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Thomas Woodward Biography & Facts

Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born 7 June 1940) is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has been described by AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone".Jones's performing range has included pop, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, soul, and gospel. In 2008, the New York Times called him a "musical shapeshifter [who could] slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty". He has sold over 100 million records, with 36 Top 40 hits in the UK and 19 in the US, including "It's Not Unusual", "What's New Pussycat?", the theme song for the James Bond film Thunderball (1965), "Green, Green Grass of Home", "Delilah", "She's a Lady", "Sex Bomb", and a cover of Prince's "Kiss".Jones has also occasionally dabbled in acting, first making his debut in the lead role of the television film Pleasure Cove (1979). He also appeared as himself in Tim Burton's film Mars Attacks! (1996). In 1970, he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy nomination for hosting the television series This Is Tom Jones. In 2012, he played his first dramatic acting role in an episode of Playhouse Presents. He received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966, an MTV Video Music Award in 1989, and two Brit Awards: Best British Male in 2000 and Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2003. He received an OBE in 1998 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for services to music. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 2010s due to his role as a coach on the talent show The Voice UK (2012–2015, 2017–present). Early life Thomas John Woodward was born at 57 Kingsland Terrace in Treforest in Wales on 7 June 1940, the son of Freda Jones (1914–2003) and coal miner Thomas Woodward (1910–1981). He is primarily of English descent; his maternal grandfather was Welsh, his maternal grandmother was born in Wales to English parents from Somerset and Wiltshire, his English paternal grandfather was from Gloucestershire, and his English paternal grandmother was from Wiltshire. He attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School, and Pontypridd Central Secondary Modern School. He began singing at an early age; he would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings, and in his school choir. He did not like school or sports, but gained confidence through his singing talent. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later, he said, "I spent two years in bed recovering. It was the worst time of my life." During this time, he could do little else but listen to music and draw.: 9–10  Career Rise to fame Jones's voice has been described as a "full-throated, robust baritone". According to Jones himself, his young voice was a tenor voice. He said: "What you lose on the top end, you gain on the bottom end. I used to be able to hit a top C when I was young now it's a B flat." He became the frontman in 1963 for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh beat group. They soon gained a local following and reputation in South Wales. In 1964, the group recorded several solo tracks with producer Joe Meek, who took them to various record labels, but they had little success. Later that year, Decca producer Peter Sullivan saw Tommy Scott and the Senators performing in a club and directed them to manager Phil Solomon, but the partnership was short-lived. The group continued playing gigs around South Wales. Gordon Mills met Jones, became his manager, and introduced him to London, where Mills worked in music. Mills renamed him "Tom Jones", to exploit the popularity of the Academy Award-winning 1963 film.Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with Decca. His first single, "Chills and Fever", was released in late 1964. It did not chart, but the follow-up, "It's Not Unusual", became an international hit after offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline promoted it. The following year was the most prominent of Jones's career, making him one of the most popular vocalists of the British Invasion. In early 1965, "It's Not Unusual" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States. During 1965, Mills secured a number of film themes for Jones to record, including the James Bond film Thunderball, and What's New Pussycat? (written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David). Jones was sceptical about the latter song when first approached about it. He said when it was offered to him, he felt it was "sort of a backhanded compliment: 'I've got to have you, but this is the song.'" Jones said it took convincing from Bacharach to perform "What's New Pussycat?": "When I first heard it I thought, 'Christ! What the bloody hell do they want me to sing this for?' But Burt Bacharach explained, 'I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song.' And you put it on, it's a classic." Jones was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966. During a filming break at Paramount Studios (1965) in Hollywood, Jones met Elvis Presley for the first time; he recalls Presley singing, 'With These Hands' as he walked towards him from the film set. The two men became good friends.In 1966, Jones's popularity began to slip somewhat, causing Mills to reshape the singer's image into that of a crooner. Jones also began to sing broader material. Jones soon topped UK charts and reached the top 40 in US charts. Over the next few years he scored a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "I'm Coming Home", and "Delilah", each of which reached No. 2 in the UK chart. 1967 to 1987 In 1967, Jones performed in Las Vegas for the first time, at the Flamingo. His performances and style of dress became part of his stage act, and increasingly featured his open, half-unbuttoned shirts and tight trousers. He soon chose to record less and focus on club performances. Jones played in Las Vegas at least one week each year until 2011. Jones had an internationally successful television variety show titled This Is Tom Jones from 1969 to 1971. The Associated Television-produced show was worth a reported US$9,000,000 (equivalent to about $67,700,000 in 2023) to Jones over three years. It was broadcast by ITV in the UK and by the American Broadcasting Company in the US. As a result of the show, Jones was nominated in 1970 for a "best actor" Golden Globe. From 1980 to 1981, he had a second television variety show, Tom Jones, which was produced in Vancouver, Canada, and lasted 24 episodes. Both television shows were the subject of litigation with the original licence holder C/F International. As of December 2004, C/F International was a secured judgment creditor of Classic World Productions and its principal, Darryl Payne, for approximately US$1,000,000 (equivalent to about $1,600,000 in 2023), and was the principal secured creditor at the time of the subsequent bankruptcy filing by the com.... Discover the Thomas Woodward popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Thomas Woodward books.