It's Not Unusual

The song was written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills. It was the second Decca-single Jones released, and reached number one in the UK charts in 1965. It was also the first hit for Jones in the US, peaking at #10 in May of that year. The single was released in the US on the Parrot label and also reached #3 on Billboard's easy listening chart.

Backing musicians were The Ivy League with Clem Cattini on drums. Arranger was Les Reed. Guitar was provided by Jimmy Page.^[1]

1 References in Pop Culture
2 Cover Versions
3 References
4 External links

[edit] References in Pop Culture

The song was famously featured on the 1990s United States television sitcom series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as dancing music for Carlton Banks as he performed his Carlton Dance.^[2] The song's recurring role on the program not only made many associate the song to the dance, but it also helped to introduce a new generation of people to the song and Tom Jones. Jones himself appeared in an episode of the series during a dream sequence as Carlton's guardian angel. Jones counsels Carlton on some of his neuroses and the two subsequently perform a duet version of the song that incorporates (and addresses) Carlton's concerns.

It appears in two of film director Tim Burton's movies, first in Edward Scissorhands and then again in Mars Attacks!, in which Tom Jones has a cameo role.

The song was also played in one of the episodes of Will & Grace, "The HoneyMoon's Over", and in Part I of the Friends Vegas episode.

[edit] Cover Versions

The Supremes recorded a version of this song for their Supremes A' Go-Go album, but was not included. It still remains unreleased.
The Italian rocker Little Tony performed a local version with the title "Non è normale " ("It's not usual") [sic]).
The song was covered by the American Alternative band Wild Colonials and appeared on their album Reel Life vol 1 (2000) and the original soundtrack to the Ellen Degeneres film Mr. Wrong.

Five Iron Frenzy covered this song on their live album Five Iron Frenzy LIVE: Proof That the Youth Are Revolting, and later released a studio recorded version on their album All The Hype That Money Can Buy.

Preceded by "I'll Never Find Another You" by The Seekers	UK number one single "It's Not Unusual" March 11, 1965 (1 week)	Succeeded by "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones