Many comparisons have been drawn between Welsh singer Tom Jones and rock legend Elvis Presley. Both appropriated singing styles associated with black R&B music, both became infamous for their sexually charged dancing styles, and both were loved for over-the-top Las Vegas club performances in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, Jones and Presley maintained a well-documented admiration for each other and often performed cover versions of each others' songs. However, Jones' diversity and longevity far exceeded Presley's. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, when many of his contemporaries had devolved into all-but-forgotten lounge lizards, Jones performed pop, rock, country, and dance tunes, often collaborating with a roster of acts half his age for the ears of equally young listeners.

Born Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, on June 7, 1940, Jones grew up in the song-filled atmosphere of a coal-mining community, often putting on performances for...