Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tom Jones: It's Not Unusual (1965)


"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself. The record was the second Decca single Jones released, reaching number one in the UK charts in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US, peaking at #10 in May of that year. The single was released in the US on the Parrot label and also reached #3 on Billboard's easy listening chart. Jones used this song as the theme for his late 1960s-early 1970s musical variety series "This Is Tom Jones". It has since become Jones' musical signature. Backing musicians were The Ivy League with Clem Cattini on drums. Arranger was Les Reed. Guitar was provided by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame and Joe Moretti.

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