Tom Jones International

It’s been noted here several times recently that Sir Tom is working hard — performing more frequently than most. This year it looks as if he’ll be doing even more than his usual 200 dates and, yet, when he does play, many fans comment on how terrific, how rested and relaxed, he looks. Of course, much of that can be attributed to the fact that, as he’s said of singing, “I LOVE it.”

And, though we read about luxe tour buses, multi-star hotels and crowds screaming with approval, we sometimes forget that once in a while it must get tiring and late at night the longing for home may be keen.

In a wonderful performance by Tom and Mark Knopfler from Tom’s December 24, 1996 UK special, For One Night Only, such feelings came to the forefront as they sang Knopfler’s beautiful Feel Like Going Home.

You can watch it in the TJI.com Video Library.

In 1992 Tom Jones was the surprise guest at Britain’s premier music festival at Glastonbury. It brought him a whole new audience and, in the UK, he’s been cool ever since (even though we know he’s always been cool).

Now, maybe, the same thing is at long last going to happen in the USA.

Tom will be at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park San Francisco. The festival — with headliners Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mraz, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas — is August 28 through 30.

The line-up at the Festival is really not designed to attract the usual Tom Jones audience. In addition to the acts noted above, also playing are M.I.A, Mastodon, Os Mutantes, Ween, The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups, Built To Spill, Deerhunter Calexico, The National, Band of Horses, TV on the Radio andDead Weather, Bettye LaVette, Midnite, JJ Grey & Mofro, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Akron/Family. More acts are to be announced.

If set up as usual, Tom will likely be there the third day. We’ll keep you posted, but it’s a good bet if he does his usual winning performance, Tom Jones — at age 69 — will be the talk of the event. Whomever is booking him in the US is doing a great job.

For ticket info — three-day general admission is $195; VIP three-day is $595 and there is a lay-away plan so you can order when they go on sale Wednesday and pay out the cost — go to the Outside Festival website. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 15, 10 am PST.

The holiday week might have — and naturally so — prevented you from checking out TJI.com for several days. So, please take a bit of time to check out what you missed on this page and back in “previous entries,” as well as the Question of the Month — “How do you describe Tom Jones to someone who does not know who he is?”

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Donna writes us from New York State that great seats are still available for Tom’s June 20 show at the Stanley Center for the Arts in Utica, NY (171 miles from NYC) . Just checked Ticketmaster and seats thisclose to the stage in the pit are still available for $100 (plus taxes and charges).
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Tickets for Tom at Chastain Park in Atlanta on July 31 aren’t officially on sale yet, but already Coast To Coast tickets is scalp….oops! …selling them for up to $893. But that’s not too bad I guess when StubHub has them for $1,118.

The good people at the Chastain Box Office tell us tickets go on sale May 11, 10 a.m.

This is an outdoor venue with lots of seating for non-subscribers at really inexpensive rates. Lawn tickets are $21.25; Rear Terrace $25.50; Terrace $34; The up-close tables usually go to subscribers who can then sell them.

First, guitarist Mickey Gee — one of the original Senators who backed Tommy Scott died in February and it was pointed out his passing was not noted here. Gee is seated right in this photo with —from left— Tom, Dave Cooper, Vernon Hopkins and Chris Slade. So, here is part of his obituary from the Times:

Mickey Gee was one of those stalwart musicians whose playing was familiar to millions but whose name was known to very few.

Dubbed “the master of the Telecaster” after his favourite instrument and “the best guitarist ever to come out of Wales”, his skilled playing can be heard backing such Welsh stars as Tom Jones, Shakin’ Stevens and Dave Edmunds.

Born in Cardiff in 1943, he began playing the guitar in his early teens. In 1963 he joined a local band called Tommy Scott and the Senators. The group swiftly became the Playboys and then the Squires, with Gee acting as musical director.

After recording several tracks with the producer Joe Meek as Tommy Scott and the Squires, the group broke up at the end of 1964 when the impresario Gordon Mills offered the lead singer a solo contract. Tommy Scott changed his name to Tom Jones and went on to stardom, while Gee returned to playing pubs and clubs on the South Wales live-music circuit.

He went on to play with Joe Cocker, Shakin’ Stevens and several other notables and gained a reputation as a guitarist’s guitarist.

There’s still the story about the “shrine” to Sir Tom and the question on which your opinion is desired. So, please, (more…)

If you are a regular reader of this website, you know that Tom Jones was a fan of Ruth Brown — the first singer signed to the then-new Atlantic Records.

Tom finally met Ruth backstage at the MGM Grand in 2004 photo at left and it was quite a meeting! She was back there for 90 minutes, regaling Tom with “back-in-the-day” stories and talking with him about a range of subjects. At his show, he introduced her as “the original diva” and bowed deeply toward her.When he intro’d What Am I Living For? saying, as he did, “This song was written either in the late 50s or early 60s,”

From the audience Ruth told him, “It was done by Chuck Willis in 1958.” She was correct. Willis was a friend of hers — and so many others were, too.

Through Ruth Brown’s kindness I was privileged to interview her friend BB King. Prince once asked Ruth’s son if he could meet her. At a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event Bruce Springsteen saw her in the auditorium and, a fan, he brought her onstage several years after she was inducted in 1993. She also won a Grammy Award and, for her work on Broadway, a Tony Award. If you saw the original John Waters film Hairspray, you’ll recognize Ruth Brown as Motormouth Maybelle, the part Queen Latifah played in the recent musical version.

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OK, some days there’s just not a lot of news, so this kind of thing gets posted:

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The British reality show Airport was a fly-on-the-wall look at Heathrow — in particular the dealings staff of various airlines had with passengers. (It was later adopted by A&E as Airline and focused on Southwest.)

In one 2002 episode, the the care and feeding of celebrities by the airlines was the topic. Here’s a look at Tom (and a lot of Don Archell who looks terrific) as they wait to board their plane. The best thing is that their temporary minder says after they’ve gone on the plane.

You can watch it here. As usual, if you cannot access it, send a note via the “contact” link at right and it’ll be sent to you,

Thanks, Dre.

On July 14 and 15 — right before he heads to New York — Tom is at Casino Rama.

Ticket pre-sale for Players Passport holders is April 12th at 10am; general sale at Ticketmaster on April 14th at 12 noon. Prices go from $35 to $45.

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When Tom was in Europe late last year, he went to Italy to do the TV show Carramba! Che Fortuna.

Its star, Raffaella Carrà is a singer and actress who hosts the popular program on RAI, Italy’s national TV network. Tom was on to sing If He Should Ever Leave You, which rose to #33 on the Italian charts for five weeks late last year-early this year.

During the interview in Italian and English, Carrà asks Tom, “Among the 24 Hours, what Is the Hour that you prefer?” Bet you can answer it but, if not (or even if you can), you’ll find his answer in the video which is posted in the TJI.com Video Library.

Note: The article that was posted here on Monday is in today’s TampaBay.com. It was originally posted in the writer’s blog. It is the same article.

Stuart Cable (photo right), former drummer of the Welsh band The Stereophonics — with whom Tom did Mama Told Me Not to Come on Reload — has written a book called Demons and Cocktails about his experiences in the group. In it, he talks about Sir Tom, “a father figure.”

In Wales On Sunday, he was interviewed by reporter Nathan Bevan. Among other things, they discuss what made Tom Jones threaten to knock out British comedian Mark Lamarr (who, when one reads about him one finds he comes off as rather dyspeptic).

“The call came in: ‘Tom’s doing Hootenanny with Jools — fancy going for a bit of a knees-up?’

Only Kelly [Jones, Stereophonics' lead singer] and I went. We were in London, anyway. I think Richard was away at the time.

It was a great night. We had a few beers and ended up singing Hi Ho Silver Lining with “The Voice”. I was steaming, dancing my t*ts off like a fool.

After the programme there was a bit of a party backstage. Tom, as usual, was holding court, telling his tales of days gone by.

Click here to see a video of Stuart Cable talking about Tom as a father figure and to (more…)

Today is a double release day for Sir Tom — the newest DVD and the new Tower of Power CD, The Great American Soulbook on which he sings the Sam & Dave classic, I Thank You with TOP. His solo recording of the song is available on Loaded: The Brassed up Funked out Club Sides.

That CD — don’t think it’s official — has some great stuff on it, including Venus and Polk Salad Annie. In fact, if it is an unofficial release, it is an exceptionally good one; a real treat. You can sample it at the link above.

The brand-new, out-today Tower of Power CD is, as the title says, full of great soul music and, even, includes Sam Moore singing Mr. Pitiful. Also featured are Joss Stone and Huey Lewis.

Here’s a clip of Tom’s cut.

The other songs on the CD are: 1. You Met Your Match; 2. I Thank You – featuring Tom Jones; 3. Loveland; 4. It Takes Two – featuring Joss Stone; 5. Me & Mrs. Jones; 6. Star Time (Tribute to James Brown); 7. Mr. Pitiful – featuring Sam Moore; 8. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel; 9. Since You’ve Been Gone (Baby, Baby, Sweet Baby); 10. (Heaven Must Have Sent) Your Precious Love - featuring Joss Stone; 11. 634-5789 - featuring Huey Lewis; 12. Who Is He (And What Is He To You)?

If you don’t know TOP, it’s interesting to note that both Herman Matthews and Bill Churchville played with them. They toured with Tom in 2005 and are terrific — celebrating 40 years of funk. Check ‘em out. The CD is so good.

You can order the CD or just Tom’s song from amazon.com by using one of the amazon.com links at right. The top amazon link is for the entire CD mailed to you; the bottom is for Tom’s song. The download should work in any country.

If you get it, please share your thoughts!