Tom Waits

Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected influence from such diverse genres as rock, country, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits “has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtroddern, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.”Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk circuit. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazz-infused Closing Time (1973), The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), which reflected his lyrical interest in criminality, poverty, and nightlife. He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, and attracted greater critical recognition and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978), and Heartattack and Vine (1980). He composed the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (1982). On the set of the movie, he met a young story editor named Kathleen Brennan.

In 1980, Waits married Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to New York City. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more experimental and eclectic musical aesthetic influenced by Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart. This was reflected in the albums released by Island Records, including the loose trilogy of Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), and Franks Wild Years (1987). Waits starred in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law (1986), lent his voice to Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989) and appeared in Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) alongside Iggy Pop. He also appeared in stage productions. With theater director Robert Wilson, he wrote the musicals The Black Rider (1990) and Alice (1992), first performed in Hamburg. He returned to California in the 1990s and released Bone Machine (1992) and Mule Variations (1999), which earned him critical acclaim and Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Contemporary Folk Album, respectively. In the late 1990s, he switched to the record label ANTI-, which released Blood Money (2002), Alice (2002), Real Gone (2004), the compilation Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (2006), the live album Glitter and Doom Live (2009) and Bad as Me (2011).

Waits has influenced many musicians and gained an international cult following. His songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and the Ramones and he has written songs for Johnny Cash and Norah Jones, among others. In 2006, Waits and Brennan were ranked fourth on Paste's list of the hundred greatest living songwriters. In 2011, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his induction speech, Neil Young said "This next man is indescribable, and I'm here to describe him. He's sort of a performer, singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling... I think it's great that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has recognized this immense talent. Could have been the motion picture hall of fame, could have been the blues hall of fame, could have been the performance artist hall of fame, but it was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that recognized the great Tom Waits." In accepting the award, Waits said "They say that I have no hits and that I'm difficult to work with. And they say that like it's a bad thing!"