It's Not Unusual

Tom Jones arrived in 1965 with a voice — a baritone of unusual power and range, deployed with a physical presence on stage that had no real comparison in British pop at the time. "It's Not Unusual" was his debut single, written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, and it reached number one in both the UK and the US.

The song is a masterclass in the pop single: an introduction of such confidence it sounds like the singer has been famous forever, a horn arrangement that justifies every decision it makes, a vocal performance treating the material with exactly the right combination of seriousness and joy.

Tom Jones' career has spanned Vegas residencies to collaborations with Mousse T to his remarkable late-career renaissance on albums like Praise & Blame — a lesson in how a genuine voice outlasts fashion.