When Luciano Pavarotti fans turned out for his concert, they couldn’t have guessed the huge surprise he had planned for them. The Italian tenor called in a little favor from the one and only Tom Jones for the Pavarotti & Friends concert in 2001, and the two legends delivered a performance for the ages on Tom’s hit “Delilah”. Tom opened the performance and then let world-famous baritone thunder throughout the venue.
Jones had a cheeky smile on his face, knowing that this was one of those great moments. He then shot his gaze to Pavarotti, who returned the look with a twinkle in his eye and sang the hook together with a children’s choir. The pair then traded gorgeous vocal melodies over the full orchestra backing, showing off incredible chemistry, just as you’d expect from the two vocal titans. If The Music Man readers are keen to hear the best in the business singing up a storm, then look no further than this dazzling duet.
The big name duet went down a treat with fans on YouTube, who tuned in 7.5 million times. Viewers certainly appreciated the historic nature of the performance, with comments such as “I’m speechless. Just unforgettable! Both will go down in history as the greatest ever” and “One of the greatest moments in music history. An incredible performance that will never be again. We are so fortunate to have this recording to listen to over and over and over again anytime the mood strikes us. What a grand blessing that is!”
Pavarotti certainly knew how to pull in some favors from his big-name friends. The Italian star pulled off another gargantuan collab when he teamed up with James Brown on the latter’s hit “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” The Music Man is confident in saying it’s surely a masterstroke from Pavarotti to create such genre-bending collaborations and bring his own style to the songs so memorably.
“Delilah” was penned by English songwriters Les Reed and Barry Mason. Jones released the single in February 1968 as the sole single from his album of the same name. “Delilah” was a major hit for Tiger, as it hit number two in the UK and topped the charts in eight countries, including France, West Germany, and the Netherlands. “Delilah” features a Spanish flamenco rhythm, and critics have tied the tale in the lyrics to the plot of Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen. The opera, which is set in southern Spain, features a love triangle that ends in tragedy in a similar fashion to the song.