You'd be hard pressed to find an entertainer who better defines the term "superstar" than Tom Jones. The Welsh-born singer rose to fame in the mid-1960's and racked up a string of hit singles, starred in his own variety show and gained the admiration of millions of overzealous female fans who showed their affections by launching their undergarments at him during live performances.
Fast forward several decades and you'll still find Jones every bit the dazzling entertainer. Jones has retained a large core audience that has faithfully followed him through changing trends and styles as evidenced from the eager crowd awaiting his taking the stage last Friday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.
One of the loudest and rowdiest roars I've heard from an awaiting audience in a long time was steadily belted from the plush seats until Jones took the stage at 8:15 p.m. No need for an opening act; the crowd was here for one reason only: to be treated to the timeless, sexy, soulful voice that Tom Jones has entranced his fans with for years.
Clad in bright purple silk shirt, shiny black blazer and black slacks, Jones slowly emerged amid a sea of sultry red lights. A guitarist preceded Tom's entrance and filled the hall with some tasty, nasty slide guitar blues giving the feel of a seedy blues club rather than a pristine performance hall. Jones quickly launched into "Burning Hell," a cut from his newest album, the excellent gospel-blues tinged Praise and Blame. In fine voice, the 70-year-old Jones boldly opened with this relatively unknown selection from a current work rather than relying on a tried and true nugget from his vast career. Pretty ballsy move, without a doubt. But, in actuality, it set the tone for the bold course Jones opted to trudge all night long.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.