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Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, OBE, (born 7 June 1940 ), known by his stage name '''Tom Jones''', is a Grammy Award -winning Welsh Popular Music singer particularly noted for his powerful voice. He was born in Treforest , Pontypridd , near Cardiff in South Wales . EARLY LIFE The son of coal miner Thomas Woodward (died 5 October 1981), and Freda Jones (died 7 February 2003, of cancer), Jones began singing at an early age. He'd regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings and also sang in his school choir. He was struck down by Tuberculosis and bedridden for almost a year. It was a critical time for him, but he could do little else but listen to music and draw. At the age of sixteen Jones left Treforest Secondary School with no qualifications and took a variety of jobs including a builder's laborer and a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. MUSICAL CAREER Tom Jones 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 has become in subsequent years. In 1963 he became the Frontman for Tommy Scott and The Senators, a local beat group. Clad all in black leather, he soon gained a reputation in the South Wales area. The Senators were still unheard of in London . In 1964 they laid down seven tracks with maverick '' Telstar '' producer Joe Meek , and took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal, with no success. The plan was to release a Single , ''Lonely Joe/I Was A Fool'', but the ever-flighty Meek refused to release the tapes. Only after ''It's Not Unusual'' became a massive hit, Meek was able to sell the tapes to Tower (USA) and Columbia (UK). The group returned to South Wales and continued to play gigs at dance halls and working men's clubs. One night, at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Jones was spotted by Gordon Mills , a London-based manager originally from South Wales. Mills became Jones' manager, and took the young singer to London . He also renamed him ''Tom Jones'', an ingenious moniker which not only linked the singer to the image of the title character - a good-looking, low-born stud - portrayed in Tony Richardson's film of Fielding's Tom Jones which was a huge contemporary hit, but also subtly emphasized his nationality. Gordon Mills gave many rock stars their stage names, among them Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold George Dorsey). The Senators became the Playboys, and later still the Squires. It was the beginning of the second phase in Jones' career. Record companies were finding his style and delivery to be too abrasive and raw. Jones' vocals were considered to be too raucous, and he moved like Elvis . But eventually, Decca rekindled their early interest, and Jones recorded his first single, ''Chills And Fever'' in late 1964 . The single didn't chart, but the follow-up, '' It's Not Unusual '', (co-written by Les Reed ), was an instant smash hit, released in early 1965 . Initially the BBC refused to play it, but an offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline , picked it up. Its orchestrated arrangement coupled with Jones' energetic delivery proved infectious, and by March 1st the song reached number one in the UK and the top ten in America. In the same year, Jones sang the theme tune to the James Bond film '' Thunderball ''. Jones was awarded the Grammy Award For Best New Artist for 1965 . In 1966 Jones' popularity began to slip somewhat, causing Mills to redesign the singer's image into a more respectable, mature tuxedoed Crooner . Inspired by long-time influence Jerry Lee Lewis' country version, Jones released his most successful single ever, '' Green Green Grass Of Home '' (written by Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. in 1965), and began to sing material that appealed to a broad audience, as well as a string of hit singles and albums including ''What's New Pussycat?'', ''Help Yourself'' and ''Delilah''. The strategy worked, as he returned to the top of the charts in the UK and began hitting the Top 40 again in the U.S. In 1967 he performed for the first time in Las Vegas , at The Flamingo . In 1968 , starting at New York's Copacabana night club, women would swoon and scream, and some would throw their Knickers on stage. Soon after, he began to play Las Vegas , where he began recording less, choosing to concentrate on his lucrative club performances. At Caesar's Palace his shows were traditionally a knicker-hurling frenzy of raw sexual tension and good-time entertainment. There, they started throwing hotel room keys. Jones and Elvis became good friends, spending time together in Las Vegas. They had a friendship that would endure until Presley's death in 1977 . '' 1969 TV series starring Tom Jones released on DVD by Time Life, Inc.™ 2007 ]] Jones had an internationally successful television variety show from 1969-1971 titled '', Till and The New Mexican Puppeteer'' were all hits in the UK . On July 29 , 1986 , Gordon Mills, Jones' long-time manager, died of Cancer . Jones' son Mark became the singer's manager. In April 1987 the singer re-entered the singles chart again. With the hit '' A Boy From Nowhere '' Tom got back in the public eye. A few months later he performed a version of Prince 's '' Kiss '', and recorded it with The Art Of Noise , and it was an instant hit. In 1993 he signed to Interscope Records , releasing the album ''The Lead And How To Swing It'', and his profile was raised with a younger audience by a powerful performance at the Glastonbury Festival . In 1998 he performed a medley of songs from the film '' The Full Monty '' with Robbie Williams at the BRIT Awards . That same year, Space and Cerys Matthews released ''The Ballad Of Tom Jones''. In 1999 he recorded the blockbuster album '' Reload '', a collection of duets with some of the year's brightest stars, which brought him back into the limelight. On New Year's Eve 2000 President Bill Clinton invited him to perform at the Millennium Celebrations in Washington . Throughout 2000, Jones garnered several honors for his work, including a BRIT Award for Best Male. In 2001 he toured throughout the Middle East and Europe . In subsequent years he recorded albums in collaboration with such artists as Wyclef Jean and Jools Holland . In celebration of his 65th birthday, on 28 May 2005 Jones returned to his homeland to perform a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd . This was his first performance in Pontypridd since 1964. His early hits include:
Jones' recording career slumped on the pop charts during the seventies and eighties, although he placed sixteen 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 as listed below:
His '', 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 US club hit. 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.
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