down
And she makes me glad that I'm a man
My baby makes me smile, Lord, don't she make me smile
She's never far away or too tired to say I want you
She's always a lady, just like a lady should be
But when they turn out the lights, she's still a baby to me
And when we get behind closed doors
And she lets her hair hang down
And she makes me glad that I'm a man
And no one knows what goes on behind closed doors
Behind closed doors
The song "Behind Closed Doors" by Tom Jones speaks about the persona's significant other, who doesn't show public displays of affection, but behind closed doors, shows an entirely different side of herself. The singer's partner makes him immensely proud of her, but she never clings to him around others. The song suggests that she may be too reserved to express herself in public or care about what the public thinks so, instead, they both wait until they are alone to let those emotions run free. Though society tends to gossip, especially about love lives, no one can know what goes on between two people behind closed doors.
The song could be interpreted in various ways. Maybe the singer's partner is shy about showing her love publicly, or they love keeping their relationship private and save the intimacy only for themselves, away from the world's prying eyes. Perhaps they want to keep their love life to themselves, so no one comes eyeing at them or asking too many questions, hence the secrecy behind closed doors. In any way, the song depicts the beauty, excitement, and importance of intimacy and privacy in a romantic partnership.
Line by Line Meaning
My baby makes me proud, Lord, don't she make me proud
My partner fills me with pride, Lord. She's always doing things that make me proud
She never makes a scene by hanging all over me in a crowd
She never creates a fuss by being excessively clingy and hugging me tight when we're out and about.
'Cause people like to talk, Lord, don't they love to talk
People enjoy gossiping and spreading rumors, don't they, Lord?
But when they turn out the lights, I know she'll be leaving with me
However, at the end of the day, when nobody's around, I know she'll come home with me.
And when we get behind closed doors
When we're alone and nobody can see or hear us,
And she lets her hair hang down
And she relaxes, releases her inhibitions, and become more spontaneous,
And she makes me glad that I'm a man
And she satisfies me in ways that make me happy and content to be a man,
And no one knows what goes on behind closed doors
And nobody else knows what exactly happens when we're alone together or what kind of relationship we have behind closed doors.
My baby makes me smile, Lord, don't she make me smile
My partner always puts a smile on my face, Lord. She makes me happy.
She's never far away or too tired to say I want you
She's always close by and never too tired to express her desire for me.
She's always a lady, just like a lady should be
She's always poised, elegant, and composed, just like a lady is supposed to be.
But when they turn out the lights, she's still a baby to me
But when the lights go out and it's just the two of us, she becomes playful, funny, and vulnerable like a child, and that's endearing to me.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kenny O'dell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind