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."
You Can Leave Your Hat On
Tom Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby take off your shoes
I'll help you take off your shoes
Baby, take off your dress, yes yes yes
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
Go on over there turn on the light
No, all the lights
Come back here stand on that chair
Ooh baby, that's right
Raise your arms in the air
Ooh ooh ooh, now shake 'em
You give me reason to live
You give me reason to live
You give me reason to live
You give me reason to live
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on baby
(You can leave your hat on)
Suspicious minds are talkin'
They're tryin' to tear us apart
(They don't believe in this love of mine)
They don't know what love is
(They don't know what love is)
(They don't know what love is)
(They don't know what love is)
I know what love is
(You can leave your hat on, leave it on)
Tell me baby
(You can leave your hat on)
(Leave it on, leave it on baby)
Gotta hear it again
(You can leave your hat on)
(yeah on, leave it on yeah)
You can leave your hat on, yeah
The song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Tom Jones is a sultry and suggestive track that was first released on his 1987 album "Reload." The lyrics of the song are quite direct and suggest stripping, with lines like "Baby take off your dress, yes yes yes" and "Baby take off your coat, real slow." The singer in the song wants their partner to disrobe and leave their hat on, emphasizing the eroticism of the act.
The lyrics also suggest a sort of performative aspect to the strip-tease, with the singer directing their partner to turn on all the lights and stand on a chair. The lyrics "Raise your arms in the air Ooh ooh ooh, now shake 'em" further indicate that the undressing is meant to be a visual display. As the song progresses, the lyrics "You give me reason to live" repeatedly appear, suggesting that the stripping is an act of desire and passion between the two partners.
Overall, the song is an ode to the eroticism of the strip-tease, with the lyrics emphasizing the performative and visual aspects of the act as well as its ability to ignite desire and passion in the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby take off your coat, real slow
Please undress slowly, let's enjoy the moment
Baby take off your shoes
Take off your shoes, relax and make yourself comfortable
I'll help you take off your shoes
Let me assist you in removing your shoes, I want you to feel at ease
Baby, take off your dress, yes yes yes
Please remove your dress too, as we get more intimate
You can leave your hat on
You can keep your hat on if you want to, it's sexy and adds to the moment
You can leave your hat on, You can leave your hat on, You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on, please leave it on if you like it, it's turning me on
(You can leave your hat on)
You can keep your hat on if you want to, let's continue with the moment
Go on over there turn on the light
Walk over there and turn on the light, I want to see you in all your beauty
No, all the lights
Turn on all the lights, let nothing be hidden
Come back here stand on that chair
Come back here and stand on that chair, let yourself be seen from every angle
Ooh baby, that's right
Yeah baby, you're doing great, keep it up
Raise your arms in the air
Lift up your arms, show me all of you
Ooh ooh ooh, now shake 'em
Yes, that's it, shake them, you look great
You give me reason to live
You give me a motive to keep going, to keep living
You give me reason to live
You give me a motive to keep going, to keep living
You give me reason to live
You give me a motive to keep going, to keep living
You give me reason to live
You give me a motive to keep going, to keep living
(You can leave your hat on)
You can keep your hat on if you want to, it's making this moment even more exciting
You can leave your hat on baby
Please keep your hat on baby, it's driving me crazy
(You can leave your hat on)
You can keep your hat on if you want to, let's continue with this moment
Suspicious minds are talkin'
People with distrustful minds are spreading rumors
They're tryin' to tear us apart
They're trying to break us apart and ruin our relationship
(They don't believe in this love of mine)
They don't believe in our love story, but it doesn't matter as long as we're together
They don't know what love is
They are clueless and ignorant about what true love is
(They don't know what love is)
They really don't understand love and what it means
(They don't know what love is)
They are completely unaware of love and its power
(They don't know what love is)
They lack the knowledge and experience to appreciate what love truly means
I know what love is
I know what true love means, and nothing can compromise that
(You can leave your hat on, leave it on)
You can keep your hat on if you want to, it's making this encounter even more exciting
Tell me baby
Please share with me, what's on your mind?
(You can leave your hat on)
You can keep your hat on if you want to, let's continue with this exciting encounter
(Leave it on, leave it on baby)
Please leave your hat on, it's making everything even more beautiful
Gotta hear it again
I want to hear you say it again, it makes me feel amazing
(You can leave your hat on)
You can keep your hat on, let's keep this moment going
(yeah on, leave it on yeah)
Yes, keep your hat on, let's enjoy this moment together
You can leave your hat on, yeah
Please keep your hat on, it's driving me wild
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Randy Newman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matheus Cardoso
Baby, take off your coat
Real slow
And take off your shoes
I'll take off your shoes
Baby, take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
Go over there
Turn on the lights
All the lights
Come over here
Stand on that chair
Yeah, that's right
Raise your arms up in the air
And now shake 'em
Now give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
Sweet darling
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on, baby
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
(You can leave your hat on)
Suspicious minds are talkin'
They're tryna tear us apart
They don't believe in this love of mine
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
Yeah, I know what love is
Put it my way
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on now
Free world
(You can leave your hat on)
Heaven is the reason to live
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
Darlin' just don't
Emily Dill
He loves what he does, and is so good at it.
Giovanna Libanora
Really wonderful performance Sir Tom Jones!
Kathy Foley
Love him hes still got it amazing voice. He'll always be Sir Tom Jones. Only wish he'd come back to the USA!!! We love you
Debby Helm
Omg TOM what a voice ❤ Seen him live here in LIVERPOOL hes fantastic.!!! ❤❤❤ Everyone was up dancing ❤❤
Rosy N
Really love this amazing song and for sure Tom Jones too, Oh Yeah ❤️❤️❤️
Matheus Cardoso
Baby, take off your coat
Real slow
And take off your shoes
I'll take off your shoes
Baby, take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
Go over there
Turn on the lights
All the lights
Come over here
Stand on that chair
Yeah, that's right
Raise your arms up in the air
And now shake 'em
Now give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
Sweet darling
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on, baby
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
(You can leave your hat on)
Suspicious minds are talkin'
They're tryna tear us apart
They don't believe in this love of mine
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
Yeah, I know what love is
Put it my way
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on now
Free world
(You can leave your hat on)
Heaven is the reason to live
(You can leave your hat on)
You can leave your hat on
Darlin' just don't
Ingrid Clarke
A favorite song & done very well Sir Tom Jones!
joneswoodward11
THE BEST 🎵 SIR TOM JONES 🎤 BRILLANTE MAESTRO
Esthela Barrera
El cantante más grande, guapo, sexy, varonil y carismático que ha pisado y sigue pisando los más variados escenarios de este ancho mundo. Tom we love you!
Birgit Groß-Probst
❤🎉❤