Tom Jones International

Our Friday and Saturday posts dealt with important, weighty topics, so we’re happy to change the tone today. But, first, a reminder: Today is the last day to get your photos in for the 2009 TJI.com Fan Calendar. Send all 300 dpi photos, with explanation of who took them and where — or any questions you may have — to tji.com. Thanks! Now, on to today’s post:

First, the rumor: Tom is making (or has made) a video to go with the single from his new CD, Gemini. We’ve heard he stayed in the UK after that wedding last weekend to make it or, perhaps, that it was done in LA. (Remember, the Stoned In Love video was done in the desert in the US?) Whatever, we’re eager to see it. Of course, until you read about it on his official site, it’s merely unconfirmed rumor.

Next, the laugh (and, at the same time, something terrific): Check out this video (© by BBC) from the BBC show Last Choir Standing (you know we cannot make this stuff up) of Only Men Aloud doing a TJ medley. They’ve definitely got our vote — not only for their choice of material, but we love those narrow 60s ties — and if you can vote in the UK, please do. (Thanks, AF, for the link.)

As Pat and Paula pointed out in the comments below, these guys won the competition. For more info on them, click on the BBC’s Last Choir Standing site and/or on their official site.

Just go to ticketmaster. Beautiful venue! Tickets priced at $40 and $60…and, please, don’t forget the posts below you may have missed with the holiday weekend.

Yesterday, we noted that on August 28, two events of great historical significance took place in the United States. In 1963, Dr. King delivered his I Have A Dream speech and, this year, the first African American candidate accepted a major party’s nomination to run for President of the United States. We noted, too, that in 1965, Tom Jones traveled the US for the first time, as a member of Dick Clark’s Summer Caravan of Stars. On that trip, he later recalled his first experience with the racial prejudice then still way to common here, despite the passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Please understand we know prejudice was rife in other parts of the USA (Las Vegas until 1960 was knows as “The Mississippi of the West.”) We’re not singling out the South.

The Caravan of Stars ran from August 1 through September 6. In addition to Tom & The Squires, the Summer Caravan of Stars also featured Peter and Gordon (A World Without Love), Them (Baby Please Don’t Go), The Shirelles (Will You Love Me Tomorrow), Ronnie Dove (Say You), Brian Hyland (Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini and Sealed With A Kiss), Billy Jo Royal (Down In The Boondocks), Mel Carter (Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me), The Turtles (Happy Together), Sonny and Cher (we don’t have to list their songs) and others.

The Caravan was a bus trip across and up and down the US, playing one-night stands. There was some protocol involved in being on the bus, as the bigger stars got to sleep on the seats. Tom said he slept on the luggage rack. Others used the floor. It was tedious and uncomfortable, although Billy Joe Royal recalls, “Tom Jones, Mel Carter, Peter Asher and myself dressed up as The Shirelles,” Royal smiles. “We showed up in chiffon dresses and threw some wigs on. It was really crazy.”

Otherwise there were certainly lessons to be learned.

Take this one that Tom recalled in an article, Tom Jones: The Super Furry Animal,(Great name for an article about Tom Jones, isn’t it?) by Sylvie Simmons in Mojo, October 1999. He talked about traveling through the deep South: “…every time you stopped you had to make sure that a white person got off to go into the truck stop. If one of the black people went in there they’d shoot them. Shirley [Alston-Reeves], the lead singer of the Shirelles, and I were talking away in this hotel and all of a sudden she marched off. Later I said, ‘What’s up with you?’ and she said, ‘Didn’t you see those people in the lobby? They were staring at us. We were touching. You can’t do that in the South. They wouldn’t only hang me, they’d hang you as well. [N-word]-lover they would call you.’”

At an Alabama truck stop, he recalled, the locals started baiting the group. Mel Carter, who is black, lost his temper and reacted. It quickly turned into a full-blown brawl and, also quickly, the local constabulary showed up.

Tom recalled, “The cops just ran in, grabbed Mel and flung him into a paddy-wagon. I said to this cop, ‘You can’t come in here and just grab somebody and throw him in there. You didn’t even ask any questions.’ And he said, ‘You gonna stay out of this, boy?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not going to stay out of this. I’m British.’ and the cop put his left hand on my chest and his right hand on his gun and I started seeing it come out in slow motion, and he said, ‘I’m gonna ask you one more time, you gonna stay out of this?’ And I said, ‘Yessir.’ My legs were shaking. There was nothing I could do. He would have shot me. I thought, ‘Jesus, these people are mad.”

Of course, the best part of this trip for Tom was meeting Elvis in LA.

This is not a political site and we have no inclination to be partisan, but we have to note that last night was a very special one in the history of the United States. It was the night that Barack Obama accepted the nomination of his party to run for President. Even if people don’t remember that time because they lived through it, anyone who has studied American history knows of the turmoil that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the continuing turmoil until it became the law of the land in spirit as well as in fact (or, at least, was more accepted by those who enforce the laws). Thus, we have to note this landmark occasion when — on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream Speech” — an African American won the presidential nomination of a major American political party.

So, what does this have to do with Tom Jones?

Well, like many other entertainers who outspokenly believed that the color line should be erased (Sinatra is credited for ending the segregation in Las Vegas hotels), Tom was truly taken aback by what he saw on his first trip through the American South in 1965. Later on, he refused to play for segregated audiences in South Africa. But that first bus trip as part of Dick Clark’s Summer Caravan of Stars made a deep impression on him.

Below are some pages from the tour program. Because it’s difficult to read, the copy on them is reproduced. Be sure to note (and it won’t be hard to do) that the bio contains many embellishments. It ain’t long, but it sure is wrong…and, thus, very funny. In fact, we could have a contest to see who can find the most factual errors. But, no contest. It’s pretty much all incorrect, except his place of birth, his parents’ names, his first hit, the names of the songwriters who wrote it and the name of the man who discovered him. And the way it’s written the “working Mens’ Clubs” where Tom started in Wales sound like the Continental Baths. Still, it’s fun to read.

Tomorrow, continuing the theme we started today, we’ll post more from the program (including a poster) and we’ll recall the experience of being on the Caravan of Stars in Tom’s own words.

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Thomas Jones Woodward, a rugged six footer, was born in Pontypridd (Ed. note “DD” pronounced “th”) South Wales to Thomas and Freda 24 years ago on June 7, 1940. Using his mother’s name Jones, Tom, in the Welsh tradition, attended Treforrest Secondary Modern School and sang in the Chapel choir. Needless to say he was greatly influenced vocally by the singing miners, his father and uncle. “I became interested in show business the moment I realized how heavy a Hod (a board used by builders to carry cement) was,” says Tom, who has held several jobs in a very short time span, including working as a miner, construction labor, dump truck operator and as a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman.

He began his career by playing drums in and around south Wales, working Men’s Clubs with Peter Small and the DeAvealons and Tommy Scott and the Senators. It wasn’t until he formed his own group, the Playboys, however, that Tom finally had a chance to sing. From then on they started to play at ballroom affairs.

It was during one of these appearances that Tom was booked for a local B. B.C. show entitled “Don Peers Presents. He was so successful that he was asked to make a return engagement.

Tom, by this time, had his sights set on London. His big chance finally came when with only thirty minutes notice, he substituted for the star act at a fashionable West-End nightclub. He was seen by fellow Welshman Gordon Mills, who wrote “Three Little Words,” and many other hits.

Shortly after arriving in London, Jones signed with Gordon and got his first professional date — Swansea, Wales! “Ah, well, that’s show business,” murmured Tom as he journeyed back down the A-40 (a highway between London and Wales).

On stage, Tom Jones is backed by the Squires, an all Welsh group consisting of lead, bass and rhythm guitars, and drums. They have appeared up and down the country in ballrooms and on all major T.V. and radio shows.

Jones’ record, “It’s Not Unusual,” written by Gordon Mills and Les Reed and orchestrated by the latter, is only a sample of what this boy can produce.

With a full itinerary lined up for the next 12 months, that includes 4 appearances on The Ed Sullivan show, the name and sound of Tom Jones will be echoing around the world.

Two lots that are part of the life history of Tom Jones will be auctioned in London — and live on eBay — on Thursday, September 4 starting at 5 p.m., GMT. (9 a.m. PDT, noon EDT).

Tom’s very own antique billiard table is up first and, then, the entire collection of Joe Meek master tapes, including the first recordings Tom ever did in London. Thus, you should have Little Lonely One and Chills and Fever among them. New to London and the ways of the world at the time, Tom ran from Meek who, as time went on, became more and more erratic. He committed suicide at age 40 in 1969 after murdering his landlady. Meek’s big hit, for himself, was a 1962 instrumental called Telstar (named after — boys and girls — an AT&T satellite as, at the time, a real, honest-to-goodness orbiting satellite was an amazement to behold. Seriously, the Meek tapes contain some amazing firsts and, if you have half-a-million dollars or so lying around, you should bid.

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Lot 79/Tom Jones Billiard Table

Tom Jones Billiard Table A superb quality English Billiard Table of Full Size made c1880 by the firm of ‘Burroughes & Watts, London in the ‘Sheraton Revival’ style of the time. Of finest quality mahogany throughout and complete with the original matching scoreboard/cupboard. Totally original construction with the original slate bed, but now fully restored to a fabulous standard to show this wonderful matching suite off to its best advantage, and supplied with a full complement of accessories of equal quality. This table was owned by the singer Tom Jones from 1967 to 1974 when he lived in the St. Georges Hill Estate, Weybridge, Surrey, England and comes complete with an original “She’s A Lady” record sleeve from 1971 showing Tom posing alongside the table with the scoreboard/cupboard in the background.

Estimate: GBP50,000-75,000 USD100,000-150,000

You can see it and bid live on eBay Live Auctions.
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When the first This Is Tom Jones DVD set was released last year, one of the very few journalists to be granted an interview by Sir Tom’s management really did an amazing job. The fact he’s a fan is very clear and what he managed to do in just a half-hour (although we suspect Sir Tom was having so much fun he gave him more time) is terrific. We’re sorry we missed it when it was published, but thrilled to have found it now.

It’s candid, it’s funny, it’s done by a writer who knows his stuff (or, Tom Jones’ stuff) and we love. It’s long, but worth every second it takes you to read it. So, please, sit back, relax and have fun. And, as you read, you’ll realize how relaxed Tom was. Although in interviews he is very honest and open, here he’s more so than usual.

If you enjoy it, we hope you’ll contact the writer.

By: Will Harris/06/25/2007/ Bullz-Eye

If you’ve ever had the desire to see a man cry, you really should’ve been at my house a few days ago.

After years of trying to secure an interview with Sir Tom Jones – yes, that’s right, the man behind “It’s Not Unusual,” “Sex Bomb,” and a version of Prince’s “Kiss” that, in its own way, transcends the original – I was finally handed the opportunity on a silver platter. In preparation for the release of his ’60s variety show, “This is Tom Jones,” on DVD by Time-Life, I was to be granted a half-hour’s telephone time with the man. I spent the day getting my questions ready and preparing myself, so that I could have an actual conversation and not just stammer myself silly. Therefore, when I finished a wonderful 30-minute interview with Sir Tom, I was rapt with pride and ecstatic at the thought of playing it back for my wife, who’s as big a fan as I am. So I leaned down to rewind the tape…and found that, despite the fact that the red light had been on to indicate that it was all powered up, due to the tape being slightly out of line, not a single moment of our conversation had been recorded.

Okay, I exaggerated a moment ago: I didn’t actually cry. I did, however, manage to spit out a stream of f-bombs that put to shame Hugh Grant’s character in “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” (Just ask my fellow editor, David Medsker, who was the recipient of my first post-interview phone call.) At my mother-in-law’s urging, however, I sat down with my original questions, wracked my brain, and was able to come up with some pretty solid recollections of Tom’s responses.

Bullz-Eye: So I received the advance of the “This Is Tom Jones” collection, and, well, being a fan, I guess it goes without saying that I’m loving it. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen any of these performances, but how long had it been since you’d seen these episodes?

Tom Jones: You know, I hadn’t seen any of them in years since sitting down to put them together for this set.

“Pretty much from ‘It’s Not Unusual’ on, they realized that the ladies were really interested in what I was doing! What people too often forget, though, is that men like what I’m doing as well; I had to keep reminding them, ‘You know, these women aren’t coming to my shows alone; they’ve got husbands and boyfriends who’re coming along with them!’”


BE: Did you have a hand in picking out which shows would appear on the set?
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We usually dislike this type of video. After all, if we’re going to see a video of a Tom Jones song, we want to see Tom Jones on the screen actually performing the song. We don’t even like those videos that use stills of him to accompany his music. But SusannePDX sent this to us and we just laughed and laughed. We thought you might enjoy it, too.

And, in case you never heard it — and are curious about the music that influenced Tom Jones — here’s Leadbelly with the original Black Betty.

Leadbelly (left), born Huddie Ledbetter (1888-1949) is looked at today as one of the seminal blues singers of his time, but blues was only one of his genres. He is famous for his versions of, among other songs, Goodnight Irene, Rock Island Line, The Midnight Special and Cotton Fields. Leadbelly first recorded Black Betty in 1939 as part of a three-song medley. It’s thought to be an adaptation of an African-American work song.

NOTE: We post information like this because we find that many people are like us — really interested in the music that has informed Tom’s music from the beginning. If you’d like other information on the topic, just let us know. We’ll be happy to try to answer. That’s why we have a section called TJ Questions. We really want to be of service and we figure if one fan wants an answer, lot of fans probably do. So, if you have a question, just email us.

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Some Sort-Of Tom Jones-Related News: The new American Idol judge is Kara DioGuardi who, (not confirmed yet), has one of the songs on Tom’s new CD. Her background and track record are very impressive. According to her website, the 37 year-old Grammy-nominated songwriter-producer, has written for Céline, Santana, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson, David Cook, Leona Lewis, Faith Hill, Paris Hilton, Enrique Iglesias, Joss Stone, David Archuleta, Clay Aiken and Menudo.

There’s just one more week to submit your photos for possible use in the 2009 TJI.com fan calendar.

Last year’s first edition (cover photo at left) was a smashing success and has become a collector’s item. We are hoping for the same response this year.

People have asked what kind of photo they can submit. The ground rules are basic. You must have taken the photo yourself or know who took it and gotten permission to submit it. In addition to knowing who took it, we need to know when and where it was taken. For example, the photo at right, ©Lois Gooding, was taken in 1980 in Framingham, MA. It was one of those that, due to the age damage on the photo, we were regretfully unable to use last year.But it certainly is a great shot, isn’t it?

We’re looking for photos from the 1960s through today. We’re especially interested in off-stage shots, as we have plenty of Tom performing. If you just want to send them straight from the digital camera, you can do that, too. You don’t have to run them through a photo program to prepare them.

All photos must be scanned at 300 dpi. If you have files that are too large to send via email, write us and we’ll tell you how to submit them electronically using a website designed for that purpose.

Of course, if a photo you submit is used, you will receive a free calendar.

Please send your submissions to tji.com. If you have problems with the photos you wish to submit, please let us know.

And, please, don’t forget to answer our question below in yesterday’s first post about music.

Please, don’t forget to answer our question below about music.

A UK TJ fan and friend of TJI sent the story below. It appeared in a British tabloid today. Take it for what it’s worth, as we’re really not sure it’s true. Oh, we’ve no doubt that Sir Tom’s mere presence (OK, his presence is never “mere”) could break up a fight. But why would he be celebrating a Greatest Hits album that was released in 2006? Huh? Something’s screwy and we suspect it’s the UK tabloid. (The photo is of Tom and Nick Bracegirdle.)

“WRINKLY Welsh Crooner TOM JONES piled in to break up a fight the other day when he was out in Soho celebrating his Greatest Hits album.

“Five yobs who had set on NICK BRACEGIRDLE from the dance act CHICANE legged it when they saw the great man, who’s 68, approaching.

“The band, whose single Bruised Water is out tomorrow, carried on drinking afterwards.”

Our website is, as many of you know, a volunteer effort the doing of which has brought great joy. But the hosting and other technical fees are out-of-pocket for us and some of these posts take a great deal of time that is financially uncompensated. We know some sites charge membership fees and use a password system that enables only “members” to long in.

So, in an effort to bring in some money without resorting to fees, we’re working with TimeLife* to offer some specials on CDs and DVDs to people who visit our site.

We want always to stay connected to Tom Jones, so we thought we’d surely offer some Elvis stuff, some Jerry Lee and lots of the music that Tom heard back in Wales before he began his career. You know, the rock n’ roll and R&B music that inspired him.

To give you an idea of what TimeLife offers, please take a moment or to and browse their website. Of course, in addition to music, they have loads of DVDs of classic television shows.

And to get an idea of the music Tom loved growing up, here he is with Jeff Beck, on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, January 1, 2003 singing Gene Vincent’s 1958 two-million-selling smash Be-Bop-A-Lula. (Obviously, they’re pictured here performing the song.)

So, please check it out and let us know the artists you’d like to find on tji.com. It goes without saying that there is no obligation to buy involved in responding.

*We know that TimeLife in Europe is a separate operation from the US company and, therefore, we cannot do anything yet about Europe, but we do hope to so, please, all non-US fans, let us know what you’d like.

Thanks!