Rise to fame Jones's voice has been described as a "full-throated, robust
baritone". He became the frontman in 1963 for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh
beat group. They soon gained a local following and reputation in
South Wales. In 1964, the group recorded several solo tracks with producer
Joe Meek, who took them to various record labels, but they had little success. Later that year,
Decca producer Peter Sullivan saw Tommy Scott and the Senators performing in a club and directed them to manager
Phil Solomon, but the partnership was short-lived. The group continued playing gigs around South Wales.
Gordon Mills met Jones, became his manager, and introduced him to London, where Mills worked in music. Mills renamed him "Tom Jones", to exploit the popularity of the Academy Award-winning
1963 film. Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with
Decca. His first single, "Chills and Fever", was released in late 1964. It did not chart, but the follow-up, "
It's Not Unusual", became an international
hit after offshore
pirate radio station
Radio Caroline promoted it. The following year was the most prominent of Jones's career, making him one of the most popular vocalists of the
British Invasion. In early 1965, "It's Not Unusual" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States. During 1965, Mills secured a number of film themes for Jones to record, including the
James Bond film
Thunderball, Jones was sceptical about the latter song when first approached about it. He said when it was offered to him, he felt it was "sort of a backhanded compliment: 'I've got to have you, but this is the song. During a filming break at Paramount Studios (1965) in Hollywood, Jones met
Elvis Presley for the first time; he recalls Presley singing, "With These Hands" as he walked towards him from the film set. The two men became good friends. In 1966, Jones's popularity began to slip somewhat, causing Mills to reshape the singer's image into that of a
crooner. Jones also began to sing broader material. He soon topped UK charts and reached the top 40 in US charts. Over the next few years he scored a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including "
I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "I'm Coming Home", and "
Delilah", each of which reached No. 2 in the UK chart.
1967 to 1987 In 1967, Jones performed in
Las Vegas for the first time, at the
Flamingo. His performances and style of dress became part of his stage act, and increasingly featured his open, half-unbuttoned shirts and tight trousers. He soon chose to record less and focus on club performances. Jones played in Las Vegas at least one week each year until 2011. on the television programme
This Is Tom Jones, 1969 Jones had an internationally successful television variety show titled
This Is Tom Jones from 1969 to 1971. The
Associated Television-produced show was worth a reported to Jones over three years. It was broadcast by
ITV in the UK and by the
American Broadcasting Company in the US. As a result of the show, Jones was nominated in 1970 for
a "best actor" Golden Globe. From 1980 to 1981, he had a second television variety show,
Tom Jones, which was produced in
Vancouver, Canada, and lasted 24 episodes. Both television shows were the subject of litigation with the original licence holder
C/F International. , C/F International was a secured judgment creditor of
Classic World Productions and its principal, Darryl Payne, for approximately , and was the principal secured creditor at the time of the subsequent bankruptcy filing by the company. C/F International's action against Classic World Productions and owner Darryl Payne was based on unpaid
royalty payments from
This Is Tom Jones and related recordings.
This Is Tom Jones is sold on DVD by
Time Life rather than by Classic World Productions or C/F International. C/F International's rights to later Tom Jones material were also disputed. In March 2007, Tom Jones and Tom Jones Enterprises sued C/F International to stop the company from licensing sound recordings made from the 1981
Tom Jones series. It was contended that any rights that C/F International had to license the
Tom Jones show did not include the right to make and license separate recordings of the performances on the show, and that any rights that C/F International had in the
Tom Jones show no longer existed because of numerous breaches of contract. Examples of contentious CDs are
Live on the Tom Jones Show, released in 2006, and
Greatest Hits Live, originally issued by C/F International in 1981 and later licensed to and issued by Prism Leisure Corporation as
30 Greatest Hits – Live in Concert. On 26 April 1970,
CBS released the
Raquel Welch television special
Raquel! directed by
David Winters, and Jones is among the guests. performing on
This Is Tom Jones in 1970. In the 1970s, Jones toured with the female singing groups
Quiet Elegance and
the Blossoms as his backing groups. He had a number of hit singles, including "
She's a Lady", "
Till", and "
The Young New Mexican Puppeteer", but in the mid-1970s his popularity declined. He did, however, have a big hit in 1976 with "
Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow", which went to No. 1 on the US country chart, No. 15 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1972, Jones co-starred with
Jennifer O'Neill in David Winters's television special
The Special London Bridge Special. Jones explained that he accepted to do the special because it allowed him to continue doing television without having the confinement of a series. In 1976, Jones was set to make his film debut in the film
Yockowald, in which he was to play a
CIA assassin. The film was shelved after the production ran out of money three weeks into filming. In 1979, Jones made his acting debut in
Pleasure Cove, an
ABC television film which was a pilot for a potential television series but was not picked up. In the film, he played a suave conman named Raymond Gordon staying at the holiday island resort of the title. His co-stars in the film included
Constance Forslund,
Tanya Roberts and
David Hasselhoff. In the early 1980s, Jones started to record country music. From 1980 to 1986, he had nine songs in the US country top 40, yet failed to crack the top 100 in the UK or the
Billboard Hot 100. Jones's manager Gordon Mills died of cancer on 29 July 1986, and Jones's son Mark became his manager.
1990s resurgence Jones received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989, located at 6608
Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, in front of
Frederick's of Hollywood. He collaborated with
Van Morrison on his album
Carrying A Torch, released in 1991 on
Dover Records, featuring Jones's cover of
Morrison's title track. Partly recorded at Townhouse Studios in London, Morrison wrote and produced four songs for the album. In 1992, he made his first appearance at the UK's
Glastonbury Festival, and in 1993 he appeared as himself in episodes of two US sitcoms,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ("
The") and
The Simpsons ("
Marge Gets a Job"). Jones signed with
Interscope Records in 1993 and released the album
The Lead and How to Swing It the following year. The first single, "If I Only Knew", went to No. 11 in the UK. In 1996, Jones appeared as himself in
Tim Burton's ensemble science-fiction comedy film
Mars Attacks!. A scene in the film features him performing on stage when aliens attack and he manages to escape with a gun. In 1999, Jones released the album
Reload, a collection of cover duets with artists such as
the Cardigans,
Natalie Imbruglia,
Cerys Matthews,
Van Morrison,
Mousse T,
Portishead,
Stereophonics and
Robbie Williams. The album went to No. 1 in the UK and sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Five singles from
Reload charted in the UK top 40. The single "
Sex Bomb" was released in early 2000 and became the album's biggest single, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
Into the 21st century US President
Bill Clinton invited Jones to perform on New Year's Eve at the 2000 millennium celebrations in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Jones garnered a number of honours for his work, including a
BRIT Award for Best British Male. He was also hired as the new voice of Australia's
National Rugby League, singing in an advertisement to market the 2000 season. Also that year, he voiced Theme Song Guy in the Disney animated comedy film ''
The Emperor's New Groove, where he sang the song "Perfect World." In 2003, he appeared as himself and sang the theme song of the animated show, Duck Dodgers, based on the 1953 Looney Tunes short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'' starring
Daffy Duck. In 2002, Jones released the album
Mr. Jones, which was produced by Haitian-American rapper
Wyclef Jean. The album and the first single, "Tom Jones International", were top 40 hits in the UK. Jones received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2003. On 28 May 2005, in celebration of his upcoming 65th birthday, Jones returned to his homeland to perform a concert in
Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, before an audience of about 20,000. This was his first performance in Pontypridd since 1964. In 2005, the BBC reported that Jones was Wales's wealthiest entertainer, having amassed a fortune of £175,000,000. Jones collaborated with Australian pop singer
John Farnham in 2005 and released the live album
John Farnham & Tom Jones – Together in Concert. The following year, Jones worked with
Chicane and released the dance track "
Stoned in Love", which went to No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart. After receiving a knighthood, Jones stated: "When you first come into show business and get a hit record, it is the start of something. As time goes by it just gets better. This is the best thing I have had. It's a wonderful feeling, a heady feeling." A boxing fan, Jones has performed national anthems before a number of boxing matches. He sang "
God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom, before the
Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton fight in 2007; he sang "", the Welsh national anthem, at the
Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe fight between fellow Welshman
Joe Calzaghe and
Bernard Hopkins in 2008; and he sang "God Save the Queen" before the
Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight in 2009. In 2008, he released
24 Hours on
S-Curve Records, his first album of new material to be issued in the United States for over 15 years. Jones, who was still performing over 200 dates a year as he approached his seventieth birthday, set out on a world tour to promote the album. "The fire is still in me. Not to be an oldie, but a goodie. I want to be a contender", Jones said. Also in 2008, Jones was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. On 16 November 2008, he was invited to perform on BBC's
Strictly Come Dancing; he performed the debut single from
24 Hours, "If He Should Ever Leave You", which was named the ninth-best song of 2008 by
Spinner. One of the songs from
24 Hours, "Give a Little Love", would later be featured in the first trailer for the 2010 comedy film,
Little Fockers. In March 2009, Jones went to the top of the UK Music Charts for the third time in his career with a cover of "
Islands in the Stream", sung with
Ruth Jones,
Rob Brydon and
Robin Gibb, who co-wrote the original with his brothers
Barry and
Maurice. The record, which was inspired by the song's having featured in the BBC's hit sitcom
Gavin & Stacey, was released in aid of
Comic Relief and reached No. 1 in March 2009. This was his first UK chart topper since "Green, Green Grass of Home" in 1967, setting a new record of 42 years between two UK number ones; this record would be surpassed by
Kate Bush when "
Running Up That Hill" topped the charts in 2022, a 44-year gap between number ones.
2010–2020 ,
Anaheim, 2009 Jones's album
Praise & Blame was released on 26 July 2010. The album, consisting primarily of gospel and blues songs, included covers of songs by
Bob Dylan,
John Lee Hooker and
Billy Joe Shaver, and featured guest musicians such as
Booker T. On 7 June 2010, which was Jones's seventieth birthday, the single "Burning Hell", a cover of the John Lee Hooker song from the
Praise & Blame album, was released. In July 2010, it was reported that David Sharpe, vice-president of
Island Records (to whom Jones had moved, from
EMI, for £1.5m in October 2009), had told his colleagues over email to "pull back this project immediately or get my money back" and asked whether the spiritually themed record had been a "sick joke". Jones later strongly criticised Sharpe and said that he was furious about the leaked email. In July 2010 Jones appeared on the penultimate episode of
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and performed "Burning Hell". In August 2010,
Praise & Blame debuted at No. 2 on the UK album chart. By 2010 Jones had sold a total of over 100 million records. On 11 September 2010 Jones performed for an audience of 50,000 at the
Help for Heroes charity concert at
Twickenham Stadium performing "
Strange Things Are Happening Every Day" and his hit "
Green, Green Grass of Home". On 22 September, Jones appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman at the
Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. In May 2011 Jones appeared as a guest vocalist on the debut album
Let Them Talk by
Hugh Laurie. On 15 May 2011, he appeared alongside Laurie in the UK
ITV series
Perspectives, singing music from the album in
New Orleans. On 25 May 2011, he appeared on
American Idol after a medley of his hits performed by the American Idol "Top 13". Jones released a single on 19 March 2012, produced by former
White Stripes frontman
Jack White, called
Evil. The single was first made available through independent record shops in 7" vinyl format on 5 March. An exclusive
three-coloured vinyl was also sold at only one shop –
Spillers Records in
Cardiff. The shop, which Jones visited as a boy, was founded in 1894 and is listed in
Guinness World Records as the world's oldest record shop. Jones experienced a resurgence in notability in the 2010s due to his coaching role on the BBC talent show
The Voice UK from 2012 (with the exception of 2016). In March 2012 he became a coach on the show and was joined by
will.i.am,
Jessie J and
Danny O'Donoghue. He mentored
Leanne Mitchell to win the first series. Jones returned to coach in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In August 2015, it was announced that Jones's contract with the show would not be renewed and that he would be replaced by
Boy George. Jones criticised BBC executives for "sub-standard behaviour", having not consulted with him and informing him only 24 hours before the official announcement. in
Turku, Finland, 2012 In May 2012 Jones released the album
Spirit in the Room on
Island Records/
Universal Music. The track listing included covers of songs by
Paul McCartney,
Paul Simon,
Leonard Cohen and
Richard and Linda Thompson,
Blind Willie Johnson,
Tom Waits and
the Low Anthem. Also in May, he starred in a one-off television drama titled "King of the Teds" which aired on
Sky Arts as part of a series of standalone teleplays for
Playhouse Presents. On 4 June Jones performed at the Queen's
Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of
Buckingham Palace, singing "Delilah" and "
Mama Told Me Not to Come". On 18 August Jones performed a fifty-minute set at the
V Festival's Weston Park site in
Staffordshire. On 9 September 2012, Jones headlined at
BBC Radio 2's Live in Hyde Park festival. In May 2014 Jones opened for
Morrissey at a special show in the United States. On 27 September 2014, Jones performed at the
Australian Football League's pre-game entertainment for the
2014 Grand Final along with
Ed Sheeran. In September 2015 Jones announced the long-awaited release of his album
Long Lost Suitcase, on 9 October, through Virgin/EMI. The album was the last in a trilogy, following
Praise & Blame (2010) and
Spirit in the Room (2012). The track titles are included in chapters of Jones' autobiography
Over the Top and Back which was released at the same time. The album was produced by
Ethan Johns and included songs by
Gillian Welch,
the Rolling Stones,
Hank Williams and
the Milk Carton Kids. In November 2015 Jones appeared, alongside
Rob Brydon, in a special 90-minute show, from the
SSE Arena, Wembley, for BBC's
Children in Need. In December 2015 he appeared on the BBC's ''
Jools' Annual Hootenanny'', on duetting with
Paul Weller. In 2017 Jones returned to
The Voice as a coach for
series 6, his fifth year on the show. In
series 7,
Ruti Olajugbagbe picked Jones as her coach and together they made it all the way to the finale, where Olajugbagbe was announced as the series 7 winner. In 2018 he embarked on a live summer tour, which was planned to run from 1 May to 11 August. In July, however, many shows were cancelled due to sickness or bad weather. In 2020 Jones again appeared on the BBC's ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny'', broadcast on New Year's Eve, on which he duetted with Jools Holland and with
Celeste.
2021–present In January 2021 Jones announced
Surrounded by Time, his fourth covers album to be produced by Ethan Johns, alongside the release of a new single, his rendition of
Todd Snider's "Talking Reality Television Blues". In March he appeared on
Later... with Jools Holland where he sang "I'm Growing Old" from that album. The album was released on 23 April. On 17 and 18 June 2022 Jones appeared at the
Principality Stadium in Cardiff alongside
Stereophonics, whose Saturday concert was broadcast live on
BBC Two. On 3 September 2022, Jones performed "I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall", taken from his
Surrounded by Time album, on
The Voice UK. After the performance, Jones explained the meaning behind the song: "My wife, she was dying of lung cancer [...] I was always able to fix stuff, I was always able to do things, if she needed me for anything I was always there, but she said 'you can't crumble with me, don't fall with me now, you've done everything you can, you must carry on and do what you do' [...] When I heard it I thought, 'My God it's like this was written for this situation'. It's a lovely song." Within 24 hours, the song had peaked on the UK iTunes chart at number 1. The song debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart on 9 September 2022. During the
series 11 blind auditions of Jones' tenth year on
The Voice UK, the first contestant was
Anthonia Edwards, who received a 4-chair turn from the coaches. Edwards chose Jones as her coach, and, on 29 October 2022, was announced as the winner of series 11, making Jones the first coach to mentor 3 winners on
The Voice UK. ==Personal life==