Tom Jones International

Happy April Fools Day. Have fun!

First, please take time to read the post below and to comment if you wish. That’s the purpose of this site — of a fan community. Your participation enriches us all.

A lot of the conversation on this site these days and, in actual conversation among fans, concerns the direction Sir Tom’s career is taking.

Let’s all agree that he should probably tour North America (and South and Asia, too) and that it’d be so terrific if Spirit In The Room were released worldwide for both maximum exposure and — for Tom and those who make money when he does — maximum profit. That’s be great, wouldn’t it.

But, aside from touring in North America and elsewhere outside of Europe, and aside from seeing the new CD in wider release, here’s the TJI.com April 2012 Question of the Month:

You are granted the power to make one decision about Sir Tom Jones’ career. What would that be? Would you choose a particular song? A specific venue? An acting job? Think about it and please share your idea. and your reason for believing it would be a good career move. And have fun with it! (Maybe, for example, you believe Tom should perform on the moon — the first singer to sing Fly Me To the Moon and mean it:))

Now that Tom’s vinyl (and digital) recordings of Evil and Jezebel are being released this week, it’s time to consider what other songs you’d like Sir Tom to do.

Evil is an old Howlin’ Wolf tune and Jezebel was first done by Frankie Laine. Now what if Tom were to cover more songs soon?

The TJI.com Question of the Month is:
What one (1) other song, done before by someone else, would you like to hear Sir Tom do?

I’ll get things started by suggesting the Johnny Mercer classic — the perfect late-night song — done before by Mr. Sinatra — One For My Baby. Sinatra’s version is perfect and I believe only Tom could take it, put his indelible stamp on it and make it his own.

So, what is your single suggestion?

If he has recorded any of the songs, I’ll post them soon and let you know where you can get them. Watch for it.

According to a story February 3 in The Bookseller.com live performances of the Voice UK will begin April 12, 2012.

In concert with that, the first of four behind-the-scenes books about the show and the people involved to be published over the next two years will be released. (Hope all of the talent agrees to cooperate.)

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We all have our favorite songs that you really loved seeing Tom perform or would have loved to see Tom perform.

If you were to put together a video of Tom singing your favorites in performance, which song is the one you really want to include? For example, your moderator’s must-include would likely be What Am I Living For?

So, the TJI.com Question of the Month is:

What is your one must-include song in a Tom Jones “Fan Favorite” video compilation?

And, don’t be surprised if there’s a special video posted for Valentine’s Day. It likely won’t include every song suggested, but as many as possible will be there.

Moderator’s Note, February 2: Remember, this is a request for videos. So, if you are suggesting an obscure song and know where to find a video, email the info to TJI.com.

I haven’t had the opportunity to look but, thus far, I know there may be trouble finding: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind; More Than Memories; Brother, Can You Spare A Dime; That Wonderful Sound and Memory. Doin’ my best, guys.

If you were away for the holiday or too busy to visit TJI.com the last few days, please be sure to read the December 29 post just below and check the comments, and be sure to add your own voice to the discussion if you wish.

Wishing the entire TJI community a year of health, prosperity, joy and good music!

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We all, I daresay, wish Sir Tom and his family a year of good health, good things and good music.

But, there are other things we probably all wish for Tom in 2012. Those wishes likely include a hearty “break a leg!” for any appearances he makes on TV or in concert and a wish that the new album be a smash worldwide. We also probably each wish he’d appear in a venue where we can see him.

So, the TJI.com Question of the Month for January, 2012 is:

Is there anything besides the items mentioned above that you wish for Sir Tom in 2012?

(Please don’t respond that you want him to appear near you. that is a given and does not need to be repeated.)

There’s been a great deal of talk about Sir Tom’s career, most especially, what he’s going to do next.

Will he join the panel on The Voice? If he does, approximately three months will be taken up with all that’s involved in 12 episodes. People in the field say that, if he does sign on, he will essentially cut out three months of doing anything else, although he may still be able to do one-nighters near London, where the TV show is done.

Or, with a new CD coming out — supposedly early next year — should he tour in support of that? And, where should he tour? Praise and Blame was a wonderful move into a seldom-explored-by-Tom-Jones area of music and it should have won heaps of awards. It was certified gold in the UK, signifying 100,000 units shipped to retailers, not necessarily units sold.

Most of the fans who visit TJI all agreed that the effort deserved all it got and more but, to get more recognition, it had to get more promotion — specifically in the USA where the population is 312,696,857 (current as of the moment of this writing according to the US Census Bureau as compared to the UK’s most current population number,62,218,761 (2010 number). With the right promotion, there would logically be more units shipped and sold in the USA. (For the record, Europe has more people than North America but they are divided by diverse languages and cultures so every promo effort has to be specifically targeted.)

Note: I am not even remotely suggesting that Sir Tom only tour the USA/North America. He should go where it makes good sense to go to promote his music and get the widest possible audience and sell the most product.

The Grammy® nominations were announced Wednesday night and — although Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Susan Boyle and Seth MacFarlane were nominated — we know who wasn’t. Admittedly, Praise and Blame might not fit in the category in which they were all nominated — Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album — but it could fit in a gospel category if (1) the voters were daring enough for a slight departure and (2) if the Grammy® nominating committee had heard it often enough. Well, maybe the next one.

So, here’s the TJI Question of the Month for December, 2011:

In the new year, what should Sir Tom Jones do? Make a commitment to The Voice?? Tour? And if he should tour, where should he go? Should he do anything else?

Thanks, Dre

First, the big news: TJI has two solid sources (plus the photo at right) that say Sir Tom is back in Peter Gabriel’s studio in Box, Wiltshire, once again recording with the amazing Ethan Johns! Clearly, this is true but you know it’s not official until it’s on Tom’s site or, as it’s called “Official Tom Jones,” thus making whatever’s posted there “official.”

Second, it is a fact that, due to the nature of their history, the US and Great Britain have always had a special relationship. But, in this article from the October 30 New York Times Sunday Magazine, the knowledgeable author suggests that the relationship between the US and Britain might have to be rethought. Interesting, not too long and well worth reading. And, if you do, feel free to comment on it below.

It was noted here on October 24, that a scheme is in the making to create a “Tom Jones Experience” in his birthplace of Pontypridd.

The plan was discussed on Aamericymru.net the terrific Portland, Oregan-based website for Welsh ex-pats and those of Welsh heritage in America and you can go there to see some of the comments.

So the TJI.com Question of the Month for November is:

If a Tom Jones Experience is put together in Pontypridd, what attraction(s) would you include?

Finally! if you missed the CD The Mail newspaper had as a readers’ bonus, you can download it here. But, you may need a plug-in, so do it with full awareness of all the possibilities of what could go wrong in mind. That said, it’s good listening and you may easily find it on eBay.

Thanks, Kat!

Don’t forget! You can now order the TomJonesInternational 2012 Fan Calendar! They cannot be printed until there is a set minimum number ordered. So, please, consider getting one for yourself and/or as a gift for a fan. Just click the order form at right.

And, if you missed the PBS appearance on September 20, you can access it in the post below.

Seeing Tom perform by himself is terrific but let’s just imagine he’s going to tour with another artist. Perhaps he could do a series of shows with Hugh Laurie. Or, maybe he could be the one to lure Jools Holland out of the UK. Their 2004 collaboration is one of my favorites and I’d love to see them work together. Or, how about U2?

So, the TJI.com Question of the Month for October is:

If you could arrange to have Tom tour with any other performer, who would it be? And why?

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Bonus! Finally, a somewhat decent video was posted of Tom singing with Hugh Laurie at The Mint was posted by HughLaurie.net. The video is of Tom singing Baby Please Make A Change. But unlike the videos from the night already posted all over the place — even places that should care about quality — this shows Tom, not some red blob moving in the dark and you can see the joy he and Laurie experienced interacting/performing with each other. Click here to watch Hugh Laurie and Tom Jones at The Mint, September 30, 2011.

In a moderator’s comment on a story posted below that talks about Tom’s “#1 fan,” the question of what qualifies someone to call her/himself anyone’s “#1 fan” — what makes a fan the “#1?” Is it the person who writes the best essay explaining why he or she is the #1 fan? Is it a count of ticket stubs from shows the person has seen? Is it a fistfight? Is it the person who consistently travels great distances to see Tom? Is it the person who dances to the music most enthusiastically — or enthusiastically wiggles around in her chair — in his audience? Is it the person who knows all the lyrics (and insists on singing along) when you’re trying to watch the show?

Thus, the TJI.com September Question of the Month:

If you were asked to choose Tom Jones’ #1 Fan how would you do it? What qualifications/criteria/standards/achievements would you use?

Fans everywhere seem pretty excited that Tom added (resurrected?) Chills and Fever (video here) to his setlist last week. With that in mind, the TJI Question of the Month for August is simple:

You have the choice of one song — just one! — that can be added to Tom’s setlist. What song and why would you choose it?

Added Note: A couple of people named obscure songs — “obscure” because they haven’t been recorded, just performed in live shows or they’re B sides. I’ll post at least two of those tomorrow. If there any other you’d like to hear in his set, post it in a comment and, if I can, I’ll post them.

Sorry the Question of the Month for July is late but, truthfully, I got distracted and forgot. At any rate, here’s one I hope will be provocative and lead to some lively discussion:

At times we’ve talked about what, if anything, an entertainer owes his or her fans. In the end, we concluded that a good performance is all that is owed. But some people emailed the moderator with further thoughts.

They noted that in today’s digital world fans are owed digital stuff. This means an info-packed website with news and, when applicable, new music.

For fans the payoff is up-to-date information.. Simple. But, for the entertainer, the payoff may be more. The payoff is, for certain, heightened interest in the entertainer, a sense on their part that they, as fans, are appreciated and, thus, a desire to spread the word to others.

So, the TJI.com Question Of The Month is:
As a fan, what would you like to see/do you believe, is necessary on Tom’s website? Or, does it already fulfill your fan “needs?”

Be sure to check TJI on Thursday, July 7, for some terrific, fun (but not for prudes) video and really good new photos!