Tom Jones International

With the This Is Tom Jones DVD set to be released on Monday, June 4, we thought we’d post another preview.

On October 9, 1970 Aretha Franklin was one of Tom’ guests on his show. Her appearance is one of those included on Disc 3 of the DVD and we thought we’d give you a small preview.

So, click here to see Tom and Aretha

Time Life did tell us that all DVDs ordered on or before June 4 will go out in the first shipment. If you wish, you can click to link at right to order.

…..a must-see is Barry Manilow at the Hilton.

I had the opportunity to see him again tonight and as it was last July, his show is dynamite.

Now, I am not saying that he’s a great singer, or that he’s better than Tom Jones. I’m not particularly a fan. But the guy can sure entertain. He still has a script, some sketches, singers and dancers, a great band — it’s got it all. Even his videos are terrific. And his music is fun, even if it doesn’t stay with you.

AND, this year it’s a new show! A few of the same bits are included, as is the basic structure, and his Copacabana finale is a fixture. But his is the kind of Las Vegas show that makes Las Vegas what it is (although he does the same show on the road).

The point is — fan or not — it’s a special event and, if you can, you should see it.

—Ellen

Here’s a look at the cover art for The Best of Van Morrison Vol 3 that features the duet of Cry For Home that Tom recorded with Morrison in 1997. (There’s TJ circa 1997 in the very lower right corner.)

But the 2-disc set also has duets with John Lee Hooker, Bobby “Blue” Bland, BB King, Carl Perkins and Ray Charles. In addition to the duet with Tom, other tracks are being released for the first time here.

You can now order the The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3. The CD is being released June 19 and amazon is selling it for $19.97.

The single with Tom (cover at left) has been on eBay and will surely show up there again.

…you can play the Pussycat Game to the tune of — surprise! — What’s New Pussycat?

NOTE: We think this only works on PCs, but give it a shot.

Let is know your best score. Have fun!

First, a brief, breathless review from Laura.

Hi, All:

I just got home from seeing Tom at Pechanga, and I must tell you…it was unreal.

The energy level was through the roof. The fans were from 19 to 90 and all of them were so excited to be there. The Man was smokin’. The Voice was a bit hoarse, but there is nothing better than watching him having fun.

He really is a legend and spending five minutes just chatting with him is precious. That glorious voice is a benchmark…always has been….always will be.


The photo is (from left) Paulette, Stefanie and Laura with Tom.

Now, here’s one from Nancy:

Saturday night May 26 was a great show at the Pechanga Resort north of San Diego. The show was sold out and the venue was great — about 1,200 seats in a nice little theater with great camera work for the screens. Tom was being filmed the entire show and didn’t boogie from side to side of the stage to flash that great smile and give those winks, as he usually does. I missed that, as it’s a real “connection.” He stayed pretty much in the front center by the camera person.

Tom looked great, much better than when I last saw him in January at MGM. He had lots of energy, looked rested, and sounded great. You can, though, really see his attitude change when the ladies in the audience stand up, start dancing, etc. He seemd to “turn on!” I still miss Tom Jones International, but Git me Some and especially Resurrection Shuffle (is that the name of that great number in the encore?) were too fabulous!!! One interesting note is that there were plenty of men in the audience-with female dates — who were whooping and hollering right along with the ladies!

If I were in charge I immediately would get rid of the “standards.” I don’t care if “others are doing them,” as Tom tells us. They don’t add a thing to the show in my opinion. If TJ wants to do some slow stuff, he has plenty of his own great songs that have his personal ’stamp’ on them… (With These Hands for example, and many more.) Just my thoughts.

MODERATOR’S NOTE: The show was not exactly being “filmed.” The cameras were for the two large screens set up in the theater.

Paula, saying our link to the interview didn’t work did some research and sent this link to the entire 24:32 minute Hard Talk interview from December 23, 2002 when he was promoting Mr. Jones.

What’s so interesting about the full-length interview is that the comments in the clip are put in context. Not that it’s anything new, but it is a pretty good snapshot of Tom at this particular point in his life. One thing that always shines through, we must say, is that he has a terrific sense of humor — something not always evident in print interviews.

Tim Sebastian, the interviewer, has done his homework and, as he’s apparently good at his job, he does try to bait Tom with a bit of controversy. But the sense of humor saves the day.

And, for the record, we still don’t believe that “all men stray.” (That’s just a lone comment, not the opening comment for a big discussion.) We’d also like to hear Tom say just once that he likes living in America, as he really seems to do. But, in retrospect, after seeing from five years down the road how the Mr. Jones album did, his comments are interesting. But, when he talks about singing, about his gift, about how he makes music, it is fascinating, isn’t it?

Also for the record, as we always do when we post them, we tested the link on two operating systems and three browsers to make sure they’re working when they’re posted. If a link we post doesn’t work, please check your browser and, if still doesn’t work, please let us know via email, as that is the quickest way for us to fix anything on our end.) .

Thanks, Paula.

The BBC has apparently begun opening its archives and posting clips. Among them is this clip of Tom being interviewed.

They call their videos Soundbite Central and this is from a show called Hard Talk. Looks to be from the late 90s or early 2000s (if anyone knows the date, please share).

At first, host Tim Sebastian talks to Tom about his marriage, but the major part of the interview deals with Elvis. As so many TJ fans are also Elvis fans, we thought it worth posting.

It ends abruptly and we hope they post more. The BBC must have the greatest repository of Tom Jones interviews and it would be nice to see it.

Please note: We hesitated before posting this because of the early questions he’s asked. But, on reflection, it’s nothing Tom hasn’t said before publicly and the Elvis stuff is interesting. Thanks, Dre, for alerting us to it.

And here’s a short clip of Tom on The Simpsons en Español. (If you can find it en Inglés, please send the link.)

Finally, here’s one more clip — Tom singing You Can Leave Your Hat On with Blue. (We think that’s the group, anyway.)

Fay, one of our devoted Canadian TJ fans, sent us a link to this really great website.

Here you can look up the #1 song in the US on any day in history, from the 1890’s through today.

To save you the trouble of looking it up, on the day Tom was born, June 7, 1940, the #1 song in the United States was Tuxedo Junction by Glenn Miller.

On January 8, 1935, the day Elvis was born, it was Isle of Capri by Ray Noble.

On the day……….OK! We could do this all day. But we won’t. Have fun!

And, if you’re interested in charts from all over the world, these go back to 1957 (but they’re not as comprehensive as the US charts above).

Thanks, Fay! Luv ya!

At 11 p.m. tonight, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode where Tom plays Carlton’s guardian angel is on. It is repeated at 3 a.m. His entrance is beautiful.

If you’ve never seen the show, it’s well worth seeing. Here’s a clip on youtube. (His entrance isn’t on it.)

The photo is of the expression on TJ’s face when Carlton starts singing his version of It’s Not Unusual.

If you’ve ever doubted that Tom Jones has a sense of humor (and there’s no reason to doubt it at all), then you’ve never seen him on Dame Edna’s TV show or at the 30th anniversary show of Amnesty International in December 1991.

On that show — organized by one of our favorites Eddie Izzard — he competed with Theophilus P. Wildebeeste in the Battle of the Sex Gods, singing the Barry White classic Can’t Get Enough of Your Love. Each sex god was wearing an extremely tasteful, large glowing red cod piece.In the end, the love-machine couldn’t quite top the Welsh singer.

There is video of the show available and it’s worth seeking out. (Theophilus P Wildebeeste is a character of British comedian Lenny Henry, who Americans may know at the title character in the Britcom Chef!)

For further proof that Sir Tom’s a good sport, check out this clip from the Party at the Palace in 2002 celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 50th year on the throne. (Sorry for the quality of the screen shot from this video, but we wanted you to get the idea.)