Born Thomas Jones Woodward on 7th June 1940 in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, Tom Jones is as synonymous with Wales as daffodils, coal and leeks.

Tom Jones sang from an early age; he was a member of his school choir, and he often sang at family gatherings. After leaving school with no qualifications, he joined a local beat group - Tommy Scott and The Senators - in 1963. Often performing in black leather, Tom Jones soon gained recognition in South Wales. However, The Senators were still unheard of in London.

The band recorded seven tracks with the legendary producer Joe Meek, but true to form, Meek refused to release the tapes. Tom Jones and the Senators returned to the Working Men’s Clubs and Dance Halls of South Wales, and it was in such a venue that London-based manager Gordon Mills spotted Tom Jones. Mills became Tom Jones’ manager, and managed to get him signed to the renowned Decca label.

Tom Jones’ first single Chills and Fever failed to chart when it was released in late 1964, but the following year, his next record It’s Not Unusual was a smash; hitting the number 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 of the US Billboard Chart. 1965 ended with Tom Jones being awarded the ‘Grammy Award for Best New Artist’. A year later, his cover version of The Green, Green Grass of Home spent seven weeks at number 1 in the UK.

Tom Jones’ first international performance was at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Club in 1967. His performance at New York’s Copacabana Nightclub the following year saw him confronted by a swooning, screaming, knicker-throwing female horde. This marked the beginning of Tom Jones’ concentration on lucrative club performances, rather than on recording albums.

CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE UNIQUE TOM JONES VIDEOS

The 1970s provided Tom Jones with multiple successes, including the records Daughter of Darkness, The New Mexican Puppeteer and She’s a Lady. He also starred in a number of variety shows on American television, including ‘This is Tom Jones’ and ‘The Tom Jones Show’. However - despite these numerous triumphs - his popularity began to wane towards the end of the decade. The 1985 single A Boy From Nowhere reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, and his cover of Prince’s Kiss (which charted at number 5) went some way to reintroduce Jones back into the public consciousness. His comeback truly arrived with the 1999 release of Reload, a selection of duets with several other high-profile artists including The Pretenders, Robbie Williams and Van Morrison. In 2000, Tom Jones was invited by the then president of United States Bill Clinton to perform at the Millennium celebrations at Washington D.C. That same year, Jones was presented with the BRIT award for ‘Best Male’.

He celebrated his 65th birthday in 2005. To mark the occasion, he performed a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd (his first performance in his hometown since 1964), which saw a musical legend returning to where it all began.

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS GREAT TOM JONES MERCHANDISE HERE

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com 

Why Not Check Out:

Elvis Presley

Van Morrison

Crispian St Peter

Blood On The Tracks

A Bit Of Tom Jones

Crispian St. Peters was a well known 1960s pop singer, who had major success with his hit singles "The Pied Piper", and "You Were on my Mind"

Born Robin Peter Smith on 5th April, 1939 in Kent, England. St. Peter's started his career with several unknown bands including the Hard Travellers, Beat Formula Three, The Country Gentleman and Peter & the Wolves. In 1964 St. Peters signed to Decca Records and released "You Were On My Mind” which went to number 2 in the UK charts. St.Peters made an enemy of the press and public alike when he claimed he had written better songs than The Beatles, was sexier then Dave Berry and better than Tom Jones. He said his comments were meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE UNIQUE CRISPIAN ST. PETERS VIDEOS

Later in 1966, St. Peters' "The Pied Piper" soared into the Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic, and, with its infectious chorus and beat and flute ornamentation, seemed to captured the glow of the pre-psychedelic era. It proved to be the last of his successes, however, a fact that can only be explained, in part, by the controversy surrounding his statements. There was something bizarre and off-putting seeing his name attributed to statements announcing that The Beatles "are past it." His sound was also strangely inconsistent, crossing between upbeat folk-rock and brooding ballads -- he could sound like an aspiring rival to Tom Jones, but on a number like "Your Love Has Come," reached for a high register that made him seem more like an aspiring Tiny Tim. His folk-rock inclinations were also undone by numbers like the pre-Beatles British beat-style "Jilly Honey," complete with ornamentation that sounds like a honking sax (or is it a fuzz-bass?). In fairness, he did have the wisdom to record a rocked-up version of Phil Ochs' "Changes," but it was still difficult to tell whether St. Peters was trying to be Tom Jones, half of Peter and Gordon, a pop version of Donovan, or a mid-'60s version of Marty Wilde.

Even though Crispian only had three successful singles, he released new material with Square records throughout the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately it was not as good as his previous work.

A major stroke in 1995 saw the end of his music career when he announced his retirement. He eventually died in June 2010 after a long battle with illness.

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

Why Not Check Out:

Elvis Presley

The Beatles

Tom Jones

Top 10 Beatles Covers

Rokpool's Official Merchandise Store