Tom Jones and The Supremes' performance of 'River Deep Mountain High' in 1970 is spectacular

26 March 2021, 17:08

Tom Jones was joined by Supremes Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong on his TV show 'This is Tom Jones' in 1970 where the foursome gave a stunning performance of Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep Mountain High'.

Tom Jones and The Supremes performing in 1970 are a force to be reckoned with.

The incredible foursome appeared on stage together when The Supremes were invited to perform on Tom Jones's TV show This Is Tom Jones in 1970, and the group blew the audience away.

See more: Tom Jones wows screaming crowd with unbelievable ‘sex bomb’ dance moves in video from 1969

Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong were singing Ike and Tina Turner's 1966 hit 'River Deep Mountain High' when Tom Jones joined them on stage for the striking performance.

See more: The 14 greatest Tom Jones songs ever, ranked

The Supremes gave viewers a special mini-concert on the night, which also saw them perform hits including 'Brothers Love Traveling Salvation Show', 'Loves Country', 'Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music', and 'Steeling In The Name Of Good Lord'.

The Welsh singer's TV show This Is Tom Jones ran from 1969-1972 for a total of 67 episodes on ABC-TV.

See more: Diana Ross pays tribute to her 'wonderful' Supremes bandmate Mary Wilson

Sir Tom was a huge star in the US and as a result was able to attract the very best musical talent from across the world to his TV show, which he filmed in both the US and the UK.

Acts that performed over the show's four year run included the Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Little Richard, Janis Joplin, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Cocker, Cher and comedians including Richard Prior and Peter Sellers to name just a few.

See more: Photos of Tom Jones through the years at 80: 'The women, the sex… I don’t regret anything'

The show also earned Tom Jones his 'sex magnet' nickname, often showing off his energetic dance moves and even kissing female members of the audience, despite being married to the same woman all of his life.

See more: Tom Jones joins Olly Murs for a spectacular duet of 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love'

Tom had numerous high profile affairs – including liaisons with Mary Wilson of The Supremes – with the singer explaining in his autobiography that he and his wife came to an arrangement in the late '60s when Linda stopped coming on tour with him: "She simply didn't ask," he said.

See more: When Tom Jones sang 'It's Not Unusual' with Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and it was incredible

Tom Jones was married to wife Linda for 59-years until her death in 2016, and although Tom had numerous infidelities - he once said at the height of his fame he was sleeping with up to 250 women a year - they remained together all their lives.

The Supremes & Tom Jones - River Deep Mountain High [This Is Tom Jones! - 1970]

Sir Tom recently opened up to Graham Norton about those early days of his career, the celebrities he performed with and how he met – and became great friends with – Elvis Presley.

See more: Photos of Tom Jones through the years at 80: 'The women, the sex… I don’t regret anything'

Sir Tom recalled being astounded when he was told that The King himself wanted to meet with him.

The year was 1965 and up-and-coming singer Tom Jones had just released his third single, 'With These Hands' when he travelled to Los Angeles for the first time.

See more: The 10 greatest Supremes songs ever, ranked

“It was wonderful, I was staying in a hotel on Sunset Strip and I had to go to Paramount Studios for work," he said on The Graham Norton Show in February.

"They said to me: 'Elvis Presley is going to be there tomorrow and he wants to meet you'.

See more: What is Sir Tom Jones’ real name? The Voice UK judge makes surprising revelation

“I though ‘Elvis Presley wants to meet me?’ it was unbelievable!" the singer recalls, “So I went there and they said, 'Elvis is filming and once they’ve stopped the filming, you go in'.

Stevie Wonder performs with Tom Jones in 1969

“When they said cut, Elvis looked across and went [Tom Jones gestures a hello] and I was looking around at the fellas with me.

See more: The Voice UK: Tom Jones stuns fellow coaches with spine-tingling performance of Dirty Dancing’s ‘Cry To Me’

“They said: ‘Elvis is waving at you, wave back!’ he laughed.

“...I had a record out at the time, my third single called ‘With These Hands' and Elvis is suddenly walking towards me and he’s singing ‘With these hands, I will cling to you…’

“And I thought ‘My God! If the boys back home could see me now!”

See more: Tom Jones shows incredible vocals as he sings with Tom and Jerry on Saturday Night Takeaway

Tom Jones, now 80-years-old coach on The Voice UK released his 41st studio album in February entitled Surrounded By Time, his fourth album in ten years.

Tom Jones leaves viewers in tears after singing Elvis Presley's favourite 'With These Hands'