Tom Jones

In 1965, a year after his first single, “Chills and Fever” failed to gain momentum, “Welshman Tom Jones” snapped, clapped and wound his hips in crisp black and white on the Ed Sullivan Show, singing of how it’s not unusual to find out he’s in love with us, a cacophony of histrionic nymphets screaming, hoping he was singing for them.  Of course, that was only the beginning. When asked, “How important is sex in rock and roll?” he responds with: “Well, sex, drugs, and rock and roll—but the drug part, I never did. To me, it’s wine, women and song.” He takes a beat, revises. “With me, it’s song, wine, and women—that’s the way it went.” “It’s Not Unusual” was first offered to ‘60s powerhouse Sandie Shaw who passed it off to Tom. Released in early 1965 (January in the UK, March in the U.S.),...