Tom Jones Biography

• Born: 7 June 1940
• Birthplace: Pontypridd, South Wales
• Best Known As: Sexy Welsh singer of "It's Not Unusual"
• Name at birth: Thomas Jones Woodward
• Height: 5' 10" (178 cm)
• Eye Color: Brown - Dark
• Hair Color: Brown - Dark
• Star Sign: Gemini

He is the son of Welsh coal miner Thomas Woodward and Freda Jones and started singing very young. Whilst bedridden for two years due to tuberculosis at age 13, he basically just listened to music and drew, two things which have stood him in good stead in later years. He quit school totally unqualified and was forced to do various jobs including labouring on building sites and even selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door!

Jones married Linda Trenchard in 1957, when he was 16 years old. He and his wife had one son (Mark), born later that year. He has remained married to his wife of 50+ years into the 21st century!

Jones shares a name with the rascally title character of the 1749 Henry Fielding novel Tom Jones... Jones performed as Tommy Scott early in his career, then returned to his own birth name minus the 'Woodward'...

Jones' 1965 single "It's Not Unusual" shot to #1 and made him a player in the swinging music scene of the 1960s. The same year he scored hits with the movie themes to What's New, Pussycat? and the James Bond film Thunderball. Jones was a pure power singer, with a roughish bare-chested appeal that was a particular hit with female fans. His act was ready-made for Las Vegas (where he became friends with Elvis Presley), and from 1969-71 he had his own TV show, This is Tom Jones, which aired both in the U.K. and America. Jones's star faded a bit in the 1970s, but in 1988 he reinvented himself, joining the cutting-edge band Art of Noise to remake the Prince hit "Kiss" into a hit of his own.

Tom Jones moved to the USA in 1974.

Due to his hard work and huge success over many years, Tom Jones has amassed a fortune of over $250 million and he owns several properties, including Dean Martin's former LA mansion and a 4 hectare smallholding in Wales.

He was awarded an OBE in 1999 and made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Years Honors list for his services to music. Subsequently, in 2006, Jones was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.