An Excuse To Revisit A Lovely Song; A Year-End Roundup From Wales & Tom’s Album On “Best of 2010″ Lists
Friday, December 31st, 2010
A Jewish newspaper in the UK just woke up to the fact that Tom has sung this song for more than 40 years:
Tom Jones goes yiddish
By Simon Rocker, December 29, 2010 /The Jewish Chronicle
Before the year is out, let me add my own salute to the evergreen Sir Tom Jones, who turned 70 in summer.
Lesser known among his musical repertoire is a rendering of the Sophie Tucker classic, My Yiddishe Momme.
Not quite up there among his greatest hits Sex Bomb and Delilah, I grant you, but it would have gone down a storm in The Catskills.
Sir Tom says that he learned the song from his father but is it possible he could have picked it up from another source?
When he was a boy, he used to be a Shabbos goy* for the long-gone Pontypridd Synagogue.
*A Shabbos goy (or, in today’s pronunciation, “Shabbat” goy, is a Christian who would work for Orthodox Jewish people on the Sabbath doing tasks — cooking, cleaning, etc. — forbidden by Jewish law for Jews to do on the Sabbath.
Here is a very special version of My Yiddishe Momma, as Tom sang it in concert in Israel. This is different and so much more lovely than the one he recorded live in London. And it’s a song for any mother.
(Thanks again, Lois, for the use of the photo.)
From a story in Western Mail called The Top 10 quotes from the mouths of Wales’ rich and famous comes this:
# 4) “I found out that he’s some fella who signs cheques or something.” – Sir Tom Jones made sure his record label boss knew exactly who he was dealing with after being caught labelling the star’s new album a “joke”.
Tom Jones leads Jeff Spevak’s top albums of the year
Jeff Spevak /Globe and Democrat, Rochester, NY
For years, I’ve claimed that truly important albums have to stand for something important. As I examine the finished list for 2010, I see grand statements, especially in Gil Scott-Heron’s self-examination of his life as an African-American. But it’s all mostly personal reflection, presented as simply good music.
The No. 1 album surfaces not out of the urgency of the word, but because, whenever I put on the CD, guests would invariably ask, “What is this?” This is Tom Jones — with the record of his life.
TOM JONES: PRAISE & BLAME. When I last saw Tom Jones singing live, in 2006, one of the highlights was a bluesy take on the old traditional, St. James Infirmary. He’s continued that deep musical journey here with songs celebrating the roots of American music. There’s no What’s New, Pussycat kitsch. His aching, restrained take on Dylan’s What Good Am I? is followed by a soul-rocking version of Jessie Mae Hemphill’s Lord, Help the Poor and Needy. At 70, Jones’ voice still rises to the occasion, booming its way through the gospel of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Strange Things, while he and the guitars are a gritty match on John Lee Hooker’sBurning Hell.” And Billy Joe Shaver’s If I Give My Soul will shake you up. All I can say is, wow … good work.
The site explains, “Hickory Wind is all about roots music: twang, rock, folk, country, grass, jam, celtic, whatever. We want everyone to love this music, and we’re here to help share it with the world!” It’s a site worth checking out. Below is #6 on writer Sean Moore’s Top 10 of 2010:
6. Praise & Blame, Tom Jones – This album got off to a notoriously rough start when an Island Records VP, in a leaked pre-release memo, referred to it as a “sick joke.” It’s anything but. It’s closer to a late-career masterpiece in the vein of Johnny Cash’s American Recordings. Jones’ career often is mistaken for pure Vegas kitsch, complete with leisure suits, unbuttoned shirts and plenty of panties littering the stage. And although Jones is guilty of turning out some schlock, he’s always had a firm handle on the American songbook. Here he’s paired with another authority on roots music in producer Ethan Johns. As a result, Praise & Blame buries the guy responsible for What’s New Pussycat? and brings out the bloke who was every bit as much a part of the mid-’60s British blues boom as the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones. And, at 70, Jones’ booming baritone still is a natural wonder. On Praise & Blame, he wraps its awesome power to traditional spirituals and covers of gospel material by Pops Staples, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Billy Joe Shaver. His voice is at times poignantly restrained, such as on Bob Dylan’s What Good Am I. On other tracks, such as John Lee Hooker’s Burning Hell, it’s pure fire and brimstone. Rest assured, Jones is not joking.
