Introduction
In late 1969, Tom Jones released his version of “Without Love (There Is Nothing)”, a song originally written by Clyde McPhatter and recorded in 1957 by McPhatter. Jones’s single climbed the charts: in the UK it peaked at number 10 on the Official Singles Chart in December 1969. In the US, it fared even better—becoming one of his highest-charting hits in America.
The song’s theme is timeless: the declaration that life and joy lose their meaning without love. Jones imbues the track with his signature vocal power and emotional urgency, conveying both regret and yearning in his delivery. His performance of the song on “This Is Tom Jones” in 1969 is especially memorable. According to commentary, the show featured him on a dimly lit stage, spotlighted, with backing musicians and choir behind him. In the performance, Jones opens with spoken lines—“To live for today, and to love for tomorrow … you see, love is that wonderful thing…”—before launching into the soulful cry of the song itself.
“This Is Tom Jones” aired between 1969 and 1971, giving Jones a televised platform for his music and personality, and helping to propel songs like “Without Love” into wider public awareness. The combination of studio single and televised performance means the song exists as both a recording and a vivid live moment of Tom Jones’s artistry.
More than just a hit, “Without Love (There Is Nothing)” stands as a showcase of Jones’s ability to interpret a soulful ballad with dramatic flair—it is a moment where his stage presence, his vocal control, and the emotional core of the song align. In short, it is a defining 1969 piece in the Tom Jones catalogue, worthy of its place in his era of musical brilliance.