There are some singers that just keep on getting better with age, and Tom Jones is at the top of that list! The living legend proved that with a heart-rending take on his 1967 classic “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” at a BBC Radio 2 Session. An then-80-year-old Jones sang the mournful ballad like his life was depending on it while harmonizing with his pianist, who provided the only musical accompaniment.
Jones must have sung the song countless times over the years, but he still delivers it like he’s singing about a breakup that happened yesterday. Tiger has enjoyed a seven-decade career in the music biz, and his passionate performances are absolutely key to how he keeps delivering the goods time after time. Here on The Music Man we always make time for a Tom Jones gig, and the BBC session is yet another great performance from the Welsh icon.
Tiger’s BBC session showcased a new side to “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” due to the solo piano musical arrangement. Back in the ‘60s, he performed the song with a full band soul arrangement and a somewhat bolder tone vocally. However, he switched it up for the BBC session, giving the classic tune a more thoughtful and somber feel.
Jones also sang “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” in a viral segment on The Voice in 2019. He commented on this before the BBC session, saying “This song was written for by Lonnie Donegan in the ‘60s, and then I had the pleasure of singing it with his son on The Voice.” Jones then explained that Lonnie’s son Peter Donegan appearing on the show wasn’t a setup, and that he had no idea that his old collaborator’s son would be appearing on the show.
Jones concluded his The Voice story by saying that his duet with Peter “turned out really, really nice, really sweet.” The Music Man readers who tuned in at the time may remember that Tiger and Peter sang a duet on “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” with just a lone piano, provided by Peter, as the musical accompaniment.
The duet proved to be quite popular with fans online and drew 22 million views on YouTube. Perhaps the success of this duet gave Jones the idea to sing it in a solo piano arrangement when he appeared on the BBC.
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