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A Look Back To 1997: Sir Tom Tours Israel & Appears On TV
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Tom toured Israel in 1997 and, in this TV interview, talked about being in the resort city of Eilat, the southernmost in Israel, for a show that evening.
He tells the interviewer that this is his first time in the country but, we know, he was mistaken. Tom was in Israel early in his career. I know that because many people have a copy of the a capella version he did that night of My Yiddishe Momma.
In this video clip he is interviewed about that evening’s show and, later on, there’s video of him onstage singing Delilah.
You can watch the video in the TJI.com Video Library.
April 11th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
I love that version of My Yiddishe Momma! I would also love to hear him do it in person.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Tom’s version of that song is one of my all-time favorites – it never fails to bring me to tears!!
April 12th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Well, Joanne, you’re a New Yorker, so you must remember the old ad that applies to My Yiddishe Mama: “You don’t have to be Jewish…..”
April 13th, 2011 at 4:59 am
LOL! Sure do remember that, Ellen!
April 14th, 2011 at 4:05 am
I love Tom’s version of Yiddishe Mama as well. Ellen do you know why the song has such significant importance for Tom. He has said in the live album “Tom Jones Live at the Talk of the Town” that his father used to sing it to him as a boy. Does he have a Jewish heritage?
April 14th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
James: I think the remark about his father singing it — said with a small laugh — was a joke. As far as I’ve read and/or heard, Tom has no Jewish heritage, although when he was a boy in Pontypridd, he had lots of Jewish friends and, perhaps, grew to like the culture. I know he can use a Yiddish word or phrase then the occasion merits it.