The song that Tom Jones attempted to “punch the shit out of”
With his sonorous baritone vocals, magnetic stage presence, and enviable charisma, Tom Jones is a bona fide legend of the highest order.
From humble beginnings in the Welsh mining town Pontypridd, Jones transcended generation divides and captivated audiences on a global scale, even rivalling Elvis Presley. After a formative term fronting the Welsh beat group Tommy Scott and the Senators, he gained national attention with a pivotal signing to Decca Records.
While the King of the Crooners’ first solo single, ‘Chills and Fever’, didn’t chart, his second, ‘It’s Not Unusual’ became an instant classic, reaching number one in the UK and tenth in the US. Though it was released in 1964, ‘It’s Not Unusual’ reached number one in 1965 and set a precedent for the remainder of the year, which would turn out to be the most momentous of Jones’ career.
Jones was primarily a vocalist and lacked confidence in the songwriting department. Fortunately, his vocal abilities attracted some of the era’s most prominent songwriters. Throughout 1965, Jones was approached to provide vocals to two prominent movie themes: the James Bond movie Thunderball and the Woody Allen movie What’s New Pussycat?
For the latter, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Jones delivered one of his most memorable singles. But it was far from easy. Thankfully, the sheened Welshman was such a fan of Bacharach’s esteemed work that he was willing to stick at it and give it everything he had – which turned out to be a hell of a lot.
Despite its eventual success, Jones made his initial hesitancy to record ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ perfectly clear. “When I first heard it, I thought, ‘Christ! What the bloody hell do they want me to sing this for?'” Jones once told Q. Humbly, he hungered for direction from his hero.
“But Burt Bacharach explained, ‘I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song.’ And you put it on, it’s a classic,” Jones added. “It’s sort of a backhanded compliment: ‘I’ve got to have you, but this is the song.'” In essence, ‘anyone with subtlety would struggle with this one’.
But after agreeing to take the song on, keen to work with Bacharach in any capacity, he recalled his approach to the vocals. “I thought, ‘I’m going to punch the shit out of it on ‘What’s New Pussycat?'” Jones remembered. “And Burt said, ‘That’s what I want. It’s a crazy song for a crazy film. … I have to have a voice of authority.”
In an interview with Record Collector, Bacharach explained how the song came together. “It was an instrumental first, and then words were put on it. If it’s got a good melody, it can always fit the lyric,” he explained.
Adding: “I think if you’ve got a theme like ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ and that music comes from watching Peter Sellers and his craziness in that movie, and you’re trying to make it that way and out words to it. Then you get Tom Jones to sing it, you get lucky. Here was a theme, which was basically an instrumental, and if it’s a good melody, you’ll always fit words.”
Now, it resides as an absolute classic. Enough songs are normal; the world needed a crazy one for a change, and Jones delivered it in all of its shimmering, camp glory. It peaked at third in the US charts, further endearing Jones to the masses at a time when some fellow vocalists were falling out of fashion, and it established Bacharach as the finest songwriter of his ilk
