Some songs sound like simple love ballads — but for Tom Jones, “That Wonderful Sound” was a quiet message to the woman who had been with him for more than half his life.
A song born in loneliness
Released in 1969 and written by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster, “That Wonderful Sound” was recorded by many artists. Yet only when Tom Jones sang it did it find its true soul. Beneath the bright lights of fame, the Welsh singer was living through one of his loneliest chapters — touring endlessly, far from home, and feeling the emotional distance from Linda, the girl he married at sixteen.
Lines like
“I can’t help it if I’m still in love with you”
sounded less like lyrics, and more like a confession — a longing to hear again that “wonderful sound” of his beloved’s voice.
The “wonderful sound” that wasn’t applause
For Tom, that phrase didn’t mean the cheers of a crowd or the rhythm of a band. It meant the soft, familiar voice of Linda, waiting for him back in Pontypridd.
In interviews, he once said:
“Linda’s voice was the sound I missed the most. It made everything feel right again.”
That’s why, whenever he performed the song, he often closed his eyes — as if he could still hear her calling his name from miles away.
A melody wrapped in longing
The song’s arrangement blended pop and soul, typical of the late ’60s. But what made it timeless was the raw emotion: the quiet ache of missing someone, and the fear that one day that sound might be gone forever.
Even after decades and countless hits like “Delilah,” “It’s Not Unusual,” and “She’s a Lady,” Tom Jones has always said “That Wonderful Sound” remained one of his most personal recordings — because it preserved the memory of Linda, the silent force behind his journey.
A farewell in silence
When Linda passed away in 2016, Tom stopped performing for a while. Upon returning to the stage, he simply said:
“I still hear her voice.”
Then he opened the show with “That Wonderful Sound.”
The crowd stood still — not cheering, but listening. It wasn’t a concert anymore. It was a conversation between a man and the love he’d never lost.