It's Not Unusual

Tom Jones was still an unknown singer when Les Reed and Gordon Mills wrote "It's Not Unusual" for him, though the song had first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones cut it as a demo intended for Shaw, but when she heard his version she was so taken with his delivery that she recommended he record it himself. Decca released it as his second single, and it reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1965 before peaking at No. 10 in the United States that May, where Parrot Records issued it and Billboard's easy listening chart took it to No. 3.

The BBC refused to play the record because of Jones's sexual image, so it was first aired on pirate radio in the UK instead. In America, Jones performed it three times on The Ed Sullivan Show, and it later became the theme for his television variety series This Is Tom Jones.

The session itself had complications. Chris Slade, Jones's regular drummer, recalled four attempts with different drummers to capture the right feel, with Andy White or possibly Ronnie Verrell on drums, though Slade could not confirm whose take made the record. The guitarist was either Jimmy Page, who lists the session in his discography, or Joe Moretti, as Les Reed claimed. With the Squires missing their keyboard player, Slade crossed the street to the La Giaconda coffee house and recruited Reginald Dwight, later known as Elton John, for the one-day session.