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."
Promise Her Anything
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A things that you can never get
Still every now and then
Maybe she'll complain a bit
Because she feels upset
She only wants you to tell her
That you love her
Turn Winter into Spring
Promise her anything
She's dreaming of
Promise her anything
She will be happy
If she only gets your love
She had a lot of dreams
And you can make them all come true
'Cause all she really wants
Is to know you care for her
The way she cares for you
So why not promise her ruby
Even diamonds
She'd trade them all for
A plain golden wedding ring
Promise her anything
She's dreaming of
Promise her anything
She will be happy
If she only gets your love
Oh, you can promise her the moon
When the sun is bright
And promise her the sun
When you're out at night
Promise her the world and promise her
Every wish is your command
And you'll discover soon
She doesn't want the moon, just love will do
Promise her anything
But don't you ever let her
Get away from you
Oh, you can promise her the moon
When the sun is bright
And promise her the sun
When you're out at night
Promise her the world and promise her
Every wish is your command
And you'll discover soon
She doesn't want the moon, just love will do
Promise her anything
But don't you ever let her
Get away from you
The lyrics to Tom Jones's "Promise Her Anything" express that the woman in the song does not care about material possessions and fame, nor does she want extravagance or grand gestures. Instead, she only desires to know that she is loved and cared for. The opening lines suggest that the man in the song has trouble understanding this, mistakenly believing that buying her expensive gifts or promising her things he can't give her is what she wants. The woman's occasional complaints, despite not being materialistic, could be rooted in her need for reassurance and validation from her partner.
The central message of the song is that a person only needs love and affection to be happy. The line "all she really wants is to know you care for her, the way she cares for you" illustrates this perfectly; the woman simply wants her love to be reciprocated. The lyrics "promise her anything, she's dreaming of / Promise her anything, she will be happy / If she only gets your love" repeat throughout, emphasizing that this is the only thing that matters.
Overall, "Promise Her Anything" is a reminder that love and commitment are more valuable than material possessions, and that a relationship can only succeed with mutual affection and support.
Line by Line Meaning
She doesn't really want
The person being referred to is not asking for anything extravagant.
A things that you can never get
They only want things that can be easily achieved.
Still every now and then
Occasionally, however,
Maybe she'll complain a bit
They may express disappointment,
Because she feels upset
Because they feel dejected.
She only wants you to tell her
The only thing they want from you is to hear you say
That you love her
that you love them.
So if she wants you to
Therefore, if they desire you to
Turn Winter into Spring
transform winter into spring,
Promise her anything
Assure them of anything that they want.
She's dreaming of
Which, in turn, is what they are hoping for.
She will be happy
This will make them content.
If she only gets your love
All they require is your love.
She had a lot of dreams
They have many aspirations.
And you can make them all come true
You have the power to make every one of their dreams a reality.
'Cause all she really wants
Because what they want more than anything else
Is to know you care for her
is to realize that you love them.
The way she cares for you
Just like the way they care for you.
So why not promise her ruby
So, why not pledge them a ruby
Even diamonds
or even a diamond
She'd trade them all for
They wouldn't mind giving it up in exchange for
A plain golden wedding ring
a simple golden wedding band.
Oh, you can promise her the moon
You could even assure them of the moon,
When the sun is bright
during the daytime,
And promise her the sun
You could also promise them the sun
When you're out at night
when the night has fallen.
Promise her the world and promise her
You could guarantee them the world and assure them
Every wish is your command
That every want and desire they have will be granted.
And you'll discover soon
And before long, you will realize
She doesn't want the moon, just love will do
that they do not require anything extravagant, just your affection.
Promise her anything
Make promises for anything their heart desires.
But don't you ever let her
But, never let them
Get away from you
Spend your time without them.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURT BACHARACH, HAL DAVID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind