It's Not Unusual to Haul Coal for Anyone

I caught this on WNHU's Friday night oldies show yesterday: Tom Jones recorded a fantastic cover of "Sixteen Tons" in 1967. By "fantastic" I mean it's got a string orchestra and backup vocals that are hilariously at odds with the song's gritty lyrics, not to mention the cool-cat bass pizzicato and snapping. But what song doesn't benefit from being done up in '60s cheeseball pop style?

According to Wikipedia, Tom Jones's father was actually a coal miner, so even if it wasn't fantastic it's not like you could really call him out on it.