Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones is a Welsh singer whose powerful baritone and theatrical stage presence have carried him through six decades of pop, rock, country, soul, and gospel recordings. Born Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940, in Treforest, Pontypridd, Wales, he has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Jones grew up in a coal-mining family and contracted tuberculosis at age 12, spending two years in convalescence during which he listened obsessively to American radio. He left school at 16, married Linda Trenchard in 1957, and worked in construction and as a glove-factory door-to-door salesman while singing weekends with the South Wales beat group Tommy Scott and the Senators.

Manager Gordon Mills signed him in 1964, renamed him Tom Jones, and produced "It's Not Unusual" in 1965, which reached number one in the UK and number ten in the United States. He recorded the title songs for the James Bond film Thunderball (1965) and the comedy What's New Pussycat? (1965), and won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1966.

His ABC variety series This Is Tom Jones ran from 1969 to 1971. After a country-music period in the 1970s, he reinvented himself in 1988 with the Prince-penned single "Kiss" and the 1999 duets album Reload, which reached number one in the UK. He has been a coach on The Voice UK since 2012, was knighted in 2006, and continues to tour internationally.

The name Tom is a short form of Thomas, derived from the Aramaic name Ta'oma meaning "twin."