Sir Thomas John Woodward, better known as Tom Jones, is a legend in the music business. His unique blend of R&B, Soul, Pop, Country, and a dash of swing, has made him one of the most celebrated entertainers in Great Britain as well as a household name around the world. He started his career in 1963 and continues performing across the globe to this day. In 2008, the New York Times labeled Jones as a musical genre “shapeshifter,” who can “slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty.” Of all of his great hits such as “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I’m Coming Home,” and “Delilah,” Jones is mostly recognized by his signature smash hit “It’s Not Unusual.”
The song was written by Gordon Mills and Les Reed and was first recorded in 1965 by a relatively unknown Tom Jones. It would go on to reach number three on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart, number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number One in the UK. Something many fans might not know is there another legend has his fingerprints on the original recording of this song. You see, during their recording session, Tom Jones and the Squares (the name of his group back then) were missing a keyboard player. So Chris Slade, who later became the drummer for AC/DC ran across the street to a coffee house called “La Giaconda” and enlisted the services of a young man playing piano at the establishment by the name of Reginald Dwight, who would later be known by his famous stage name, Elton John. In this video, we see Tom Jones performing his iconic classic on The Voice UK.
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One of the great things about Jones was that Elvis Presley is said to have considered him the only artist in the industry that was a true friend. Jones is said to be one within Elvis’ close-knit circle of confidants.
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You can watch Jones’ mesmerizing performance in the video below.