Talk:Tom Jones (singer)

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[edit] Bias

The beginning of the article claims not only has Tom Jones sold "70 million records" world wide but also has "a powerful voice." Unless someone can prove this by citing reliable sources I will remove it and suggest we replace his number of records sold with a far more realistic number. Eatspie (talk) 00:04, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Keep in mind Wikipedia is for factual information, not opinions. Eatspie (talk) 00:07, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Blue-eyed soul

Tom Jones has always been considered a blue-eyed soul singer for many decades, especially during his early career. In the 60s many that heard him on the radio assumed he was a black singer. Tropiwikian 22:36, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] OBE Does Not Confer Knighthood

If Tom Jones is "only" an OBE, he cannot be referred to as Sir Tom Jones. Only the two highest ranks (CBE KCBE) entail admission into knighthood. Tom Jones is only an Officer of the British Empire, and therefore there is not "Sir" attached to his name. user:ber06122 17:04, 8 March 2006 (EST)

Being an OBE doesn't make one a Knight, but being a Knight Bachelor does. (And the two highest ranks in the Order are KBE and GBE, not CBE and KCBE, the former of which is the third highest rank and the latter of which doesn't exist.) Proteus (Talk) 22:38, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Sorry about that, you're right about the ranks. But the point is the same isn't it. We shouldn't be referring to him as "Sir Tom", right? I didn't want to change it without some sort of greater input. user:ber06122 17:48, 8 March 2006 (EST)

Tom Jones was awarded a Knighthood in the in the New Years Honours List this year. The investiture takes place at Buckingham Palace on 29th March 2006 - so maybe he should not officially be called 'Sir Tom' until then. He was awarded an OBE in 1999.

They'll knight anyone these days. If we're down to Tom this year, my goodness, in the next year or two or so, we'll end up knighting people like Jim Davidson. It's a tragedy!!

    • Just to clear things up, there was the same confusion with the Sir Alex Ferguson article (which I managed to sort out)- I have now edited this article and it is correct and should not be edited. He was created an OBE in 1999, which he still holds- and he was also awarded a knighthood in 2006, but that knighthood was not a KBE (KBE = Knight of the Order of the British Empire), it was a Knight Bachelor, which entitles the recipient to be titled Sir, but without any additional post-nominal letters, thus, he is correctly styled "Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, OBE".

[edit] WHAT'S THE HULLABALOO ALL ABOUT?

Why is there a debate about "NON POV" ? What, is "strong and powerful voice" too subjective for the wikistewards? The guy's voice is amazing! I came to this Wiki because I knew Tom Jones sang Thunderball, and I learned that he was only 25 when he recorded it. Now that is amazing (and about racism, down below: that retort is hilarious). 128.119.236.34 04:22, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I second that. We're becoming overly sensitive. -Elp gr 14:47, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

WRT Mr. Jones' career slumping in the forties and fifties, how can that be if he was only born in 1940 and didn't rise to fame until the sixties? Maybe what was meant was seventies and eighties? Nohat 17:33, 2003 Sep 12 (UTC)

"During his forties and fifties" i.e. the 80s and 90s. Arwel 13:43, 9 Oct 2003 (UTC)

In 1988, British heavy metal magazine Kerrang! ran a hoax story that Jones was joining heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath. There was never any truth to this, but Sabbath leader Tony Iommi said that he would have liked to have had Jones sing on his 2000 eponymous solo album. Hmmmm. --MarshallStack 04:25, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tom Jones middle name

Can anyone confirm Tom's middle name? I thought it was John, and plenty of web pages confirm that, but equally many have 'Jones' - but Jones as a middle name (rather than hyphenated last name) seems a little unlikely. Varitek 07:38, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

It's not unusual (sorry got the pun) in Wales for people to have their mother's maiden surname as their second forename. My mother's middle name is Jones, too. I first heard his full name was "Thomas Jones Woodward" back in the '60s. -- Arwel 13:26, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

The Ellis/Sutherland biography (from 2000) clearly states that his name is Thomas John Woodward. (E-Kartoffel 12:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC))

Many biographies state his name as Thomas John Woodward, and I've even found one that stated his name as Tom Woodward Junior. But his official website www.tomjones.com indicates his name as Thomas Jones Woodward. Seanna 22:14, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

BBC [1] and National Portrait Gallery [2] gives Jones. Good enough for me. --Henrygb 09:39, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Singles

His discography seems only to list his UK hits, probably needs a bit of work done to include non-charting singles. I have a few sources for these, so I will get onto it shortly. Bonalaw 09:47, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I think that he may have done a single with Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies called "Little Green Bag"

[edit] Racism

On the Kumars at No. 42, Tom Jones said that because of his curly hair, he was mistaken for an African American while in the United States and discriminated against. Fkh82 23:54, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

  • what does this have to do with anything? Is there a citation? Do you mean to imply that Jones is racist? Srcastic 00:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
Hmm, I don't know how that would make Jones a racist. Maybe you should read the sentence again slowly and try to understand it first Fkh82 20:35, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification - you didn't mean to imply Jones is a racist. I go back to my first point - what does this have to do with anything - it seems like a non-sequitur. Srcastic 06:24, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Seems blindingly obvious to anyone who can read that he/she wasn't trying to imply that Tom Jones is racist. As to what it has to do with anything - it seems to me to be an interesting anecdote about Tom Jones who is the subject of the article. Do you understand what a non-sequitur is? TurnerPrize 14:24, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
My interpretations: Tom Jones was merely pointing out the prejudices that existed in the American society; even if you "looked or had features" that were associated with African Americans, you too were discriminated against. - QzDaddy 14:34, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

Tom has also stated in numerous interviews that when his first single hit the airwaves, people mistook him for being a black singer because of his voice. But this didn't have anything at all to do with prejudices, only that they said he sounded black. Tropiwikian 00:24, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Oh my God, add up the evidence, he must have some non- White ancestry, he has a dark complexion, wide nostrils, kinked hair and a black man's voice? You add it up.

82.9.29.195 09:40, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ancient joke

"Doctor doctor, I feel like Tom Jones!" "It's not unusual!" Kid Apathy 17:56, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

Or better still. "Doctor Doctor i keep singing Tom Jones Hits", "Ah, you're suffering from Tom Jones Fever". "Oh, Is it rare?", "Well, it's not unusual!"

[edit] God bless him

Rest his soul, now he can rest in peace. 70.177.90.238 02:20, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

He isn't dead, idiot.

True, but he killed the music scene a heck of a long time ago!

[edit] Romany?

I have seen it claimed in the past that Tom is part-Romany. I have not seen a reliable source for this, but his complexion suggests that it is possible, I suppose. Does anyone have any more information on the claim?

He's a black, can't you see, or some kind of a mixed.

82.27.229.140 14:01, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Knight Bachelor

My understanding is that conferral of a Knighthood Bachelor does not entitle the holder to a post-nominal except in cases of potential ambiguity, therefore this reference ought to be omitted. --Ross UK 21:13, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean this ref next to his name: Kt? This item is frequently submitted and omitted. Does it belong there or not? 65.3.230.241 16:19, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Carlton Dance

Someone should mention the Carleton Dance off of the Fresh Prince of Bel-air.



[edit] cwmtillary

I assume this is a misspelling of a town(paragraph 3 music career) but I don't know the correct spelling BauerPower 19:52, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

this is the correct spelling. It comes up in Google as a valid place name in Wales. Rossrs 20:35, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Ok, thanks BauerPower 23:56, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Silly tidbits:

An impersonator appeared on a Summer 2005 episode of Clean Sweep. I hope Tom himself caught it.

At the end of each episode of his variery show, he was said to have announced: "Gwyn eich byd a dymunaf i chwi lawenydd bob amser." Meaning, "May you always be well and be happy."

Oh, he couldn't possibly have killed the music scene. It's still around.

Yeah but a lot worse because he's in it 66.66.161.1 20:15, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] discography

This section is fairly extensive. does anyone think it should it be moved to a separate article? riana 18:30, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I agree... Seanna 17:06, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Photo

I don't doubt that someone could not know Tom Jones but a photo of his would be nice

[edit] What genre?

First paragraph should include what genre(s) the artist can be categorized in. I don't know enough about his music to do this myself. Please assist. Kent Wang 15:43, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What's New, Pussycat?

I have edited "Woody Allen's What's New Pussycat" to read simply "What's New Pussycat". Thought the script was written by Mr. Allen (who also plays a role), it was not directed by him.

It is not customary to attribute movies to the writer; the format "John Doe's Movie" usually implies that John Doe directed it. (Compare, for example, "Steven Spielberg's ET" versus "Melissa Mathison's ET".) MIP | Talk 12:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)


[edit] His race

The Twelve Tribes of the Commonwealth of Israel's undisputed opinion of Tom Jones should be noted. I believe that listing this fact is paramount to keeping the neutral point of view that wikipedia holds so dear. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.239.192.91 (talk • contribs) 21:39, 30 April 2007 (UTC).

Here's the Wikipedia article for their religious movement: The Twelve Tribes (New religious movement). Graham87 04:48, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
Additionally, the group only has 2500 members. The neutral point of view policy says that viewpoints with extremely small minorities shouldn't be mentioned - 2500 people out of a world population of over 6 billion is quite a small minority. Graham87 05:18, 1 May 2007 (UTC)


[edit] TIGER! TIGER! IN THE NIGHT!

What is the reason to omit the well-known and popular nick-name "Tiger" which is used for Tom Jones quite regularly? Why was it deleted? NPOV? Unsourced? Unimportant? Even German Wikipedia has an entry about this...

I've been watching this article since January 2006 and I don't remember that ever being in the article. If you want to you can add it - why did he get this nickname though? I don't know too much about him - the article is just on my watchlist because of some sneaky vandalism I fixed a while ago. Graham87 13:54, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Split Trousers

People keep removing my "split trouser" reference. Maybe its because they personally have not heard of it and hence don't believe it. I have been occasionally scouring the web for references and today happened upon this blog: http://buckleyontheblog.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html which came up in a google search. In it she mentions splitting her trousers and refers to Tom Jones doing the same. So its not just me! (I knew I hadn't imagined it). I shall keep searching for a definitive reference. Migglezimblatt 16:33, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

another reference: http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/dress-up/masks/pop-stars/tom-jones.html

[edit] Kelley Hardman

There is a reference at the end of the article to Tom having a lifelong grudge against this individual. Unless this can be verified, it should be removed. Maybe I'm an ignorant American, but I have no idea who Kelley Hardman is, and searches of wikipedia and google turn up nothing... 199.79.10.118 (talk) 18:09, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Working in a garden centre?

In the Personal Info section there is this statement: "Tom Jones also works for Countryside Nursery & Garden Center in Newark, Delaware." I don't believe this, can we have a citation please or take it out? Cathi M (talk) 02:12, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image copyright problem with Image:Chicane feat. Tom Jones - Stoned in Love (Club 12 mix).ogg

The image Image:Chicane feat. Tom Jones - Stoned in Love (Club 12 mix).ogg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

  • That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
  • That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --22:24, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tom Jones

Tom Jones: the actores got last year their new projects at the same time to their own movies: Rachel Skarsten: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 12:59, April 13, 2008: written: Robert De Niro: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 01:00, April 6, 2008: search: Lisa Lavie: Free Your Mind: there are only one life: there´s nothing to loose: wishing you the best to the oscar and grammy awards: Paranoyak: Ebru Elver: more much better: with the rhythm of: girl you know it´s true: Milli Vanilli: there are any parts for: Paranoyak: Timbaland presents: One Republic: Apologize: take my mission: good luck ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.6.101.71 (talk) 21:02, 10 June 2008 (UTC)