I'll admit it right now: when I was a kid, I did not like singer Tom Jones. No, for me he was for older ladies who inexplicably threw their undergarments at him as he wore toreador pants and growled and shook and hollered in ways that embarrassed my youthful psyche. I mean, OK, "What's New, Pussycat?" was cute and "It's Not Unusual" was jaunty and "Delilah" was dramatic, but...yeah, no, not for me when I had Paul McCartney and Dave Davies and Davy Jones and other such doe-eyed pale British boy youthfulness to swoon over.
Now I am myself one of those older ladies, although I believe I have only thrown undergarments maybe once towards someone and possibly that was because I was trying to get them in a hamper. Now, I really, really get that Tom Jones was and still is a MONSTER talent, and truly a gifted singer. He's definitely someone I would love to see in concert still, as his voice still sounds great and his performance skills are still...swivel-y. Back inna day, Tom had himself an ABC-TV variety show called "This Is Tom Jones," which ran from 1969 to 1971 and featured scores of some of the top entertainment acts of the day. Today, I am going to share with you three SUH-WEET duets from the show with Tom going head-to-head in a SOUL SMACKDOWN with Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, and Stevie Wonder! Who wins? WE DO! Please to enjoy!
Tom Jones and Little Richard Rock n' Roll Medley, air date 11/27/69
Tom Jones and Wilson Pickett "Barefootin'" "Midnight Hour" "Hey Jude," air date 10/30/69
Tom Jones and Stevie Wonder "A Place In The Sun" "Uptight" "It's Not Unusual" "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby," air date 4/25/69
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman