Was Tom Jones secretly a rocker at heart?
It almost doesn’t feel right to classify Tom Jones as a singer. It feels a bit like calling Martin Scorsese a camera operator or Elvis Presley a dancer. It’s technically true, but it doesn’t come close to summing up any of those men in their entirety because Tom Jones was less a singer and more of a showman, a one-man entertainment powerhouse who was consistently popular for well over half a century by now.
However, at his core he is a singer, and what a voice he has. Seriously, it seems strange to say it but the man’s pipes are generational. His key instrument capable of everything gravelly gravitas to unwaveringly pretty pop crooning. Sure, he may have stayed in his Vegas crooner lane for the vast majority of his career, but nonetheless, his is still the kind of voice that lends itself to music across all ends of the spectrum.
One can see this if you look at the sheer number of people he’s collaborated with. This is a man who has released singles with the likes of Van Morrison, New Model Army, The Cardigans and Robbie Williams. Like any good pop star should, he’s able to fit himself into any context he’s needed in, but that still won’t convince reactionaries that stubbornly refuse to see him as anything other than a Royal Variety Performance mainstay.
Especially when getting him in any context that rocks, you can see where they’re coming from as well, releasing a single with Stereophonics doesn’t exactly scream rock credentials. However, this was a man who was inspired to sing by being a die-hard Elvis Presley fan and one video in particular proves his rock credentials better than any Kelly Jones duet ever could.
How does Tom Jones prove his worth as a rocker?
By 1969, Jones’ fame had seen him secure a prime time variety show on ABC called This Is Tom Jones. If you ignore the spectacularly dated comedy and focus just on the musical acts assembled for the show, it’s a pretty damn excellent YouTube rabbit hole to fall down. Lulu, The Who, Cass Elliot, Chet Atkins, Stevie Wonder, and that’s just in the first series.
Jones himself joins in on a number of the performances and carries himself admirably. However, it’s in the second series where we get living proof that Tom Jones was a rock star trapped in a pop star’s career. It comes in an episode where he’s joined by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Rather than play the hushed, close harmony folk music they’re known for, they strap on their axes, send Tom up front and go hell-for-leather.
From Jones’ very first earth-shaking “It’s been a loooooooong time comin'”, it’s clear that this is the kind of music that Jones longs to play. He’s an absolute natural at it, and by the looks of it, nobody seems to be more convinced of this fact than David Crosby, who looks at Jones like he’s just fallen head over heels in love with the man. Honestly, can’t fault his taste.
Honestly, the set still rocks like an absolute bastard over half a century after its original airdate. If all you know of Jones is the suited, booted, ‘What’s New Pussycat’ crooner, then give it a whirl. Then weep for what could have been.
