Smallz and Raskind for AOL Music

Tom Jones has been making hit records for more than 40 years, and yet the fire in his belly still burns bright. He talks with the fervor of a man who, at 68, still has much to accomplish when discussing '24 Hours,' his first CD released in the U.S. in 15 years. As his AOL Sessions concert proved, the Welsh superstar who made women swoon with such songs as 'It's Not Unusual' and 'What's New Pussycat,' still has it.

Full interview

AOL: This is your first album of new material since 1993. What kind of statement did you want to make?

TOM: The first few tracks we did for the album, I wasn't too crazy about. Except for 'The Hitter'; I loved that Bruce Springsteen song. But after that, we were looking for new material and the things that were coming my way I wasn't really excited about. So that's when I decided to get with the songwriters and write with them, and at least give them my ideas of what I was feeling. I wanted some serious songs on there but I also wanted some dance tunes and ballads. More than anything else, the songs are interesting songs.

AOL: What did you think the first time that Bono and the Edge played you 'Sugar Daddy,' which they wrote specifically for you?

TOM: Bono said it's called 'Sugar Daddy,' and I said, "Is that your picture of me?" And he said, "No, but listen to the song though, you know, there's more to it than just that." The note that he sent with it said, "I hope you like it but if you don't I'll just slit my wrists." He's very funny, Bono. He's got a great sense of humor and I loved it.

AOL: It's got that great line that basically says "Don't get a boy to do a man's job."

TOM: Yeah, well you don't get a boy to do a man's job. When I first heard it, "I said this song is a bragging song. I hope it comes across, you know, not too blowing my own trumpet." And [Bono] said, "Well, you're the only guy that's got balls enough to sing this thing." So, I said OK.

AOL: Let's talk about 'The Road.' It's the first love song you've ever put on a record to your wife. You've been married 51 years. What the heck took you so long?

TOM: Well, I never thought about it before. Love is a thing you never have to say, or something like that, isn't it? Anyway, if you're in love with somebody, you don't have to keep saying it. So I had never really thought about it because a lot of the songs I have recorded in the past, my wife always liked. She's always been involved with songs that I've recorded and taken home and played. I'd never really thought about writing a song for her until [co-writer] Lisa Green said, "Tell me something about yourself -- let's see what we can come up with." She said, "You've been married a long time, right? Well how do you manage to do that?" And I said, "Well the road always leads back to Linda."

AOL: Speaking of the road, you still perform around two hundred dates a year. Why?

TOM: I love to do it. It's hard for me not to sing. We were in New Orleans earlier this year and played some shows at the House of Blues down there. People say to me, "What do you do on a night off?" I have dinner a little earlier, that's all. And then look for a club, especially in a place like New Orleans. We'd sort of hit some of these clubs and straightaway there was this band playing sort of country-blues and swampy kind of music, which I love. They said "So you want to jump in?" So I did about an hour or two up on the stage on my night off. I have to have somebody with me saying, "You, don't leave the best performance in this club tonight. You got some shows coming up." Doing these shows to me, it's not work. The shows themselves, that's where I live. That's me. So the recordings and everything, they all point to me doing them live on stage.

AOL: 'I'm Alive,' the opening track to the album, is an upbeat song that sets the tone for the whole album. Why did that song appeal to you?

TOM: My son Mark and his wife Donna are my managers. Mark said, "Have a listen to this. I think you'd like that." As soon as I heard it I said, "We got to do it." It's not only going to open the CD, it's gonna be opening my live show. We're gonna kill two birds with one stone there. It's a very vibrant song.

AOL: 'The Hitter' is a survivor. Did you relate to that?

TOM: Yeah, it's a story that a lot of people can relate to -- that sort of come from a working class background. But still, he's bragging in parts of it, but he's also pleading with his mother to just let him in. It's a very touching story.

AOL: He's looking for redemption. Which, speaking of, the title track, '24 Hours,' is about someone on death row. What made you want to write a song about that?

TOM: Right. Well, Lisa Green came into the studio one day and said, "I woke up with this thing on my mind today about a man in a cell." She said, "I don't know whether it's come from listening to 'The Green, Green Grass of Home' because it is about a man that's in jail and is reflecting on his life." We worked from scratch on that one.

AOL: I read a quote that ran in the London Times from you that said, "Nine times out of ten when I put the word out that I want songs, the stuff I get delivered is about sex." Now why on Earth would you think that would be?

TOM: I have no idea [laughs]. I'm still trying to work it out. I've got nothing against sexy songs, but again, they need to be interesting. They need to be cleverly written -- like 'Sex Bomb' was. I like interesting songs, so if they're gonna be sexy, you're gonna get 'Sugar Daddy,' which is a sexy song but really well written. I'm not opposed to it as long as the songs are interesting and not just blatant for the sake of being sexy. Then it doesn't work.

AOL: Who's inspiring you these days? I'd read where you were talking about Amy Winehouse and how much you liked 'Back to Black.'

TOM: Well, I liked it because it's different and it was something I was looking to do. I wanted to record an album that got the same vibrant feeling I used to get when I first started recording. I loved a lot of the songs I did on Decca; I liked the sounds that we got. And my voice always sounded very natural to me and the arrangements were always very interesting. So, when I heard the Amy Winehouse, it reminded me of the stuff that I had done before, so it sort of reassured me that an album could be done like that. And she wrote songs about herself, apparently, because of the lack of material. That's exactly what's happened here for me.

AOL: Talking about great songs, what's the story about Paul McCartney writing a song for you years ago?

TOM: I was in a club in London in the Sixties. I was in this club drinking with Paul McCartney and I said to him, "Paul, I would love if you could write me a song." And he says OK. So, I had a single coming out that week called 'Without Love,' which became a big record for me. When everything's set to go, it's hard to pull the plug and do something else. So, the same week Paul sent this song around to my house and it was called 'The Long and Winding Road.' And I loved it. I said I have to do this. But the people in Decca said "We've got to go with what we have now. We'll have to do it later." But Paul said, "If you're gonna do it, it's gotta be your next single." And, we just missed the ball with it. But I still love to sing it anyway.

AOL: You've been a superstar for the vast majority of your life. What do you feel you have left to achieve?

TOM: Recording is an important thing. For today, of course, [but also] for people to hear it in the future. A lot of other people in Wales say, "You should have heard this guy sing or should have heard this woman sing." But they never recorded. So, I thought, I have to make a record when I first started. Anybody wants to know what I sound like in the future, they just have to put the record on and there it is. So that's a big thing with recording for me. And I wanted more of it, as long as I possibly can and leave no stone unturned. Because when I go, I don't want to have any regrets. I don't want to say, "Oh my God, I should have recorded more." Hopefully I will have done by the time my 24 hours is up.

--Melinda Newman