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| Birth Name(s) : Thomas Jones Woodward |
Date of Birth: June 7, 1940 |
| Status:
Married
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Partner:
Linda Trenchard |
| Profession:
Actor/Musician |
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Full Tom Jones Biography
| Born in Pontypridd, South Wales in 1940 to a traditional coal-mining family, he began singing at an early age in church and in the school choir. Left school at 16 and was married with a son a year later. He brought in money for his family from an assortment of jobs, singing in pubs at night. By 1963 he was playing regularly with his own group in the demanding atmosphere of working mens clubs. Gordon Mills, a performer who had branched out into songwriting and management went to see him. He became his manager and landed him a record contract in 1964. They made a great team and had huge international success with their second single, a song penned by Mr Mills - "It's Not Unusual". An avalanche of gold singles and albums followed. Mr Jones, a vocal powerhouse, has sustained his popularity for over three decades and his recordings have spanned the spectrum of musical styles. Now lives with his wife Melinda in homes in Wales and California. |
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Additional Tom Jones Biography
Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, OBE, (born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh popular music singer particularly noted for his powerful voice spanning several octaves. He was born in Treforest, Pontypridd, near Cardiff in South Wales.
In 1963 he became the frontman for Tommy Scott and The Senators, a local beat group. Clad in black leather, he soon gained a reputation in the South Wales area, although the Senators were still unknown 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 that 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.
The single didn't chart, but the follow-up, It's Not Unusual, (co-written by Les Reed), was an instant 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 1 the song reached number one in the UK and the top ten in America. In the same year, Jones sang the theme song 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.
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 and 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.This is Tom Jones 1969 TV series starring Tom Jones released on DVD by Time Life, Inc.™ 2007
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.
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.Music sample:
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.
The singer was awarded an OBE in 1999 and a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Years Honors list for his services to music, and was subsequently knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London on March 29, 2006.
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.
In 1974, Jones moved to the United States, buying the mansion formerly belonging to Dean Martin in Bel-Air, Los Angeles.
Despite publicized infidelities, including an affair with the dethroned Miss World of 1973, USA's Marjorie Wallace, and a one night stand with Cassandra Peterson a.k.a. Elvira, in which he claimed her virginity, he has remained married to the same woman for 50 years. One of his dalliances with a fan produced a love child, Jonathan Berkery, born June 27th, 1988. He lost a paternity suit when DNA testing proved to be positive.
He has two grandchildren, Emma and Alexander Woodward. Alexander competed in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, representing Wales as a full-bore marksman.
Peter Jones: "Tom Jones: Biography of a Great Star" (Avon Publishing, 1970 (1st edition), 1971) ASIN 0213002477
Roger St. Pierre: "Tom Jones - Quote Unquote" (Parragon Book Service, LTD. publishers, Great Britain, 1996) ISBN 0-7525-1696-5
Chris Roberts: "Tom Jones" (1st edition) (Virgin Books, 1999 an imprint of Virgin Publishing Limited) ISBN 1-85227-846-3
Lucy Ellis, Bryony Sutherland: "Tom Jones: Close Up" (Omnibus Press, 2000) ISBN 0-7119-7549-3 (Hc) ISBN 0-7119-8645-2 (Pb)
Robin Eggar: "Tom Jones - The Biography" (1st edition) (Headline Book Publishing, 2000) ISBN 0-7472-7578-5 |
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