It's Not Unusual
Encyclopedia
"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed
and Gordon Mills
, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones
after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw
. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself. The record was the second Decca
single Jones released, reaching number one in the UK charts
in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US
, peaking at #10 in May of that year. The single was released in the US on the Parrot label and also reached #3 on Billboard
' s easy listening chart
. Jones used this song as the theme for his late 1960s-early 1970s musical variety series This Is Tom Jones. It has since become Jones' musical signature
.
The musical arranger was Les Reed
. Although the guitar has been cited as having been provided by Jimmy Page
of Led Zeppelin
, Reed has clarified that the only guitarist was Joe Moretti, who was also known for his playing on Shakin' All Over and Brand New Cadillac. Jones's group "Tom Jones and the Squires" were missing their regular keyboard player for the session. Drummer Chris Slade
(later to join AC/DC
in the 1990s following a stint in The Firm
with the aforementioned Jimmy Page
) ran across the street to La Giaconda coffee house, in Tin Pan Alley
, and a then-unknown teenage Keyboard player was recruited for the one day recording session. At the end of the session the band asked him his name, to which he replied "Reg". The young keyboard player was thanked and paid, and went on his way. About a year later Reg the keyboard player changed his name to Elton John
.
Les Reed
Les Reed O.B.E. is an English songwriter, musician and light orchestra leader.-Career:...
and Gordon Mills
Gordon Mills
Gordon William Mills , was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter who was born in Madras, India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales...
, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the song and recommended that Jones release it himself. The record was the second Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
single Jones released, reaching number one in the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, peaking at #10 in May of that year. The single was released in the US on the Parrot label and also reached #3 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
. Jones used this song as the theme for his late 1960s-early 1970s musical variety series This Is Tom Jones. It has since become Jones' musical signature
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
.
The musical arranger was Les Reed
Les Reed
Les Reed O.B.E. is an English songwriter, musician and light orchestra leader.-Career:...
. Although the guitar has been cited as having been provided by Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Reed has clarified that the only guitarist was Joe Moretti, who was also known for his playing on Shakin' All Over and Brand New Cadillac. Jones's group "Tom Jones and the Squires" were missing their regular keyboard player for the session. Drummer Chris Slade
Chris Slade
Chris Slade is a Welsh rock drummer.-Career:Slade has worked with Gary Numan, Tom Jones, Olivia Newton-John , and Uriah Heep. He was a member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 1972 to 1978...
(later to join AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
in the 1990s following a stint in The Firm
The Firm (rock band)
The Firm were a British rock supergroup comprising former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers, ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, ex-Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann's Earth Band drummer Chris Slade and bass player Tony Franklin...
with the aforementioned Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
) ran across the street to La Giaconda coffee house, in Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
, and a then-unknown teenage Keyboard player was recruited for the one day recording session. At the end of the session the band asked him his name, to which he replied "Reg". The young keyboard player was thanked and paid, and went on his way. About a year later Reg the keyboard player changed his name to Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
.
Cover versions
- The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
recorded a version of this song for their Supremes A' Go-GoSupremes A' Go-GoThe Supremes A' Go-Go is a 1966 album by Motown singing group The Supremes. The album was the first album by an all-female group to reach number-one on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States....
album, but was not included. It was recently released on a collection of Supremes unreleased recordings and rarities. - Florence BallardFlorence BallardFlorence Glenda Ballard Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown group The Supremes. From 1963 until 1967, Ballard sang on 16 Top 40 hit Supremes' singles, ten of which hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided to remove Ballard from...
(ironically of The Supremes and featured on their version) recorded a version of this song in 1968 for her debut solo album entitled "You Don't Have To" that was shelved by ABC Records and left unreleased until the release of The Supreme Florence Ballard CD. - Italian rock singer Little TonyLittle Tony (singer)Little Tony is an Italian-born Sammarinese pop singer and actor. He achieved success in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the lead singer of Little Tony & His Brothers, before returning to Italy where he continued a successful career as a singer and film actor.-Life and career:He was...
performed a local version with the title "Non è normale " ("It's not usual") (sic !). - American alternative band Wild ColonialsWild ColonialsWild Colonials are an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1992 by Angela McCluskey , Shark , Paul Cantelon , Scott Roewe and Ian Bernard...
covered the song, which appeared on their album Reel Life vol 1Reel Life vol 1Reel Life, Vol. 1 is a compilation album by American alternative band Wild Colonials, released in 2000 .- Details :Reel Life, Vol. 1 is a compilation featuring songs and score cues recorded and composed for various films. Over the previous six years since their debut album Fruit of Life in 1994,...
(2000) and on the soundtrack of the Ellen DeGeneresEllen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
film Mr. Wrong. - Five Iron FrenzyFive Iron FrenzyFive Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
covered this song on their live album Five Iron Frenzy LIVE: Proof That the Youth Are Revolting, and later released a studio recorded version on their album All the Hype That Money Can BuyAll the Hype That Money Can BuyAll the Hype That Money Can Buy, Five Iron Frenzy's third full-length studio album, released April 25, 2000, on Five Minute Walk, under their SaraBellum imprint, with distribution from Warner Bros. Records. It is musically their most diverse album, binding elements of salsa, Calypso music, and...
. - CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
recorded a version of the song on her 1966 record, The Sonny Side of CherThe Sonny Side of Cher-Credits:*Cher - lead vocals*Sonny Bono - record producer*Harold Battiste - musical arranger*Larry Levine - sound engineer*Stan Ross - sound engineer*Woody Woodward - art direction-Chart positions:...
. - Writer Les ReedLes ReedLes Reed O.B.E. is an English songwriter, musician and light orchestra leader.-Career:...
and his orchestra also recorded an instrumentalInstrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
version on their 1971 record, Colour Me. - FilipinoFilipino peopleThe Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
singer/artist Sam Sorono (1950-2008) covered this song on his 1978 Sings Tom Jones' Greatest Hits LP album with EMI RecordsEMI RecordsEMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
. - The Wedding PresentThe Wedding PresentThe Wedding Present are a British indie rock group based in Leeds, England, formed in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms...
recorded a version included on the UK remastered re-release of their 1989 album, BizarroBizarro (album)Bizarro is the second studio album by The Wedding Present. It was released in October 1989 by their record label, RCA.- About the album :...
. - Darren CrissDarren CrissDarren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and a founding member and co-owner of the theater company StarKid Productions. He currently portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee...
covered this song as his character Blaine AndersonBlaine AndersonBlaine Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the...
in the first episode of season threeGlee (season 3)A third season of the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on May 23, 2010 while the first season aired. It premiered on September 20, 2011, and is being produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and...
of GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, "The Purple Piano ProjectThe Purple Piano Project"The Purple Piano Project" is the premiere episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 45th overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, directed by Eric Stoltz, and first aired on September 20, 2011 on Fox in the United States...
."