Outstanding contribution award for Sir Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones is preparing to collect a prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to music later this month.
The legendary Welsh singer will be presented with the Music Industry Trusts Award. Other past recipients have included Beatles producer Sir George Martin, James Bond composer John Barry and Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records.
Nicknamed The Voice for his powerful vocal chords, Sir Tom has forged a career spanning five decades, during which he has notched up dozens of hits since making his 1964 chart debut with It’s Not Unusual.
Currently in their 19th year, the Music Industry Trust awards will see more than 1,000 guests attend a ceremony in London.
Commenting on the award, Sir Tom said: “2010 is shaping up to be a very memorable year for me, I’m delighted to be honoured with the Music Industry Trusts Award and to join the roll-call of some great past honourees, such as George and Ahmet.
“I’ve visited the Brit Performing Arts & Technology School, supported by the Brit Trust, one of the Award’s charities, and was blown away by the incredible talent there and I’m looking forward to finding out more about Nordoff Robbins’ great work.”
The award has been created to recognise the contribution that an individual has made to the industry across a range of activities: record producer, film music composer, broadcaster, legendary artist, record executive, songwriter and concert impresario.
One of the singer’s primary strengths has been his ability to reinvent himself to match the ever-changing record industry landscape. Most recently, Sir Tom’s gospel and blues-inspired album, Praise & Blame, was well received by critics after its release in July.
The singer recently revealed: “I’ve been into spiritual music since I was a kid. “We always sang a lot of gospel stuff in the chapel, parties and even at funerals, funnily enough.”