When legendary singer Sir Tom Jones reached the peak of his career with “It’s Not Unusual” in 1965, his father was still working in the coal mines of the Rhondda Valley. Known as the “son of a miner from Pontypridd,” Jones said that despite his success, he never lost touch with his roots. Speaking on BBC’s “In My Own Words,” Jones described the emotional conflict he experienced in his early years of fame: “I had a new Jaguar, a new house. But one Sunday night, when my father went to his night shift, I said, ‘You don’t have to work anymore, I’m earning the money.’ He asked, ‘How long will this last?’ That really affected me.” Jones gifted his family the house he bought in Shepperton, England in 1966, but his father struggled to adjust to the new life. “Everything was in Pontypridd,” says the artist.
Praising the culture of solidarity in South Wales, where he spent his childhood, Jones said, “I grew up in a community-spirited and loving environment. The miners were truly the salt of the earth.”
The 85-year-old artist also humorously explained his decision to stop dyeing his hair in 2009: “I watched a performance and said, ‘My God, my hair looks like it’s been permed!’ From that day on, I decided to go grey — nobody complained.”
