According to Billboard.com, Tom Jones of driving-ladies-wild fame will release "Praise and Blame" on July 27 and the Gospel influence is undeniable.
From singing "The Lord's Prayer" to his Welsh Presbyterian school companions, Jones was attracted by the great Mahalia Jackson's soulful Gospel early on.
Jones laments that his personal favorite, "The Old Rugged Cross" didn't make the final cut because he remembers singing it often with Elvis Presley after they would appear separately headlining different shows in Las Vegas.
"Elvis loved it," says Jones who has made a career of doing the unexpected. "This is my meat," he says of this new album.