Tom Jones International

In an effort to reorganize a corner of the storage room in my basement, I recently came across a magazine that brought back a flood of memories. Just one glance at the cover made me remember the exact moment I became a Tom Jones fan. Here is my story. I call it How Elvis Introduced Me to Tom Jones.

Being born only in 1957, most people thought I was too young to be an Elvis Presley fan, but I was. It’s hard to explain why, but maybe it was because I was an only child and wished for an older brother to look out for me. Elvis had a friendly smile and seemed to be the brotherly type in the movie Blue Hawaii, while looking after the girls tour group. He was my first crush as I got older, and to me there was no one else above him.

Meanwhile, I had become aware of a new singer on the radio and TV named Tom Jones. I thought his name was plain and boring, not flashy and different like Elvis Presley. He sang some silly song about a pussycat that made older girls scream. In my youthful mind, I made up allowances to justify a song about a hound dog as being much more significant. I had to admit that I did not like this Tom guy at all, or all the attention he was getting. Girls should not scream and cry for some guy from Wales (where ever that was) over our home grown hero Elvis. I was certain that Elvis considered him a rival, and just hated him.

The year was 1969 and I was 12 years old. One of my summer activities included riding my bike to the local pharmacy with friends to buy penny candy, and comic books. On one of these particular occasions, as I scanned the newsstand for the latest issue of Mad Magazine I was stopped dead in my tracks. There to my total confusion, was a magazine with Elvis shaking hands with this Tom Jones character. I could not believe my eyes! It was like someone had knocked the wind out of me. I needed to read this article immediately. There had to be some mistake, because these two men could not possibly be friends. I grabbed the magazine and was halfway to the counter when I realized I was short the money to pay for it. It just about killed me to leave the store without it. It was another two days until I was able to get my hands on a copy. The rest of that day and evening I read and reread and studied the photographs until it finally sank in that Elvis was really OK with Tom Jones, even admired him and did indeed consider him a friend. After much consideration, I began to believe that if Elvis thought it was OK to like this guy, I should also. And that pussycat song was starting to grow on me.

In the seventies I was considered a musical misfit by my friends who were into hard rock and looked up to the skinny little runt type rock stars. They could have them! Elvis and Tom were my boys! Elvis was like a mythical God in his white jumpsuits, and Tom looked so dangerous in his tuxedos and frilly shirts. I was not 12 years old any more, and I was starting to take notice. I saw Tom Jones in person for the first time in the summer of ‘71. It was an outdoor show and the bugs were really bad. He had to spit them out as he sang.

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Here, again, is the photo of Elvis watching Tom perform at Caesars Palace in September, 1974. That is truly the face of a Tom Jones fan.

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A trip to Pittsburgh to see Elvis in ‘73 was part of my 16th birthday present. I remember feeling as if everything was in slow motion. I could not breathe or see very well because of all of the camera flashes. It was truly an extraordinary event. Four years later I saw Elvis again in Pittsburgh on December 31, 1976 for what is known as his Rockin’ New Years Eve show. Who knew this would be the last time I would ever see him? August 16, 1977….I was devastated. I felt as if I had lost a member of my family. I received sympathy cards and missed two days of work. I know this all sounds so dramatic, but it’s true. For the next few years I felt in a fog and lost. If I could not have Elvis, I was not interested in anyone, not even Tom.

The eighties brought many important changes to my life, marriage and motherhood. I traded my musical tastes for Barney the dinosaur and Disney. My world was my husband and daughter, and her interests and activities. Then as time went by and she became a teenager displaying normal teenage behavior of pulling away, I had to find something else to occupy my mind. Who did I used to be before I was a mom? What did I use to like? On a bus trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey I saw a billboard announcing that Tom Jones would be appearing that summer.

Suddenly it all came back. Who did I use to be? A Tom Jones fan. What did I like? I liked Tom — a lot! Since then, my husband and I have seen him as many times as possible for our area. I buy whatever CDs, DVDs, and books I can find. I share his new music with friends, family and business associates. Rediscovering Tom Jones, visiting and contributing to tomjonesinternational.com has become a new hobby to fill a void of our empty nest, as our daughter is now in college.

I am totally amazed by this man — the longevity of his career and talent, and his ability to keep his stage shows fresh each time we see him. I am proud of him that he has cared enough about himself, his family and fans to stay healthy and fit. I thank his family for understanding that the fans need him too, and sharing him with us all these years. I’ve read interviews where Tom has shared heart-warming memories of Elvis, and watched him onstage as he playfully turns up his collar to do his best Elvis impersonation in tribute to The King.

Times like these can make me feel that we have a little bit of Elvis back and I smile. Mr. Jones (”The Voice”) has proven many times over that he can stand alone, but I believe that at only 42 years Elvis’s energy could not possibly have been exhausted here on earth.

So, when many wonder what keeps Tom Jones going for so long with such perfection, I like to think of it as his old friend sending down some of that unused energy and I smile again.

—Audrey
Pennsylvania

If you’ve had the opportunity to hear Stoned in Love, please tell us what you think.

Meanwhile, The Incubator — the press people from Globe Records — have something to tell us that might surprise some listeners. Check the “Comments” below.

[NOTE: This was announced in the UK and Europe today with the video being shown several times on TV. If you are in the UK and want to see it, go to Tom's official site for a list of shows on which it may be featured. Also announced today is a tomjones.com site redesign slated to go live next week. The information we have is that the updated site will include info on Tom's musicans and backup singers. We're really looking forward to it.] Below is the press release distributed by Chicane.

CHICANE RETURNS TO THE UK MUSIC SCENE WITH A MUSIC LEGEND STONED IN LOVE Feat. TOM JONES RELEASED 24 APRIL 2006 THROUGH GLOBE RECORDS/UNIVERSAL “STONED IN LOVE is the new single from one of the UK’s most successful crossover dance acts CHICANE, and is released on the 24 April 2006 through Globe Records / Universal.

“Having taken his time to write and regroup, CHICANE returns to deliver another killer hit single. One would expect nothing less than the absolute best from Chicane, which is why he has teamed up with ultimate music legend Tom ‘the voice’ Jones.

“Lending his celebrated cords to the record Tom adds a surprising and powerful hard edge to an already devastating track. Following Chicane’s previous hits, Offshore,Saltwater and the number one smash hit Don’t Give Up to name just a few, STONED IN LOVE is set to reaffirm that there is none better than Chicane.

“Forget what you know about dance music and forget what you think you know about Chicane. Things are about to change.”

You can hear sound clips and see some of the video here. At left is a still from the video.

Chicane is the group name for British trance musician and remixer Nick Bracegirdle, who first attracted attention under the name Disco Citizens with the Top 40 U.K. hit Right Here Right Now in 1995. Changing his name to Chicane, he reached the British Top 20 in late 1996 with Offshore. He then enlisted Clannad’s Maire Brennan for a remake of the Clannad hit The Theme From Harry’s Game under the title Saltwater, which reached the U.K. Top Ten and became an international hit.

We didn’t know what trance music is, so we looked it up and learned that trance in the US is behind trance in Europe. A simple definition of trance apparently isn’t possible, but we tried:

“Trance is an evolution from progressive house and techno. Trance is designed to take the listener on an inner journey and so features extended journey motifs with repeating and cyclic hypnotic elements. Trance also tends to be more densely layered and intense than techno.”* Trance features an extended vocal hook, a baseline, drum pattern and is free form and melodic.

*—Exerpt from Rave Culture: an Insiders Overview by Jimi Smith

If you have a more concise definition, please share. Otherwise, we’ll just have to wait until we hear it.

Thanks so much to Andre for sending us this information

On March 14, Ruth Brown was in the audience at Tom’s MGM show. A Grammny winner, Tony winner and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (who was given the name “Miss Rhythm” years ago by Frankie Laine, one of Tom’s early influences), Ruth was bowled over.

She said:

Tom Jones is a miracle. He’s better than ever and, more than anyone, he gives me hope.

He gives me hope because he is keeping the music alive. The old songs, the meaningful songs that he does so beautifully. You can understand the words and feel the emotions when he sings.

Tom is proof that as a singer gets older and has more life experience, the words take on more meaning. When he sings about love and loss, you know he feels it.

I have to say something about his band, too. They are great — each and every one as the individuals you hear in their solos and as a group. They are tight and they add so much to the show. They could stand alone but, lucky for us, they are working with this great, gifted artist.

Tom’s energy is so amazing. He takes my breath away.

I wish Scoop were available to write — or help write — this review in case I don’t have all the words to tell you how great the show was. (So, Scoop, if you were there, jump in.)

Why was it so great? Well, I don’t really know. There was just an energy, a bouyancy, to the show. Tom seemed to be in a great mood and the audience was ecstatic, responding with cheers, shouts, whistles and yells to everything the man did. And, he did no wrong.

From the moment Tony came onstage after the video, the crowd was ready to party. They cheered Tony, they cheered Tom’s entrance, they cheered the opening notes of Mama Told Me Not To Come (which usually doesn’t get that kind of reception) and were with him all the way.

In return for that response, Tom was hot. He treated the crowd to his lecture on the difference between men and women: “You see, it’s all right here,” he said as he gestured toward the appropriate spot on his body.

“It’s all in the Adam’s apple, you know. Men have them. Women don’t.”

Oh, yes, he was in a good mood. The audience was also treated to All Shook Up as a tribute to Elvis and they just couldn’t get enough.

After the show, some fans were discussing what made the evening especially outstanding. The consensus was that, sometimes, it just happens. The energy onstage and in the audience is just right and it’s a magic evening. (Maybe it was magic because it snowed that day and was, as Tom used to say in the northeast, “brass monkey weather.”) Whatever the reason for the magic, this was truly magical.

—Ellen

Photos of Tom onstage on March 13, left, and March 11, right. Thanks to the fan who emailed them to us.

Since so many of you come to Las Vegas to see Tom (at the Emerald City on the right of this photo) we thought we’d tell you a bit about our adopted hometown.

Please enjoy Our Las Vegas and be sure to add your own thoughts and impressions.

—Ellen & Ursula

Here in Las Vegas, all is not what it seems to be. Even the name of the place.

If you want to sound like a native, you’re in Las (pronounced “loss”) Vegas, Nevada (the first “a” in Nevada is pronounced like the “a” in “caddy,” not like the “a” in “Harvard.”) It’s easy, just takes a little practice.

When a native talks about the numbered highways here (15, 215, 95, etc.), the number is always preceded by the article, “the.” Thus, you take “the 215 to Henderson;” “the 15 to California,” and “the 95″ to wherever the 95 goes.

And, be warned, just because a road seems heading toward where you want to go, don’t be too sure it will actually get there. Streets in Las Vegas often have an odd tendency to just — well — stop and then pick up elsewhere. So, when you’re exiting onto Buffalo, for example, unless you have the correct side of Buffalo you might get lost very soon. A map or GPS system is very handy here.

Speaking of roads, that brings us to the actual act of driving. Everyone here talks about how bad the drivers are. Apparently that doesn’t bother the Las Vegans as they attribute the bad driving to the fact that most bad drivers here are originally from California. So, in the end, bad drivers in Nevada have nothing to do with Nevada.

Being neither natives nor Californians, we cannot pass judgement on those beliefs. But, we can tell you to watch it. Lane changes, signals, turns — all are done casually with little or no regard to what other cars are doing. The very term “defensive driving” was invented for Las Vegas.

AND, THE BEST THING ABOUT DRIVING IN LAS VEGAS? It’s the parking. Specifically, the valet parking at hotels and casinos. Sure, there have been incidents where cars were damaged, but that can happen in any parking garage anywhere or, for that matter, on any street. The fact is that, for just a few dollars for a tip, you don’t have to schlep through a parking garage for seemingly miles until you get to your destination and you don’t have to walk through an empty garage late at night. Try it, you’ll love it!

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In this city that is so full of bad fakes, Steve McCoy, one of the premier Tom Jones impersonators, is a treasure.

A landscaper from New Jersey, Steve won a Tom Jones look-alike contest and since then has never looked back. He’s played Tom in venues around the globe, quite often with Las Vegas’ fabled Legends in Concert show.

The most unusual thing about Steve — yes, it is unusual — is that he has the vocal chops to attack Tom’s most difficult material. (It Looks Like )I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Till and 200 Pounds are all part of his act at one time or another because he also keeps it current.

As Tom himself said when he brought Steve onstage at the MGM, “He’s the best I’ve ever seen…he does me better than me!” If you have the opportunity to see him, by all means do so.

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The production of Phantom of the Opera that opened in June at The Venetian is aptly titled Phantom: The Las Vegas Experience. As you can see from the shot of the theater’s interior, it looks nothing like any other production. All the songs are intact, but the show has been cut to 95 minutes. The performers who opened it here are all from Broadway and include Tony-Award winner Anthony Crivello as the Phantom. Not to be missed!

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Cirque du Soleil has five shows running in Las Vegas — O, Mystére, Zumanity (“the adult side of Cirque” restricted to people 18 and over), KÀ and the newest entry, Love, at The Mirage. It seems you cannot get two people who have seen the Cirque shows to agree on which is the best. Like imploding buildings, Cirque arguments are real sport in Las Vegas.

For example, Ursula loves Mystére and Ellen — entranced with the sheer technology of the theater — chooses KÀ.

But, the newest show, Love, is just perfect, especially for someone not in love with all the mime, the people in body suits jumping around and the new-age Enya-like music. Love is Cirque’s interpretation of the music of the Beatles and came out of a suggestion about doing a Cirque show to this music made by George Harrison several years ago. Sir George Martin, who produced the Beatles recordings (and, not incidentally, worked with Tom on a recording of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood) recreated the music for the production directly from the original tapes. It is spectacular.

They’re all worth seeing but be warned, Zumanity is very explicit, so it is not for the faint of heart or the narrow of mind.

Photo of KÀ by Tomas Muscionico; costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt © Cirque du Soleil Inc.

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The Bootlegger Bistro is the restaurant that, today, is a rarity in Las Vegas. It is open 24/7 and each night offers entertainment. We love it and it is favored by Tom’s drummer, Herman Matthews. It’s about three miles south of the MGM on the South Strip and is worth a trip. Lots of celebrities frequent the place, so be prepared to spot ‘em. The food at The Bootlegger is traditional Italian and their pizza is to die for. There’s no charge if you stay in the bar area; there’s a small minimum in the dining room. It is the best bargain in town.

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Of course, it goes without saying that, for our money, the best show in town remains Tom Jones.

As the staff of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote in naming him the 2006 Best Singer: “Yeah, baby! The Tomcat turned 65 last summer. But you can take that AARP card and shove it — in your wallet, then head to the record store and try to get a seniors discount on Reloaded. Put on the greatest hits CD and let Jones blow the doors off your Oldsmobile with the opening notes of If I Only Knew. Or you can just go down to the MGM Grand every so often to watch him do it live.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Even a new resident from New York has to admit that the shopping in Las Vegas is spectacular. And it’s pricey. But fabulous; a feast for the eye, capable of causing famine in even the most well-fed wallet.

Here is what we believe is the best of the best.

The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace (right) are amazing. High-end and endlessly interesting. There’s a terrific FAO Schwarz (better than the flagship in New York City), loads of designer fashions, a Fabergé shop where you can see a cross that would put even Tom Jones’ best, brightest and bling-iest to shame. And Vosges Haute Chocolat is not to be missed.

The Shops at Via Bellagio are also fabu.They include Tiffany, Armani and Hermés, among others.

The Esplanade at Wynn is very high end. Here there is a Judith Lieber evening bag in the pattern of the hotel’s carpeting. And you must have read about the on-site Ferrari dealership. There’s also Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana and Oscar de la Renta. It’s quite the mall. (For information about the Esplanade, you can also go to the Wynn site but this involves a long introduction that just isn’t worth the effort)

The Fashion Show Mall (across from the Wynn) offers Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, the only Apple Computer store in Las Vegas and lots of other shops. As malls go, this one is great.

The District at Green Valley Ranch, in nearby Henderson — 5.3 miles from McCarren Airport — has good shops and restaurants and is very worth checking out.

The outlet shopper can choose between Las Vegas Premium Outlets downtown or the outlet center near the Strip on Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Lucky us! Las Vegas offers the only brick-and-mortar Unica Home store anywhere. If, like one of us, you are a devotee of this fun, very modern (and very expensive) style, you must visit. (In fact, there’s no pressure to buy and you can spend a lot of time just “visiting.”) They carry Alessi’s line, designs by Ron Arad, Joe Columbo, Ettore Sottsass — all of the standard-setters of today. They’re located at 7540 Dean Martin Drive (formerly S. Industrial Rd), Suite 501 in Las Vegas. You can call them at 1-888-89-UNICA or, locally, at 702-616-9280. They’re open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Owners Bonnie and Hugh invite you to call for an appointment if you’re short of time.

There are more restaurants in Las Vegas than even the heartiest restaurant critic could visit. Our restaurant section starts small, but will grow by leaps and bounds. You will probably notice among the missing are restaurants specializing in pizza, Chinese food and bagels. They just don’t make ‘em here like they do back east. Of course, your additions and comments are welcome.

The best burgers on The Strip are at The Burger Bar at Mandalay Place where you can get delicious Oregon Kobe Beef burgers, all sorts of imported beer and the best sweet potato fries anywhere.

Also for great burgers and amazing bar-b-q, Lucille’s Smokeshouse Bar-B-Que in Henderson cannot be beat. The ribs are great, the barbeque chicken salad is amazing — we love everything about the place. Try to avoid weekends there but, if you have to wait, it’s worth it.

Since Tom Jones fans spend most of their time at the MGM Grand, it’s worth talking about the restaurants at the MGM.

We like Fiamma for Italian food. They advertise it by saying, “Italian food so authentic you’d swear you were in New York.” Really. They also have amazing desserts and, if it’s just dessert you want, you can sit in the comfy chairs in the bar area and really relax. For casual dining, ‘wichcraft and the Grand Wok (for sushi) are good. Of course, nothing beats the hot dogs and fries at Nathan’s in the food court. That’s as good as you can get in Coney Island. Surprisingly, most of the restaurants close fairly early, so don’t dawdle after the show unless you want to eat in the less-than-wonderful Studio Café, the MGM’s 24/7 coffee shop.

For the best crepes in the city, visit La Creperie in Paris Las Vegas.

At Caesars Palace, right between the casino and the Forum Shops is Cypress Street Marketplace where you’ll find casual and pretty inexpensive dining. There’s a nice range of choices, excellent salads and everything’s fresh. Great lunch spot.