Tom Jones

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• Genre: Vocal-Pop
• Hometown: Pontypridd
• Tom Jones Website

About

Emerging from a small Welsh town like a black-haired tornado, Jones won the hearts and panties of scores of women on both sides of the Atlantic with his roguish good looks, bodybuilder's physique, impressive vocal range, impassioned and wonderfully melodramatic delivery, and those oh-so-tight pants which left nothing to the imagination. Emerging during the British Invasion of the mid-1960s, Jones had quite a bit in common with pop singers who flexed their vocal muscle over heavily orchestrated arrangements. But his classic numbers -- "It's Not Unusual," "Delilah," "She's a Lady" -- reveal a raw sexuality and primal urgency that link him more to Vegas-era Elvis than popular crooners such as Sinatra. What Jones really does best is bring his unmistakable charisma and over-the-top vocal stylings to any and all musical settings -- country, electronica, R&B and rock 'n' roll. A great example of this is his cover of Prince's "Kiss," where the Welshman sexily growls and prowls like an over-sexed uber male while Art of Noise puts the music in a quirky dance pop setting.

- Will Lerner