Tom Jones

June 7th is the birthday of a man who's been wowing us since the mid-'60s and is still packing them in on huge tours, Sir Tom Jones. He was a talented singer from childhood, and in his early 20s, already married with a young son, he was the frontman of a Welsh beat group called Tommy Scott and the Senators. 

Playing in a club in the Welsh mining village of Cwmtillery one night, he was spotted by Gordon Mills, a talent manager and fellow Welshman based in London. Mills renamed Thomas Woodward Tom Jones, and he found him a record contract with Decca. After a first single flop, he hit the big time with the international hit It's Not Unusual. 

Then followed a torrent of bestsellers: With These Hands, What's New Pussycat?, Thunderball, The Green, Green Grass of Home, I Have Nothing, Delilah, Help Yourself, and She's a Lady, among them. In recent years, Tom's collaborated with contemporary artists such as the Stereophonics and Robbie Williams, and has been a popular judge on the television talent show The Voice, where he's often spoken about his close friendship with Elvis Presley. 

He has a passion for live performance, over the years playing hundreds of arenas, concert halls, and theatres, and the Las Vegas Strip.

Here's a video of Sir Tom, or just Tom as he was called then, from the Dusty Springfield show back in 1967).