Tom Jones Sheds His Lounge Singer Image

Tom Jones has always had an image problem. Even as far back as the late ’60s, when early hits like "It’s Not Unusual," "Delilah," "Help Yourself," and "What’s New Pussycat" sold millions of records, younger fans who knew Jones mainly from his ABC television variety show saw him as a throwback to the Dean Martin/Frank Sinatra-style singers their parents liked.

The hits kept coming in the ’70s, but the singer, whose on-stage gyrations would elicit screams (and sometimes undergarments) from the females in his audience, couldn’t shake the Las Vegas lounge singer label. Then, sometime in the ’80s, a funny thing happened — Tom Jones became cool.

Perhaps it was because Jones, born Thomas John Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, never took himself or his overwrought persona too seriously. Or maybe it had more to do with his undeniably powerful voice and a musical repertoire that included pop, rock, soul, R&B and country. In Britain, contemporary artists had started acknowledging Jones as an influence. "It’s Not Unusual" was re-released and became a hit again. In 1988, he collaborated with British techno-pop group The Art of Noise on a cover of Prince’s "Kiss." The song became Jones’s first worldwide Top 40 hit in more than 10 years, and the accompanying video won the “Breakthrough Video” MTV Award.

At age 66, Jones is still dealing with image problems. He may be older, but he’s far from an oldies act. These days, he has a harder time convincing American record companies than fans of that fact.

“With me and other entertainers of my age, unless you’ve been selling records continuously, record companies in this country are frightened to take a chance with you,” Jones says.

As an example, he points to his 1999 British release, Reload, a collection of collaborations with artists like Robbie Williams, the Pretenders, Barenaked Ladies, Van Morrison, and Simply Red covering songs like "Burning Down the House," "Lust for Life," and "Never Tear Us Apart." The Reload album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, but was never released in the United States.

“I thought we were bound to do a deal with an American company, because it had been successful everywhere else,” Jones says. But still they came up with excuses. I was told that there were too many European artists who were not known in the States on the album. We did have offers, but they weren’t good enough. We didn’t feel that they were going to put enough effort behind the CD, and we just didn’t want to put it out for the sake of putting it out.”

As a compromise, Universal Records released Reloaded: Greatest Hits in 2003, a 19-song retrospective that included six tracks from Reload, and a mix of old and newer hits.

“Universal got behind it because of the classic hits that are on there, so I think it was a good way to introduce some of the newer things that I’d recorded that a lot of the American listeners hadn’t heard,” Jones says.

Jones continues to record albums that American fans have to buy as imports. His most recent are 2002’s Mr. Jones, which was produced by the Fugees’ Wyclef Jean, and 2004's Tom Jones and Jools Holland, a blues collection featuring the ex-Squeeze keyboard player. Recent releases by Paul Anka and Neil Diamond aside, among his contemporaries Jones’ continued productivity is a rarity.

He’s also forward-thinking when it comes to performing. He still sings his most popular older hits, but rather than live comfortably in the past, Jones usually showcases more recent material in his shows. He’s also not afraid to take risks. Name another 66-year-old performer with the gumption to open a show rapping to a bona fide hip-hop track (“Tom Jones International”) and look comfortable and sound good doing it.

“I like a lot of modern music,” he says. “I like a lot of new producers. So it’s something that I listen to. When I hear a great-sounding record, I want to know who produced it. That’s why I want to work with modern producers. That’s why I did a CD with Wyclef Jean.”

The Mr. Jones sessions also marked the first time in his 40-year career that Jones co-wrote some of his material.

“I need suggestions,” he admits. With Wyclef, he would suggest something, and then bring it out of me. He would say, ‘I’ve got an idea for a groove, an idea for a song.’ Then he would explain the concept to me and ask me to put it into words.”

Jones believes the key to his success is that he has never tried to emulate another singer, no matter what style of music he sings.

“I’ve been influenced by a lot of singers, but I’ve never tried to copy anybody,” he says. “When "It’s Not Unusual" first came out, it was being played in this country on black radio stations, because they thought I was black. I wasn’t trying to sound like any of the great blues or soul singers. I was doing it in my own way.” Because of his eclectic taste in music, Jones has always enjoyed working with other artists.

“When I had my TV show on ABC in the late ’60s, early ’70s, ABC realized that I could do all kinds of music, and I could do duets with all styles of music artists,” he says. “ABC was pushing for more middle-of-the-road people, and I was always pushing for rock singers. I got my way, because the TV show was successful. So the idea of doing collaborations with different artists started then.”

Jones says that R&B singer Usher and rap star Nelly have expressed an interest in working with him. “It could happen,” he says. “I could do a CD like Reload with American artists. Who knows, it might even get a record company interested.”

Steel Pulse Shares Positive Vibrations

The British roots reggae band Steel Pulse may have been named after a popular racehorse, but the group has modeled its career after a marathon runner. Now into its thirty-second year, Steel Pulse remains one of the most popular and critically acclaimed reggae bands in the world. Even David Hinds, the group’s founder, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, marvels at his band’s longevity.

“A lot of the people that attend a Steel Pulse concert these days are half my age,” he said in a March 2007 interview for Atlantic City Weekly. “The songs that they’re groovin’ on were written before they were even an itch in their dad’s pants.”

Local fans will have a chance to groove to the rhythms of Steel Pulse this Saturday, March 10, at 9 p.m., when the band performs in Trump Marina’s Grand Cayman room. Tickets are $28.30.

The Atlantic City date is the last stop on a five-week U.S. tour that saw the band spending nearly all of February here in the States. The timing that brought Steel Pulse to the U.S. during Black History Month may have been coincidental, but it was very appropriate for a group known for its socially conscious lyrics and its involvement in social justice issues.

With its infectious riddims, reggae’s music might sound upbeat, but its lyrics often give voice to the struggling and downtrodden. Some fans gravitate to the music of Steel Pulse because of its ties to traditional Rastafarian beliefs, or because of the political message in its lyrics. Then there are those who simply like its catchy, tropical sound. Hinds says he welcomes fans who enjoy his music no matter what their reason.

“When someone says, ‘I don’t really like reggae music, but you guys are alright.’ I really feel good about that,” he says. “There are styles of music that I wouldn’t normally go out and buy, but when I hear a particular band that I find exceptional, I usually find that they are the cream of the crop in that particular style. So it’s gratifying when someone views us in that way.”

Steel Pulse has released over a dozen albums of original material since 1975. The group has been nominated six times, and won a Grammy award for its Babylon The Bandit album. Steel Pulse became the first reggae band ever to perform at the White House when it appeared at Bill Clinton’s 1993 inaugural celebration.

The history of Steel Pulse is also not without its bumps in the road. In the late 80’s, the group embraced the fashionable synth-pop dance sound too eagerly, and lost credibility with some of its core audience. Over the years, original members have left the band, leaving only Hinds and keyboard player Selwyn Brown from the original group.

But Hinds believes the current line-up, with includes long-time members Clifford 'Moonie' Pusey on lead guitar, Alvin Ewen on bass, Sidney Mills on keyboards, and Conrad Kelly on drums, is the best ever.

The band’s most recent album, 2004’s African Holocaust, was hailed by fans and critics alike as a return to the unabashed political and social commentary of classic Steel Pulse albums like True Democracy and Babylon The Bandit – and as one of the strongest of the band’s career.

Hinds says the band would like to record a new album, but is tied up in tour commitments for the foreseeable future. One thing he won’t do is rush the process.

“I don’t like putting out an album for the hell of it,” he says. “I’d like to think that when I put something out it’s got quality, it’s got substance, and ultimately it has longevity.”

He feels that after over 30 years in the public eye, it becomes more difficult to create albums that meet the high expectations of fans.

“When you put out something that really makes a big impression, whatever you follow it up with usually fails by comparison,” Hinds says.

It doesn’t help that Steel Pulse’s brand of music isn’t currently fashionable. Today, reggae bands that focus on social or political issues in their lyrics are a rarity.

“When we started out, we shared a vision with other bands,” he says. “There were a lot of other bands saying the same things we were saying. It was almost like an art movement – where one artist draws on another’s ideas, and one supports the other. But when you find that you’re venturing into areas that no one else is venturing into, it becomes difficult to sustain. You realize there’s no one else that’s doing what you’re doing.”

“For example, we did a song on African Holocaust called ‘Global Warning,’ which is about trees being cut down, and the environment – it’s really about the global warming issue that Al Gore is at the helm of right now. We were singing about that over three years ago. No other reggae band is going to pick up a subject like that.”

Fashionable or not, Steel Pulse’s commitment to social issues transcends its music. Later this month the band will travel to Ghana to participate in observances marking 50 years since that country gained independence from European colonialism. The trip is also the first step in the band’s support of United Front For Africa (UFFA), a charitable organization that hopes to raise money to purchase everything from mosquito nets to computers for children in Africa.

Hines is looking forward to Saturday’s show at Trump Marina. He says the last show of a tour is always special, plus he’s likely to have a few family friends in attendance.

“My mother and father lived in Atlantic City for the good part of 10 years,” he says. “They lived there until 1994. To this day my mom calls now and again and says ‘I understand you’re playing Atlantic City. Could you call so-and-so, who’s an old friend of mine, and make sure her daughter gets into the show?’

“I’ve got relatives everywhere it seems. Everyone claims to be David Hinds’ cousin… and I don’t know them from a can of paint.”

The Pussycat Dolls Offer More Than Meets The Eye

Take six beautiful women, dress them in lingerie and pin-up costumes, and have them sing lines like “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me,” or “I’m telling you to loosen up my buttons, baby” choreographed to flirty burlesque moves. Now call the group the Pussycat Dolls and expect any self-respecting music critic to take them seriously.

Okay, count me in.

Truth be told, those who would make the mistake of dismissing the group and its debut album, PCD on face value would miss out on one of the catchiest, most enjoyable, and yes, most diverse albums released in the last year. Hip-Hop, soul, pop, R&B – even big-band swing and jazz are represented.

The group, currently on tour opening for Christina Aguilera, has been together about three years, but the Pussycat Dolls have existed for over ten. The Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995, as a campy, burlesque dance revue based at the Viper Room, Johnny Depp’s club on L.A.’s Sunset Strip. The revue quickly became a phenomenon as celebs like Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Carmen Electra, and Gwen Stefani joined the show as guest stars and became a Pussycat Doll for a night.

The concept was taken to the next level when the current line-up – Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt was recruited specifically as a singing group. Matched with an A-list of writers and producers, they recorded PCD over the course of a year, and released the album in September 2005.

Nicole Scherzinger handles all the lead vocals on PCD; and some have suggested that the other Dolls merely serve as eye candy. But in an August 2006 interview, Melody Thornton said that in their live show, each of the Dolls takes a turn on lead vocals.

“In the live show we all trade off lead vocals from time to time,” she said. “For example, there’s a section in the show where Carmit and I split verses singing “Fever” that’s a throwback to what we used to do on the Sunset Strip.”

The Pussycat Dolls might play up their sex appeal, but ironically the majority of the group’s fans are younger females.

“Overall, I think the album is definitely about female empowerment,” Thornton says. “As much as we hear that younger females are all jealous of each other, every time a female group comes out with a strong voice, we just jump all over it, because we need that. We need somebody to look up to.”

The promoters behind the Pussycat Dolls are determined to keep the phenomenon going. The Pussycat Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, featuring a different roster of performers. Currently, there’s a Pussycat Dolls line of makeup. A line of clothing, lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV and movie projects, and other lounges are also being discussed.

The current single, “Wait A Minute” is the fifth pulled from PCD, and Thornton says more will probably follow. She can currently be heard on Jibbs new single, “Go Too Far.”

The group will eventually record a follow-up, Thornton says, but on the heels of such a successful debut, they want to take their time “and make sure that the ‘sophomore jinx’ isn’t an issue.”

30 Years Later, KC and the Sunshine Band Still Going Strong

If, back in 1977, you would have told the average disco-hating rock fan that KC and the Sunshine Band would still be drawing crowds in 30 years, they would have thought you were crazy. But here we are, 30 years later, and while many of the rock bands of the late ‘70s are only a memory, KC and the Sunshine Band are still going strong.

Songs like “That's The Way (I Like It),” “Get Down Tonight,” “I'm Your Boogie Man” and “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” have sold more than 100 million records, and earned KC and the Sunshine Band numerous awards. The group's upbeat sound, which blends R&B, funk, pop, island and Latin influences, has helped it maintain a large, loyal following of old fans and new for over 30 years.

Harry Wayne Casey (KC) has a simple explanation for his band's enduring popularity. “It's just music that lifts you up,” he said in a December 2006 interview for Atlantic City Weekly. “When you listen to it today, it still sounds fresh, and it sounds as exciting as it did 30 years ago. A lot of people come to me and tell me that my music has gotten them through a bad experience, or a bad day, or something negative they were dealing with.”

While it's become synonymous with the disco era, the music of KC and the Sunshine Band was filling dance floors four years before 1977's Saturday Night Fever brought the disco craze to America.

“I pulled from different types of sounds that I liked in music,” Casey says, explaining the origin of the group's unique sound. “I saw this Junkanoo band in the Bahamas, and the sound was just so infectious, I thought it would be great to translate that into a pop record. I always liked horns and percussion ... it all blended into one sound that became mine.”

From 1973 to 1983, K.C. and the Sunshine Band enjoyed a string of hits that also included, “Keep It Comin' Love,” “Please Don't Go,” and “Give It Up.” In 1982, Casey was involved in a nearly fatal car accident. He spent almost a year in traction and developed an addiction to painkillers. Two years later, his father died. Depressed and without a record contract, Casey began a cocaine addiction that lasted nearly 10 years.

After beating his habit, he got the urge to perform again. He recorded an album called Oh Yeah that was released in 1993 on ZYX Records. He reformed the Sunshine Band, bringing back some of the original members, including percussionist Fermin Goytisolo, who's still touring with the group.

With a schedule that averages 100 shows a year, Casey says he doesn't have much time to work on new material. That doesn't stop him from attracting new fans however. KC and the Sunshine Band has been sampled by contemporary artists like 50 Cent, R. Kelly, and Snoop Dogg, and a new generation has gotten to know the group's songs through their use in dozens of movies, television shows, and commercials.

In the last few years, Casey has dug into his archives and released two albums, In A Mellow Mood and I'll Be There For You.

Casey, who still lives in the Miami area, says he loves coming to Atlantic City, and has performed here almost every New Year's Eve for the last six years. His most vivid memory of Atlantic City didn't happen on stage, however.

“One year the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night,” he says. “It was freezing outside and we all had to get out of the hotel and stand out in the cold.”

The incident had no effect on his show the next day. After all, a guy who's used to shakin' his booty every night can handle a little shiver in Atlantic City.

Bon Jovi Still Having "A Nice Day"

When New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi released their self-titled debut album in 1984, few, if any, critics predicted a bright future for the band. The big rock hooks of Bon Jovi's first single, "Runaway" might have caught listeners' attention, but unimpressed cynics couldn't see past the group's pretty-boy looks. Lumped together with the many mediocre "hair bands" of the day, Bon Jovi appeared to be destined for one-hit wonder status. When their second album, 7800° Fahrenheit received a lukewarm response, the naysayers seemed to have been proven right.

Fast-forward 22 years and, remarkably, Bon Jovi is still here, both literally and figuratively. Founding members Jon Bon Jovi (lead vocals/guitar) and David Bryan (keyboards) still live in New Jersey; but more important, Bon Jovi and Bryan, along with lead guitarist Richie Sambora, drummer Tico Torres, and bassist Hugh McDonald, are still a vital and popular force on the music scene.

While contemporaries like Winger, Slaughter, and Ratt make news only when the words, "Whatever happened to…" precede their names, Bon Jovi is still selling millions of CDs and packing arenas on tour. Bon Jovi's latest platinum-selling CD, Have A Nice Day logged over a year on the charts.

In an February 2006 interview, Bryan says he feels that the group's longevity is at least partly the result of a serious work ethic shared by the band members.

"We never were a lifestyles band. Our lives have always been about music," he says. "You read about other bands and it's who died of a heroin overdose inside a limo. Our articles are about great shows and great songs. That's what we're about."

Bryan, born David Bryan Rashbaum, met Jon Bon Jovi, then known as John Frank Bongiovi, when they were juniors in high school in Sayreville, Middlesex County.

"I went to school with Jon's cousin, who turned me on to his band. I eventually joined Jon's band. We were called Atlantic City Expressway. We did Springsteen, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes covers, and some originals — blue-eyed soul music, what was the 'Shore sound' at that time."

The band eventually split, but Bryan and Bon Jovi remained friends. Bryan enrolled in Julliard, and Bon Jovi took a $50 a week job as a "gofer" at New York City's legendary Power Station recording studios.

The studio job allowed Bon Jovi to work on his own music after hours. Using the empty studios and any lingering musicians he could recruit, he recorded his own original songs. The bass player at many of the sessions was Hugh McDonald.

One of those songs, "Runaway," was included on a compilation album of local unsigned artists put together by the now defunct radio station WAPP. When the song took off, Bon Jovi was asked to perform at a series of live shows to promote the album. In need of a band, he called Bryan, who in turn brought bass player Alec John Such and Torres into the group. After a series of guitarists, Sambora joined and completed the original line-up.

Bryan says that the songwriting process hasn't changed that much for the group, but it has matured. It wasn't until they recorded their third album, the multi-platinum Slippery When Wet, he says, that the band "found its voice."

Bon Jovi and Sambora co-write most of the band's material, but Bryan says that everyone in the band has input.

"Everyone gets into the mix with suggestions," he says. "We try different things to see what works best, and the songs go through that funnel. Then it's really up to Jon, because he's got to sing them. The most important thing is to be open to an idea. That's the only way you can really grow together.

A deep-seeded friendship and respect for each other has allowed the band to flourish while weathering issues that have splintered other groups. Everything from the loss of an original band member (bass player Such left the band in 1994), to celebrity marriages (Sambora married actress Heather Locklear in 1994), to potentially career-ending injuries to both Bryan (his fingers) and Torres (his arm), to Jon Bon Jovi's attention-grabbing side occupations (an actor and co-owner of Arena League Football's Philadelphia Soul), have been dealt with in stride.

When Jon Bon Jovi decided to publicly support John Kerry, he consulted his bandmates before hitting the campaign trail.

"We support each other in whatever we want to do individually, it doesn't mean that we all necessarily agree," Bryan says. "If we thought [Jon's campaigning] was going to seriously hurt the band, we would say something. We each have our different outside interests."

Although the band might be tempted to wax nostalgic playing a show to a capacity crowd in its home state, Bryan says that looking forward, not to the past, is the key to staying vital.

"We're playing at least seven songs off the new record on this tour, because that's how you stay current," he says. "We look out at the audience every night and there are a lot of people singing the words to the new songs, so they know the new record. Those that don't will probably go out the next day and get it. We want to go out and promote Have A Nice Day, not just go on tour. That's how you do it; otherwise you're a nostalgia act."

The New Cars Hit the Road with a Classic Sound

When word spread that guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes were planning to form a new version of the Cars, many music fans were excited. With a sleek, catchy pop/rock sound, the Cars had been the most successful American new wave band to emerge in the late 1970s. From 1978 to 1988, the Boston band racked up a string of platinum albums and Top-40 singles including “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Shake It Up,” “Just What I Needed,” “Let’s Go,” and “Drive.”

But when some fans learned that the New Cars would not include original drummer David Robinson or singer-songwriter Ric Ocasek, their reactions quickly changed from elation, to confusion, to disappointment, to anger. Some believed that Easton and Hawkes were simply cashing in — trying to squeeze a few final bucks out of the namesake of their beloved ’80s band.

Of course, Easton and Hawkes, both original members of the Cars, had the legal right to be associated with the band’s name. Robinson had retired from music and expressed no interest in the reunion. Ocasek hadn’t enjoyed touring the last time the original band was together, and wasn’t about to embrace the idea 17 years later. Most significantly, bassist Benjamin Orr, who had shared lead vocal duties with Ocasek, had died of pancreatic cancer in 2000, ending the possibility of a reunion of the entire original band.

“Greg and I would have been thrilled if [Ric] and David had decided to do this,” Easton said in an interview for the June 2006 issue of Calabasas magazine. “But they opted not to. So what are we supposed to do? Stop working? ... Everybody should be able to do what they’re comfortable with. [Ric] doesn’t want to do it. We do. So let’s work it out.”

To work it out properly, Easton and Hawks knew they would have to find a vocalist/frontman who could capture the essence of Ocasek’s and Orr’s vocal styles without sounding like the lead singer of a Cars tribute band.

Enter Upper Darby, Pa. native Todd Rundgren.

“I wasn’t sitting around thinking, ‘Oh, what band should I join?’” the veteran singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist said in a November 2006 interview. “Elliot gave me a call — I was on some sort of short list that they had. My attitude was: I’ll try anything as long as it doesn’t sound fake; as long as it doesn’t come off like American Idol. We just took it a step at a time, and lo and behold, here we are out on the road.”

With a career that began in the late ’60s with Woody’s Truck Stop, and which included work as a solo artist, producer, and leader of his on-again off-again group Utopia, Rundgren brought instant credibility to the group, which was dubbed the New Cars. He also brought along his own loyal fan base (some of whom, Rundgren admits, would prefer he spend his time working on a new solo or Utopia album).

In concert, Rundgren handles the lead vocals on songs that were originally sung by both Ocasek and Orr.

“There are distinctive differences in the way Ric sings and the way that Ben sang, and indeed in the way that I sing,” Rundgren says. “For instance, if I want to most resemble Ric, I never sing with any vibrato, because Ric never did. Overall, I can’t stray too far away from my own inclinations as a singer.”

The final element that Rundgren brought to the New Cars was his long-time rhythm section — bassist/vocalist Kasim Sulton, and drummer Prairie Prince.

“I think Kaz was an obvious choice, once I settled into the guitar player/front man mode,” Rundgren says. “Then once we chose Kaz, Prairie was an obvious choice as drummer. So it’s less of me joining the Cars and more of a merger of two bands, because this is the rhythm section that I’ve been working with for the last 20 to 30 years.”

In addition to all the Cars classics, fans can also expect to hear some Todd Rundgren songs, as well as a few new tunes. The band is promoting a new CD, It’s Alive!, which Rundgren says was recorded shortly after the group formed.

“Last October we got together and recorded some studio tracks, just to figure out what the sound of the new entity would be like and how we collaborated,” Rundgren says. “And then in January of 2006 we did the live recording. It was kind of a little ass backwards — the usual procedure would be to go out on the road and tour for a few months before you record a live album.”

During its first year as a band, the New Cars experienced more than its fair share of bumps in the road. A summer tour had to be cancelled when Easton fell and broke his left clavicle in a tour bus accident. Then Sulton had to miss most of the current tour so that he could fulfill a prior commitment to tour with Meat Loaf. Atom Ellis, veteran of California’s Bay Area music scene, is filling in on dates Sulton is not available.

Despite the difficulties, Rundgren hopes to record a full album of new material with the New Cars in 2007.