Tom Jones, pop singer, sits at his desk in his home in London, smoking a Havana cigar on Dec. 31, 1968. The 28-year-old son of a Welsh coal miner is prepping for the biggest breakthrough of his meteoric career. An Anglo-American television combine is laying out something like nine million pounds ($21,600,000) for the pop singerÂs first really big show, 13 one-hour episodes with an option for another fide. The six-foot curly-haired Jones from Pontypridd in South Wales, figures on collecting £850,000 ($2,000,000) from the contract in 1969 alone. (AP Photo/Victor Boyton)
