In a memorable segment on The Voice UK, Olly Murs quizzed Sir Tom Jones about his first hit “It’s Not Unusual”, then cheekily transitioned by saying “I haven’t heard it in such a long time, that song.” Ever a good sport, Sir Tom gave the people what they wanted and delivered his classic hit in flawless style. He was 79 at the time of the performance, but you wouldn’t know it by the sound of his voice.
If you listen to the original studio recording of “It’s Not Unusual” from 1964 back to back with The Voice performance, remarkably little has changed about Sir Tom’s ability to deliver the goods. The world-famous Welsh baritone sang his signature hit with the honeyed tone we all love, and the crowd was eating it up. Of course, Tiger isn’t only famous for his voice – he’s always been known as the consummate performer and he really gets cooking, turning up his charm in a memorable performance.
Some people are just born to be entertainers. Sir Tom is definitely one of them, and his pure love for performing music for the people just pours out of him, making his performances guaranteed to put a smile on your dial. The crowd was having a ball, and judge Meghan Trainor in particular was loving it, looking on at Sir Tom like a star-struck schoolgirl.
The segment was also notable for Olly Murs’ interview with Sir Tom, which revealed some interesting details about how “It’s Not Unusual” became a hit. The Welsh legend told his fellow judge that “I recorded ‘It’s Not Unusual’ when I was 24, and it went to number one.” Not a bad feat for the then-unknown singer’s debut single. Young Sir Tom was indeed a force to be reckoned with, as seen on his live cut of “Delilah” on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968.
As Murs quizzed him further, Sir Tom explained that he recorded “It’s Not Unusual” at the tail end of 1964 and it came out in early 1965. He also revealed that it was not originally his song, saying, “I did the demo for Sandie Shaw – it was meant for Sandie Shaw. And then they played it to Sandie Shaw and God bless her, she said, ‘Whoever’s singing this, that’s his song.’” Sir Tom added that he then re-recorded it for release, but that “I knew the song was a hit when I did the demo.”