Sir Tom Jones has revealed that his voice becoming deeper with age has added “more character” to his singing style, and he has no plans to retire. The iconic singer, who began his career in the 1960s and recently celebrated his 84th birthday, shows no signs of slowing down.
In a recent interview, he discussed how his vocal cords have changed over time: “My voice is lower now. As we get older, our voices drop and we get more character in them. The older you get, the less control you have over your vocal chords.”
He continued, “All you have got to do is push it harder… and I can still do that. I can still sing and I can prove it, so here it is,” he told Yours Magazine. Despite many performers retiring at his age, Sir Tom insists he won’t stop singing while he’s still able.
This year alone, he has performed on his Ages and Stages World Tour across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the UEA. Currently back in the UK, he has upcoming gigs in Surrey, Plymouth and Southampton before heading to Spain later this month.
Sir Tom believes that reaching a certain age means “you have to look at life in a different way” but asserts he “isn’t worn down in any way”. He concluded: “Being older, I feel I’ve got a point to prove. I can still sing and I can prove it, so here it is.”
Tom, known for his distinctive voice and status as a sex symbol, has often found himself the target of female fans who throw their underwear and room keys at him. He told the publication: “You have to use shtick and then it caught on and I was drowning in a sea of panties after a while. It backfired on me.”
He then recalled: “I was in Vegas and someone threw a room key at me and I said, ‘Whose is this?’ and this woman said, ‘Use it and you will find out’.”
While Tom finds such attention amusing, he’s relieved that this kind of fan reaction has lessened over the years.
Concerns were raised about Tom’s health in 2017 when he took a break from performing to undergo his first hip replacement. Following its success, he had another operation five years later, which enabled him to “get up there and do it live”.
He shared with The Metro last year: “If something went wrong with my vocal ability, I wouldn’t want to go on not in full strength. I wouldn’t like to shortchange an audience.”
Being old, you can’t do what you used to do. I mean, I can’t walk around like I used to but I wouldn’t want to now.
