Over the Top and Back: The Autobiography

老牌英國歌手湯姆瓊斯爵士自傳。「多年來，我回答了許多問題，但是從來沒有說過自己的故事。」－－湯姆瓊斯英國歌星Tom Jones在樂壇打滾近60年，這個娛樂事業充滿危險與不安定，以藝術生命短暫而惡名昭彰。本書細數他如何在音樂產業的捉摸不定中突破並與之角力，紀錄了大量的作品，與全世界各種音樂型態的藝術家合作的過程，討論成功的本質及其不可避免的後果。貫穿其中的是他獨特的音樂天賦，以及絕對不會被錯認的嗓音。一個來自威爾斯礦工家庭的男孩，如何在世界各地獲致成功，如何在盛名的曲折與迂迴下存活下來，並隨著年齡的增長，變得更可靠而有趣？這是第一本Tom Jones自傳，他重返過往，從戰時的小鎮Pontypridd，到洛杉磯乃至全世界，故事展現了精采生命的跌宕起伏，從早期的輝煌，接下來的平淡歲月，到近年重返榮耀的旅程。這本書呈現的是只有Tom Jones知道的事，直白地發自內心深處，生猛、誠實、風趣而有力。'For a lot of years, I've answered a lot of questions, but have never told my story before.'Across six decades, Sir Tom Jones has maintained a vital career in a risky, unstable business notorious for the short lives of its artists. With a drive that comes from nothing but the love for what he does, he breaks through and then wrestles with the vagaries of the music industry, the nature of success and its inevitable consequences. Having recorded an expansive body of work and performed with fellow artists from across the spectrum and across every popular music genre, from rock, pop and dance to country, blues and soul, the one constant throughout has been his unique musical gifts and unmistakable voice.But how did a boy from a Welsh coal-mining family attain success across the globe? And how has he survived the twists and turns of fame and fortune to not only stay exciting, but actually become more credible and interesting with age? In this, his first ever autobiography, Tom revisits his past and tells the tale of his journey from wartime Pontypridd to LA and beyond. He reveals the stories behind the ups and downs of his fascinating and remarkable life, from the early heydays to the subsequent fallow years to his later period of artistic renaissance.It's the story nobody else knows or understands, told by the man who lived it, and written the only way he knows how: simply and from the heart. Raw, honest, funny and powerful, this is a memoir like no other from one of the world's greatest ever singing talents.This is Tom Jones and Over the Top and Back is his story.