When Sir Tom Jones stepped back onto the stage at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, he told the audience about a moment when he feared he might never sing for them again. The 86-year-old Welsh singer had spent a week in the hospital after falling ill with pneumonia. “You’ve had a wonderful life, Tommy, but it’s over right now,” he recalled thinking. Those were his words about what he feared during the illness. A separate claim that Jones is now in critical condition remains unconfirmed; the documented account is of a frightening hospital stay followed by his return to the stage on November 4. people.com
The first news fans received was a postponement. In late October, Jones said a bad case of the flu had forced him to reschedule his Los Angeles and San Diego concerts on medical advice. When he returned to the Greek Theatre, he explained that he had been treated for pneumonia and that paramedics had been called after he struggled to breathe. It was a fuller picture than the notice fans had seen when the dates changed. It also explained why the evening meant so much to the man holding the microphone. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
The most personal detail in his account was the name he used for himself: Tommy. The audience knew Sir Tom Jones, the performer whose voice they could recognize in the time it takes to sing a few words. In the moment he remembered, he was a man taking stock of the life he’d lived and wondering whether he was at the end of it. There was tenderness in the way he described that life as wonderful, even while remembering how frightened he had been. people.com
Back onstage, Jones made a point of thanking the UCLA medical team that cared for him. He also recalled what he wanted to do next: get back in front of an audience. “This is where I belong,” he told the crowd. After more than six decades of performing, he still had a plain answer for where he wanted to be. That made the thank-you especially moving. He could stand in the place he had missed and tell the people there who had helped him get back to it. people.com
For longtime listeners, it’s easy to understand why his return felt personal. The opening of “It’s Not Unusual” might bring back a crowded dance floor, while “Green, Green Grass of Home” might recall a parent singing along in the car. The same voice has been part of very different days in people’s lives. When someone whose music has been that familiar speaks openly about being scared, the instinct to send a kind word or say a prayer makes sense. It’s a way of answering a voice that has kept people company for years.
There’s room in that affection for patience, too. Jones chose to tell the Los Angeles audience what he had been through and whom he wanted to thank. That gives fans something specific to hold onto when they hear a more alarming version of the story. They can remember his account of the fear he felt, appreciate the people who treated him, and wish him and his family well without assuming they know what is happening in private. people.com
What stays with the Greek Theatre story is the sight of Jones back at work. He had an audience in front of him, people to thank, and another evening to spend doing something he still loved. For a man who had wondered whether he would get that chance again, being there was reason enough to be grateful.
