When a good impression goes a long way

Have you ever been told that good first impressions go a long way?

Surely you have, and surely, like many others, you’ve dismissed this saying at first. After all – why would anyone judge you simply by how you come across during your first interaction?

And surely, as you grew up, you judged people by your first interaction with them, just like anyone else…

This book gives a small taste of a story of a man who rose to fame thanks to a good impression he left on another person (well, at least somewhat thanks to that impression)

On June 7th, 1940, a child named Thomas John Woodward was born in the village of Treforest in Wales, England. A child who took no liking to school or sports, a child born to sing!

For years young Tom Jones sang at every opportunity; family gatherings, weddings, school choir – you name it!

Due to his lack of interest in school or sports, Tom Jones gained confidence through singing, and even as a young child, Tom Jones had a great talent!

At 23, Tom Jones was already the frontman of a Welsh beat group named “Tommy Scott and the Senators”, yet fame still eluded him, even though the group managed to gain a local following and reputation in South Wales rather quickly

Yet it wasn’t until Les Reed and Gordon Mills wrote a song called “It’s Not Unusual” in 1964 that Tom Jones started to truly fame

At the time, Tom Jones was a mostly unknown singer, and he decided to record a demo of this song for Sandie Shaw (one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s)

The demo was sent to Sandie, who was extremely impressed with Tom Jones’s powerful interpretation and performance of the song! She was so impressed that she encouraged Jones to release the song himself! But why listen to me when you can listen to Tom Jones explaining all of this himself on The Voice?

The song was released as a single by Tom Jones in 1965 and became Tom Jones’ first hit in the United States

We would soon view the song’s lyrics and chords.

When we do, notice that there is a pattern to the chords played in this song, this pattern is called AABA

AABA is a song pattern where the song is composed of 2 verses, composed of the same chords, followed by a bridge, composed of different chords, followed by another verse, composed of the same chords that the first 2 verses were composed of.

This song composition style grew increasingly popular in the 20th century, and with composers such as George Gershwin commonly using it, by the 1950s, AABA had dominated American popular music.

Let’s look at the song’s lyrics and chords:

[Intro]
C   Dm   C   Dm

[Verse 1]
C                                     Dm                         G
It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone
C                                        Dm                         Dm
It’s not unusual to have fun with anyone
Em                                                Dm
but when I see you hanging a bout with anyone
G                               C                            Dm      G
It’s not unusual to see me cry and I wanna die

[Verse 2]
C                                    Dm                     G
It’s not unusual to go out at any time
C                                                 Dm                              Dm
But when I see you out and about it’s such a crime
Em                                                Dm
If you should ever want to be loved by anyone
G                              C
It’s not unusual, it happens every day

[Bridge]
       Dm
No matter what you say
G                                                C     Dm G
You’ll find it happens all the time
C                               Dm
Love will never do what you want it to
G                        G7                   Em Ebm Dm G
Why can’t this crazy love be mine

[Lead]
C Dm G      C Dm G

[Verse 3]
C                                    Dm                            G
It’s not unusual to be mad with anyone
C                                    Dm                         Dm
It’s not unusual to be sad with anyone
Em                                             Dm                                Dm
but if I ever find that you’ve changed at any time
G                                C                      Dm
It’s not unusual to find out I’m in love with you
Em       Dm                                      G         C    Em Ebm Dm   G
whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa, whoa

C Dm G      C Dm G

Here’s a video of Tom Jones performing “It’s Not Unusual” live on May 2nd, 1965, on the Ed Sullivan Show:

“It’s Not Unusual” marks a pivotal moment in Tom Jones’ life, as it is one of the songs that marked his breakthrough as a singer.

Tom Jones had become a great musician, and I am sure you know at least the following song by Tom Jones:

“Sexbomb” is Tom Jones’ second-best-known song, and was released in 2000, 35 years after “It’s Not Unusual” was released. However, “It’s Not Unusual” remains Tom Jones’ best-known song to this very day!

With over 289 million times being played on Spotify alone each month, “It’s Not Unusual” surely is one of the most popular songs of the 1960s. Its release marks the true beginning of Tom Jones’ career.

Tom Jones’ music career was so successful that, in the eyes of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Tom Jones had contributed so much to the music industry that she decided to knight him for his services to music in 2006!

Sir Tom Jones remains beloved by many to this day, so beloved that there aren’t many who don’t recognize at least one of his hit songs. Speaking of his hit songs, there is one more of them that I would love to shed some light on:

A song called “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”

“(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” was written by Lonnie Donegan and Jimmy Currie, and was released by Lonnie Donegan as a single in 1962. However, the most commercially successful version of this song is Tom Jones’ (as he was known then) version from 1967:

Yet I believe the most wholesome version of this song is a rather recent performance by Sir Tom Jones and Peter Donegan, Lonnie Donagen’s son, performed on The Voice Stage, and released in 2019. I recommend watching the entire video, as Peter Donegan’s performance (which starts at 2:40) was beautiful, yet the wholesome part starts at 4:50.

In conclusion, impressions are extremely important, as they can carry with them the opportunities of a lifetime. For Sir Tom Jones, that opportunity marked his breakthrough as one of the lead British male singers of the 1960s. For you – who knows what the opportunity might be; a new relationship perhaps, a new job, or maybe something entirely different – only time will tell.

And as for Sir Tom Jones, who will very soon celebrate his 84th birthday (on June 7th), let us wish him all the happiness and health in the world, and that he will remain as appreciated for his great contribution to the music industry as he now is. May he, and his songs, keep putting smiles on peoples’ faces for years to come!