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."
If I Only Knew
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah
Yeah
Home grown, on the bone
All the channels show the same old war zone
As I walk alone in the city
Makin' me an offer, now don't they look pretty
New cinema
On the streets, the sellers do mark up
Better than tellin' 'em off, don't stock up
Shark, they don't bite
All that matters is you're not here tonight
And now that I wonder
Am I gonna dig a hole ten feet under
Under sea, under you, under we, undivided,
Undecided
[Chorus]
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you, make you love me
to make you make you love me
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you make you love me
to make you make you love me
Up north where the snow grows colder
I travel onward 'cross the border
Looked up a girl that I once knew frozen
To be the follower of the deity
Make myself scarce while they
come to plea bargain
for my body and soul
All the flames go around, surround me
I won't go
I need the ozone
I want to cuddle up behind your backbone
I never stay long where I'm not wanted
I fell haunted
Yo brother
Where ya gonna go
Back to the war zone
To break down the walls
Chorus:
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you, make you love me
to make you make you love me
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you make you love me
to make you make you love me
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you, make you happy
to make you make you happy
If only I knew what i should do, yeah
To make you make you love me
I bared my soul to the golden traces
went to the forest of the holy places
And now I wonder
Am I gonna dig a hole ten feet under
Under sea, under me, under you, under we, undivided,
Undecided
Yeah ... yeah
(vocal breakdown)
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you happy
to make you make you happy
If I only knew
What I should do
To make you make you happy
to make you make you happy
If I only knew
What I could do
To make you, make you love me
to make you make you love me
If I only knew
What I should do
To make you make you love me
If I only knew what I should do
If I only knew what I should do
Tom Jones's song If I Only Knew is about someone who is yearning for love but is unsure of what they need to do to receive it. They feel alone as they walk through the city, where the same old war zone is being shown on all channels. They find themselves in a new cinema where they can enjoy live action and noise, which attracts them more than the noise of the streets, where sellers mark up. The singer acknowledges that all that matters is that the person they desire is not there with them tonight. They begin to wonder if they should dig a hole ten feet deep under the sea, under them, and everything that is undecided.
The chorus is a repetition of the singer's plea for love, asking what they can do to make the person they love consider them. The second verse takes us up north, where the snow is colder, and the singer is traveling onward across the border, looking for someone they knew a long time ago. They come across a holy place where they hope to find peace and solace but finds it surrounded by flames. The singer feels haunted and wonders what they can do to break down the walls and make the person they hope to love, happy.
Overall, the song is about someone's yearning for love and how they are willing to do anything to make the person they love happy. They are struggling with what they should do to receive love by looking at what they can offer to be loved. The song has a romantic and somewhat melancholy feel to it.
Line by Line Meaning
Home grown, on the bone
Authentic, natural
All the channels show the same old war zone
Media is fed up with showing the same things
As I walk alone in the city
Walking alone in a busy place
Makin' me an offer, now don't they look pretty
Sales people trying to sell their products
New cinema
Entertainment
Live action, all the noise of attraction beats up
Exciting, stimulating environment
On the streets, the sellers do mark up
Sellers raising prices
Better than tellin' 'em off, don't stock up
Ignoring it and not buying anything is better than confrontation
Shark, they don't bite
Feeling like taking risks without fear of the consequences
All that matters is you're not here tonight
Missing someone special
And now that I wonder
Thinking about something
Am I gonna dig a hole ten feet under
Feeling low
Under sea, under you, under we, undivided, Undecided
Uncertainty about future
Up north where the snow grows colder I travel onward 'cross the border
Traveling to new places, maybe to escape reality
Looked up a girl that I once knew frozen
Remembering someone from the past
To be the follower of the deity
Religion
Make myself scarce while they come to plea bargain for my body and soul
Avoiding negative situations
All the flames go around, surround me I won't go
Resisting temptation or pressure
I need the ozone
Wanting fresh air or a new environment
I want to cuddle up behind your backbone
Needing love and affection
I never stay long where I'm not wanted
Avoiding negative or unwelcoming environments
I fell haunted
Feeling uneasy or scared
Yo brother Where ya gonna go Back to the war zone
Feeling stuck or trapped
If only I knew what i should do, yeah
Uncertainty or confusion
To make you make you love me
Desiring love
I bared my soul to the golden traces
Exposed my true self to someone
went to the forest of the holy places
Seeking spiritual or emotional guidance in nature
And now I wonder
Thinking or contemplating
Am I gonna dig a hole ten feet under
Feeling lost or alone
If only I knew what I should do
Needing direction or guidance
If I only knew what I could do
Desiring clarity
To make you make you happy
Wanting to bring joy to someone
If I only knew what I should do
Needing direction or guidance
If I only knew what I could do to make you make you love me
Desiring love from someone, but feeling unsure how to achieve it
If I only knew what I should do To make you make you love me
Wanting guidance to find love
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: TREVOR HORN, / MEDLESOHN, / NITZE, JOAO GOMES RAPOSO, / WOOLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@00_JK_00
That opening scream freaking slays me every time! 💀💀💀💀
@JohnDoe-du3vq
AKA "The Tom"
@spkanava
94
@mrsvickigriffin
Yes!!! And still sexy as hell!
@rlbrown7664
That's a wale of seduction
@christinebachor6663
❤️🙏🏻😎🎶💥
@lisakeith9359
What a voice! This song is 🔥
@StefanReich
You're an impostor@@TomJones-1
@Bassist4Life123
Just came back from.his concert in Bucharest. He also played this song and him and the band sounded amazing. Really good energy and his voice is still GREAT. He missed like 2 notes the whole gig, im still in shock, a master of his craft
@MrFinnov8
I’d completely forgotten about this classic early 90’s song until I saw Sir Tom live around 20 yrs ago. He sounded the same live as he did on the track. Best singer I’ve ever seen live, by a long way.