The song Tom Jones claims saved his career: “It was a busting hit”
In the 1960s, as The Beatles made their presence felt across the world, they left just enough room for a star from Wales to grab the limelight and take a stronghold on charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Tom Jones may not have written his own songs, but thanks to unique baritone vocals, he soared with a string of early singles that transcended generation divides.
Although Jones’ 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 breaking the top ten in the US. The single arrived in 1964 but didn’t reach number one until the following year, which proved among his career’s most successful.
When you have a voice like Jones’, you don’t need the songwriting knack of the Lennon-McCartney partnership. He was lucky enough, instead, to have some of the decade’s esteemed songwriters knocking at his door. In 1965, Jones provided vocals to two prominent movie themes: the James Bond movie Thunderball and Woody Allen’s What’s New Pussycat? For the latter, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Jones recorded one of his most iconic singles.
In 1966, Jones maintained his form with a recording of Claude “Curly” Putman Jr’s ‘Green, Green Grass of Home’ which became a number-one hit around the world. Subsequently, the immortal classics ‘Delilah’ and ‘She’s a Lady’ ensured a salubrious run into the 1970s.
Like most recording artists, Jones encountered a dry spell. It occurred in the late 1970s and ’80s, a period of dramatic change in the music industry. As the punk and subsequent post-punk and synth-pop waves ensued, Jones’ hit streak withered under the light while he made his first foray into acting. Following a debut appearance in the ABC television film Pleasure Cove in 1979, he guest starred in the series Fantasy Island in 1984.
These minor roles could be seen as keeping up appearances. At the time, Jones lacked inspiration for his singing career and decided to record country music for a change of scenery in the early 1980s. Between 1980 and ’86, he managed to get nine top 40 singles in the US country chart but failed to break back into the top 100 in the UK or US.
In 1987, the tides began to turn with ‘A Boy from Nowhere’, which reached number two in the UK. The comeback reached its pinnacle the following year with Jones’ immensely popular cover of Prince’s 1986 hit ‘Kiss’. The Welsh singer recorded the track in collaboration with the synth-pop band Art of Noise, showing his willingness to move with the trends.
Jones’ Prince cover reached number five in the UK but more importantly, reached the top 40 in the US in a successful return to form. In a 2008 conversation with The Guardian, Jones picked out some of his favourite songs of all time. When discussing Prince’s ‘Kiss’, he described it as a career-saving song.
Jones recalled that he was due on the Jonathan Ross show in 1987 to perform ‘A Boy From Nowhere’. Ross requested that he sing “something upbeat” as well. “My philosophy has always been: when in doubt, do ‘Great Balls of Fire’. But Jonathan asked if I had anything new,” he recalled. “Art of Noise were watching and they asked if I’d do a version with them. When they sent me the finished version, I thought: ‘If this isn’t a hit, I’ll bloody well pack it all in.’ It was a busting hit.”
Fortunately, Jones didn’t pack it in and has since maintained a varied and successful career of sporadic hits, such as 1999’s ‘Sex Bomb’, and frequent tours. He also enjoyed a resurgence of popularity during the 2010s as he joined the coaching panel on The Voice UK.
