Tom Jones

Tom Jones Singer - Born June 7, 1940 in Pontypridd, Wales, UK

Birth Name Thomas John Woodward

Nicknames Tiger, The Voice

Height 5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Mini Bio (1) Tom Jones was born Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, to a traditional coal-mining family, the son of Freda (Jones) and Thomas Woodward. His father was of English descent and his mother was of Welsh and English ancestry. He began singing at an early age in church and in the school choir. Left school at 16 and was married, having a son a year later. He brought in money for his family from an assortment of jobs, singing in pubs at night. By 1963, he was playing regularly with his own group in the demanding atmosphere of working mens clubs. Gordon Mills, a performer who had branched out into songwriting and management went to see him. He became his manager and landed him a record contract in 1964. They made a great team and had huge international success with their second single, a song penned by Mr Mills -- "It's Not Unusual." An avalanche of gold singles and albums followed. Mr Jones, a vocal powerhouse, has sustained his popularity for over three decades, and his recordings have spanned the spectrum of musical styles. Now lives with his wife Melinda in homes in Wales and California.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: BlackKnight1([email protected]

Spouse (1) Melinda Rose Trenchard (2 March 1957 - 10 April 2016) (her death) (1 child)

Trade Mark (1) Rich, lifting baritone voice

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0429367/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Sir Thomas John Woodward OBE (born 7 June 1940), also known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer. His career has spanned six decades, from his emergence as a vocalist in the mid-1960s with a string of top hits, regular touring, appearances in Las Vegas (1967–2011), and career comebacks—to coaching on The Voice UK from 2012 (with the exception of 2016). Jones's powerful voice has been described as a "full-throated, robust baritone".

His performing range has included pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, soul and gospel. In 2008, the New York Times called Jones a musical "shape shifter", who could "slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty". Jones has sold over 100 million records with thirty-six Top 40 hits in the United Kingdom and nineteen in the United States, including "It's Not Unusual", "What's New Pussycat", "Delilah", "Green, Green Grass of Home", "She's a Lady", "Kiss", and "Sex Bomb".

Jones has also occasionally dabbled in acting, making his debut playing the leading role in the 1979 television film Pleasure Cove as well as playing himself in Tim Burton's 1996 film Mars Attacks! In 2012, he played a dramatic role in an episode of Playhouse Presents.

Jones received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966, an MTV Video Music Award in 1989, and two Brit Awards: Best British Male in 2000 and the Outstanding Contribution to Music award in 2003. Jones was awarded an OBE in 1999 and in 2006 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music.

Personal life Jones was married to Linda (born 1941 as Melinda Rose Trenchard) from 2 March 1957 until her death on 10 April 2016 despite his many well-publicised infidelities. The couple had one son, Mark Woodward (born 1957).

Jones has stated that he had sex with up to 250 groupies a year at the height of his fame. His philandering once led Linda to physically assault him. After reading about one infidelity in a newspaper, she punched and kicked Jones, but he did not fight back; "I took it", he said. Jones had affairs with well-known women, including Mary Wilson of the Supremes, TV host Charlotte Laws and former Miss World Marjorie Wallace. Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, says she lost her virginity to Jones.

One affair resulted in the birth of a son. In October 1987, while on tour in the US, Jones had a brief relationship with model Katherine Berkery, who then discovered she was pregnant. After a legal battle that included DNA testing, a United States court ruled in 1989 that Jones was the boy's father. Jones denied the court's findings, until finally, in 2008, he admitted they were true. He has shown no interest in meeting his son, Jonathan Berkery.

Following the election of the Labour Party's Harold Wilson as Prime Minister in 1974, Jones became a tax exile. In June 1976 he purchased the red-brick mansion at 363 Copa De Oro Road in the East Gate Old Bel Air in Los Angeles from Dean Martin for $500,000. He sold it to Nicolas Cage in 1998 for a reported $6.469 million. In 2009, after 35 years in the US, Jones said that he and his wife were planning to move back to the UK. "I've had a great time living in Los Angeles", Jones said, "but after all these years, we think now is the time to move home".

In October 2015 his autobiography entitled Over the Top and Back: The Autobiography was published by Michael Joseph. Reviewing the book in the Daily Express, Clair Woodward said, "In the tradition of so many autobiographies these days, Tom Jones's doesn't tell you what you really want to hear. ... What you are left with is a riotously enjoyable story of Jones 'The Voice' which nicely doubles as the story of British pop and light entertainment from the Sixties onwards."

Linda, Lady Woodward, died on 10 April 2016 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, after a "short but fierce" battle with cancer, with Jones cancelling concerts at the time.