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Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld 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 the influence of such diverse genres as rock,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, Delta blues,
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
,
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,
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
,
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Tom Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. Inspired by the work of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the
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folk circuit. He relocated to
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in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His debut album was ''Closing Time'' (1973), followed by '' The Heart of Saturday Night'' (1974) and '' Nighthawks at the Diner'' (1975). He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe and Japan, and found greater critical and commercial success with ''Small Change'' (1976), ''Blue Valentine'' (1978) and '' Heartattack and Vine'' (1980). During this period, Waits entered the world of film, acting in '' Paradise Alley'' (1978), where he met Kathleen Brennan. In 1980, Waits married Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more eclectic and experimental sound influenced by Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart, as heard on the loose trilogy ''
Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...
'' (1983), '' Rain Dogs'' (1985) and '' Franks Wild Years'' (1987). In 1990, he collaborated with theater director Robert Wilson on the musical '' The Black Rider'', the songs for which were released on the album of the same name. Waits and Wilson reunited for the musicals ''Alice'' (1992) and ''Woyzeck'' (2000). In 2002, the songs from them were released on the albums ''Alice'' and ''Blood Money''. Waits won Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Contemporary Folk Album for '' Bone Machine'' (1992) and '' Mule Variations'' (1999). Waits went on to release ''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 artists and gained an international cult following. His songs have been covered by
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
, Tori Amos,
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
and the
Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
and he has written songs for
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
and Norah Jones, among others. In 2011, he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
. Introducing him,
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
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..." Accepting the honor, Waits mused: "They say that I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with. And they say it like it's a ''bad'' thing!"


Biography


Childhood and adolescence: 1949–1968

Thomas Alan Waits was born on December 7, 1949, in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. He has one older and one younger sister. His father, Jesse Frank Waits, was a
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
native of Scots-Irish descent, and his mother, Alma Fern (née Johnson), hailed from
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
and had Norwegian ancestry. Alma, a regular church-goer, managed the household. Jesse taught Spanish at a local school and was an alcoholic; Waits later related that his father was "a tough one, always an outsider." They lived at 318 North Pickering Avenue in Whittier, California. He recalled having a "very middle-class" upbringing and "a pretty normal childhood". He attended Jordan Elementary School, where he was bullied. There, he learned to play the bugle and
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
. His father taught him to play the ukulele. During the summers, he visited maternal relatives in Gridley and Marysville. He later recalled that it was an uncle's raspy, gravelly timbre that inspired his own singing voice. In 1959, his parents separated and his father moved away from the family home, a traumatic experience for the 10-year-old Waits. Alma took her children and relocated to Chula Vista, a middle-class suburb of
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. Jesse visited the family there, taking his children on trips to
Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
. In nearby Southeast San Diego, Waits attended O'Farrell Community School, where he fronted a school band, the Systems, which he described as "white kids trying to get that
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
sound." He developed a love of R&B and
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
singers like Ray Charles and Wilson Pickett, as well as
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
and Roy Orbison.
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
later became an inspiration; Waits placed transcriptions of Dylan's lyrics on his bedroom walls. Waits recalls: "I was fifteen and I snuck in to see Lightnin' Hopkins. Amazing show. Every time he opened his mouth he had that orchestra of gold teeth, and I was devastated ... He walked through a door, and slammed the door behind him, and on the door it said, I swear to God, 'KEEP OUT. This room is for entertainers ONLY.' And I knew, at that moment, that I had to get into show business as soon as possible." He recalls: "I first saw
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
in 1962 at an outdoor theatre in San Diego and it was indescribable ... it was like putting a finger in a light socket ... It was really like seeing mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Christmas." By the time he was studying at Hilltop High School, he later related, he was "kind of an amateur juvenile delinquent", interested in "malicious mischief" and breaking the law. He later described himself as a "rebel against the rebels", eschewing the hippie subculture which was growing in popularity for the 1950s Beat generation, especially
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. In 1968, at age 18, he dropped out of high school. He was an avid watcher of ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...
'' and '' The Twilight Zone''. Another influence was the comedian Lenny Bruce. Waits worked at Napoleone's pizza restaurant in National City, California, and both there and at a local diner developed an interest in the lives of the patrons, writing down phrases and snippets of dialogue he overheard. He worked in the forestry service as a fireman for three years and served with the
Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
. He enrolled at Chula Vista's Southwestern Community College to study photography, for a time considering a career in the field. He continued pursuing his musical interests, taking piano lessons. He began frequenting venues around San Diego, being drawn into the city's folk scene.


Early musical career: 1969–1976

In 1969, he was hired as an occasional doorman for the Heritage coffeehouse, which held regular performances from folk musicians.Montadon, Mac, "Timeline and Discography" in ''Innocent When You Dream'', p. 385 He also began to sing at the Heritage; his set initially consisted largely of covers of Dylan and Red Sovine's " Phantom 309". In time, he performed his own material as well, often parodies of country songs or bittersweet ballads influenced by his relationships; these included early songs " Ol' 55" and "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You". As his reputation grew, he played at other San Diego venues, supporting acts like Tim Buckley, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and his friend Jack Tempchin. Aware that San Diego offered little opportunity for career progression, Waits began traveling into Los Angeles to play at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. It was there, in the autumn of 1971, that Waits came to the attention of
Herb Cohen Herbert Cohen (December 30, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Judy Henske, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, Odetta, Tom Waits, Geor ...
, who signed him to publishing and recording contracts. The recordings that were produced under that recording agreement were eventually released in the early 1990s as ''The Early Years'' and ''The Early Years, Volume Two''. In early 1972, after quitting his job at Napoleone's to concentrate on his songwriting career, Waits moved to an apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, a poor neighborhood known for its Hispanic and bohemian communities. He continued performing at the Troubadour and there met David Geffen, who gave Waits a recording contract with his Asylum Records. Jerry Yester was chosen to produce his first album, with the recording sessions taking place in Hollywood's Sunset Sound studios. The resulting album, ''Closing Time'', was released in March 1973, although it attracted little attention and did not sell well. Biographer Barney Hoskyns noted that ''Closing Time'' was "broadly in step with the singer-songwriter school of the early 1970s"; Waits had wanted to create a piano-led jazz album although Yester had pushed its sound in a more folk-oriented direction. Buckley covered "Martha" on his album '' Sefronia'' later that year. An
Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
recording of "Ol' 55" on their album '' On the Border'' brought Waits further money and recognition, although he regarded their version as "a little antiseptic". To promote his debut, Waits and a three-piece band embarked on a U.S. tour, where he was the supporting act for more established artists. He supported Tom Rush at Washington D.C.'s The Cellar Door, Danny O'Keefe in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
's Club Passim,
Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...
at
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's Max's Kansas City, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in
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and John P. Hammond in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. Waits returned to Los Angeles in June, feeling demoralized about his career. That month, he was the cover star of free music magazine '' Music World''. He began composing songs for his second album, and attended the
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
Poetry Workshop to try out this new material in front of an audience. Although Waits was eager to record this new material, Cohen instead convinced him to take over as a support act for
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
's the Mothers of Invention after previous support act Kathy Dalton pulled out due to the hostility from Zappa's fans. Waits joined Zappa's tour in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, but like Dalton found the audiences hostile; while on stage he was jeered at and pelted with fruit. Although he liked the Mothers of Invention, he was intimidated by Zappa himself. Waits moved from Silver Lake to Echo Park, spending much of his time in downtown Los Angeles. In early 1974, he continued to perform around the West Coast, getting as far as
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. For Waits's second album, Geffen wanted a more jazz-oriented producer, selecting
Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles (band), the Turtles cover o ...
for the job. Howe recounts his first encounter with the young artist: "I told him I thought his music and lyrics had a Kerouac quality to them, and he was blown away that I knew who Jack Kerouac was. I told him I also played jazz drums and he went wild. Then I told him that when I was working for Norman Granz, Norman had found these tapes of Kerouac reading his poetry from The Beat Generation in a hotel room. I told Waits I'd make him a copy. That sealed it." Recording sessions for '' The Heart of Saturday Night'' took place at Wally Heider's Studio 3 on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood in April and May, with Waits conceptualizing the album as a sequence of songs about U.S. nightlife. The album was far more widely reviewed than ''Closing Time'' had been. Waits himself later dismissed the album as "very ill-formed, but I was trying". After recording ''The Heart of Saturday Night'', Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility. The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career. In October 1974, he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast; in New York City he met and befriended Bette Midler, with whom he had a sporadic affair. Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
. To this end, he performed two shows at the Record Plant Studio in front of a small invited audience to recreate the atmosphere of a jazz club. Again produced and engineered by Howe (as all his future Asylum releases would be), it was released as '' Nighthawks at the Diner'' in October 1975. The album cover and title were inspired by
Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realism painter and printmaker. He is one of America's most renowned artists and known for his skill in depicting modern American life and landscapes. Born in Nyack, New York, to a ...
's ''Nighthawks'' (1942). He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney nightclub, an off-Broadway–style club in New York City. In December he appeared on the PBS concert show '' Soundstage''. From March to May 1976, he toured the U.S., telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol. In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in
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,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
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and
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend Chuck E. Weiss, moving into the Tropicana motel in West Hollywood, which had an established reputation in rock music circles. Visitors noted his two-room apartment there was heavily cluttered. Waits told the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' that "You almost have to create situations in order to write about them, so I live in a constant state of self-imposed poverty".


''Small Change'' and ''Foreign Affairs'': 1976–1978

In July 1976, Waits recorded ''Small Change'', again produced by Howe. He recalled it as a seminal episode in his development as a songwriter, the point when he became "completely confident in the craft". The album was critically well received and was his first release to break into the Billboard Top 100 Album List, peaking at 89. Per Bowman, ''Small Change'' "made it clear that Waits had evolved into a master storyteller, reflecting the influence of crime-noir writers such as Dashiell Hammett and John D. MacDonald. Arguably his first masterpiece, the album featured exquisite piano ballads such as ' Tom Traubert's Blues' and ‘ The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me),’ the word-jazz of ‘Pasties and a G-String,’ and the tour-de-force tenor-sax-accompanied hucksterism of ‘ Step Right Up.’” He received growing press attention, being profiled in ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', '' Vogue'' and ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''; he had begun to accrue a cult following. He went on tour to promote the new album, backed by the Nocturnal Emissions ( Frank Vicari, Chip White and Fitz Jenkins). In reference to "Pasties and a G-String", a female stripper joined him onstage. He began 1977 by touring
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
for the first time. Back in Los Angeles, he encountered various problems. One female fan, recently escaped from a mental health institution in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, began
stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...
him and lurking outside his Tropicana apartment. In May 1977, Waits and close friend Chuck E. Weiss were arrested for fighting with police officers in a coffee shop. They were charged with two counts of disturbing the peace but were acquitted after the defense produced eight witnesses who refuted the police officers' account of the incident. In response, Waits sued the
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
and five years later was awarded $7,500 in damages. In July and August 1977, he recorded his fourth studio album, ''
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
''; Bob Alcivar had been employed as its arranger. The album included "I Never Talk to Strangers", a duet with Midler, with whom he was still in an intermittent relationship. She appeared with him at the Troubadour to sing the song; the next day he repaid the favor by performing at a gay rights benefit at the Hollywood Bowl that Midler was involved with. ''Foreign Affairs'' was not as well received by critics as its predecessor, and unlike ''Small Change'' failed to make the Billboard Top 100 album chart. That year, he began a relationship with the singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones; their work and styles influenced each other. In October 1977, he returned to touring with the Nocturnal Emissions; it was on this tour that he first began using props onstage, in this case a street lamp. Again, he found the tour exhausting. In March 1978, he embarked on his second tour of Japan. During these years, Waits sought to broaden his career beyond music. He befriended actor and director
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
and made his film debut as a drunken piano player in Stallone's '' Paradise Alley'' (1978). With Paul Hampton, Waits also began writing a movie musical, although this project never came to fruition. Another project he began at this time was a book about entertainers of the past whom he admired.


''Blue Valentine'' and ''Heartattack and Vine'': 1978–1980

In July 1978, Waits began the recording sessions for ''Blue Valentine''. Part way through the sessions, he replaced his musicians to create a less jazz-oriented sound; for the album, he switched from a piano to an electric guitar as his main instrument. For the album's back cover, Waits used a picture of himself and Jones leaning against his car, a 1964 Ford Thunderbird, taken by Elliot Gilbert. Per Bowman, "Waits gradually began writing about junkies and prostitutes instead of skid-row drunks. In songs such as 'Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis’ and ‘Red Shoes by the Drugstore,’ his writing became ever more vivid, compact, and complex." From the album, Waits's first single, a cover of
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
and
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
's "Somewhere" from ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'', was released, but failed to chart. For his ''Blue Valentine'' tour, Waits assembled a new band; he also had a gas station built as a set for his performances. His support act on the tour was Leon Redbone. In April, he embarked on a European tour, there making television appearances and press interviews; in Austria he was the subject of a short documentary. From there, he flew to Australia for his first tour of that country before returning to Los Angeles in May. Waits was dissatisfied with Elektra-Asylum, who he felt had lost interest in him as an artist in favor of their more commercially successful acts like
the Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...
, Linda Ronstadt,
Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
and
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
. After a phone call with their mutual friend Chuck E. Weiss, Waits told Jones, "Chuck E.'s in love". This was the inspiration for her song " Chuck E.'s in Love". Jones's musical career was taking off; after an appearance on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', "Chuck E.'s In Love" reached number 4 in the singles chart, straining her relationship with Waits. Their relationship was further damaged by Jones's
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
addiction. Waits joined Jones for the first leg of her European tour, but then ended his relationship with her. Her grief at the breakup was channeled into the 1981 album '' Pirates''. In September, Waits moved to Crenshaw Boulevard to be closer to his father, before deciding to relocate to New York City. He initially lived in the
Chelsea Hotel The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hot ...
before renting an apartment on West 26th Street. On arriving in the city, he told a reporter that he "just needed a new urban landscape. I've always wanted to live here. It's a good working atmosphere for me". He considered writing a Broadway musical based on Thornton Wilder's '' Our Town''. A rotoscoped Waits performed "The One That Got Away" in the music video '' Tom Waits For No One'' (1979).
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
asked Waits to return to Los Angeles to write a soundtrack for his forthcoming film, '' One from the Heart''. Waits was excited, but conflicted, by the prospect; Coppola wanted him to create music akin to his early work, a genre that he was trying to leave behind, and thus he characterized the project as an artistic "step backwards". He nevertheless returned to Los Angeles to work on the soundtrack in a room set aside for the purpose in Coppola's Hollywood studios. This style of working was new to Waits; he later recalled that he was "so insecure when I started ... I was sweating buckets". Waits was nominated for the 1982 Academy Award for Original Music Score. Waits still contractually owed Elektra-Asylum another album, so took a break from Coppola's project to write an album that he initially called ''White Spades''. He recorded the album in June; it was released in September as '' Heartattack and Vine''. The album was more guitar-based and had, according to Humphries, "a harder R&B edge" than any of its predecessors. It again broke into the Top 100 Album Chart, peaking at number 96. Reviews were generally good. Hoskyns called it "one of Waits's pinnacle achievements" as an album. One of its tracks, " Jersey Girl", was subsequently recorded by
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
. Waits was grateful, both for the revenue that the cover brought him and because he felt appreciated by a songwriter he admired. While on the set of ''One from the Heart'', Waits encountered Kathleen Brennan, a young Irish-American woman working as an assistant story editor. The two had previously met while Waits was filming ''Paradise Alley''. Waits would later describe this encounter with Brennan as "love at first sight"; they were engaged to be married within a week. In August 1980, they married at a 24-hour wedding chapel on Manchester Boulevard in Watts before honeymooning in
Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...
, a town in
County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
, Ireland, where Brennan had family.


''Swordfishtrombones'' and New York City: 1980–1984

Returning to Los Angeles, Waits and Brennan moved into a Union Avenue apartment. Hoskyns noted that with Brennan, "Waits had found the stabilizing, nurturing companion he'd always wanted", and that she brought him "a sense of emotional security he had never known" before. At the same time, many of his old friends felt cut off after his marriage. Waits said of Brennan: "She rescued me. Maybe I rescued her too; that's often how it works. Upshot is that we both got into the same leaky boat. Maybe the weight drags it down, because now you've two people sitting in it. Sorry, baby! But on the other hand you've also got two peoples' imagination to patch it up again. Everybody knows she's the brains behind Pa, as Dylan might have said. I'm just the figurehead. She's the one who's steering the ship." Recording of Waits's ''One from the Heart'' soundtrack began in October 1980 and continued until September 1981. A number of the tracks were recorded as duets with Crystal Gayle; Waits had initially planned to duet with Midler but she proved unavailable. The film was released in 1982, to largely poor reviews. Waits makes a small cameo as a trumpet player in a crowd scene. Waits's soundtrack album was released by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
in 1982. Waits had misgivings about the album, thinking it over-produced. Humphries thought that working with Coppola was an important move in Waits's career: it "led directly to Waits moving from cult (i.e. largely unknown) artiste to center-stage." Newly married and with his Elektra-Asylum contract completed, Waits decided that it was time to artistically reinvent himself. He wanted to move away from using Howe as his producer, although the two parted on good terms. With Brennan's help, he began the process of firing Cohen as his manager, with him and Brennan taking on managerial responsibilities themselves. He came to believe that Cohen had been swindling him out of much of his earnings, later relating that "I thought I was a millionaire and it turned out I had, like, twenty bucks." Waits credited Brennan with introducing him to much new music, most notably Captain Beefheart, a key influence on the direction in which he wanted to take his work. He later said that "once you've heard Beefheart it's hard to wash him out of your clothes. It stains, like coffee or blood." She also introduced him to Harry Partch, a composer who created his own instruments out of everyday materials. Waits began to use images rather than moods or characters as the basis for his songs. Waits wrote the songs for ''
Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...
'' during a two-week trip to Ireland. He recorded it at Sunset Sound studios and produced it himself; Brennan often attended the sessions and gave him advice. ''Swordfishtrombones'' abandoned the jazz sound characteristic of his earlier work; it was his first album not to feature a saxophone and his first to feature the
marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...
. When the album was finished, he took it to Asylum, but they declined to release it. Waits wanted to leave the label; in his view, "They liked dropping my name in terms of me being a 'prestige' artist, but when it came down to it they didn't invest a whole lot in me in terms of faith".
Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...
of
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
learned of Waits's dissatisfaction and approached him, offering to release ''Swordfishtrombones''; Island had a reputation for signing more experimental acts, such as
King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...
,
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
and Sparks. Waits did not tour to promote the album, partly because Brennan was pregnant. Although unenthusiastic about the new trend for
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s, he appeared in one for the song " In the Neighborhood", co-directed by Haskell Wexler and Michael A. Russ. Russ also designed the ''Swordfishtrombones'' album cover, featuring an image of Waits with Lee Kolima, a circus strongman, and Angelo Rossitto, a dwarf. Jon Pareles wrote that "On ''Swordfishtrombones'', Waits has made a breakthrough – he's found music as evocative as his words. Waits's grumble of a voice now bounces off a peculiar assortment of horns and percussion and organ and keyboards, as if he'd led a Salvation Army band into a broken-down Hong Kong disco. It's as if he's shifted from monologues to screenplays." According to David Smay, ''Swordfishtrombones'' was "the record where Tom Waits radically reinvented himself and reshaped the musical landscape." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' named it the second best album of the year. In 1989, ''Spin'' magazine named it the second greatest album of all time. In 1983, Waits appeared in three more Coppola films: as Benny, a philosopher running a billboard store in ''
Rumble Fish ''Rumble Fish'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel '' Rumble Fish'' by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vince ...
''; as Buck Merrill in ''The Outsiders''; and as the maître'd in ''The Cotton Club''. He later said that "Coppola is actually the only film director in Hollywood that has a conscience ... most of them are egomaniacs and money-grabbing bastards". In September, Brennan gave birth to their daughter, Kellesimone. Waits was determined to keep his family life separate from his public image and to spend as much time as possible with his daughter. With Brennan and their child, Waits moved to New York City to be closer to Brennan's parents and Island's U.S. office. They settled into a loft apartment near Union Square. Waits found New York City life frustrating, although it allowed him to meet many new musicians and artists. He befriended John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards, and the duo began sharing a music studio in the Westbeth artist-community building in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
. He began networking in the city's arts scene, and, at a party
Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...
held for Lurie, he met the filmmaker
Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...
.


''Rain Dogs'' and ''Franks Wild Years'': 1985–1988

Starting in the mid-80s, Kurt Weill became an important influence on Waits's work. Bowman writes that "Waits had become interested in Weill's late-1920s and 1930s musical-theater works ... Weill's slightly off-kilter, stylized
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
approach to melody, rhythm, orchestration, and musical narrative permeated much of Waits's subsequent work." Waits did the soundtrack for the documentary ''Streetwise'', about homeless youth in Seattle; it was another influence on the subjects of his next album. '' Rain Dogs'' was recorded at the RCA Studios in mid 1985. Musically, Waits called the album "kind of an interaction between Appalachia and Nigeria". Keith Richards played on several tracks; Richards later acknowledged Waits's encouragement of his debut solo album, '' Talk is Cheap''. ''Rain Dogs'' also marked
Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...
's debut as a session guitarist; he would play on many subsequent Waits albums. Jean-Baptiste Mondino directed a music video of " Downtown Train" featuring boxer Jake LaMotta. The song was subsequently covered by Patty Smyth in 1987, and later by
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
, where it reached the top five in 1990. In 1985, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' named Waits its "Songwriter of the Year". Arion Berger wrote that "With ''Rain Dogs'', he dropped his bedraggled lounge-piano act and fused outsider influences – socialist decadence by way of Kurt Weill, pre-rock integrity from old dirty blues, the elegiac melancholy of New Orleans funeral brass – into a singularly idiosyncratic American style ... The music is bony and menacingly beautiful, the desultory electric-guitar solo as cold as the rattle of marimbas in 'Clap Hands'. The evocative, elliptical rhymes describe scenes and characters with poetic precision but use atmosphere, not narrative, to connect them." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' named ''Rain Dogs'' the best album of the year. In September 1985, his son Casey was born. Waits assembled a band and went on tour, kicking it off in Scotland in October before proceeding around Europe and then the U.S. He changed the setlist for each performance; most of the songs chosen were from his two Island albums. Returning to the U.S., he traveled to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
to act in Jarmusch's ''Down by Law''. Jarmusch wrote ''Down by Law'' with Waits and Lurie in mind. The film opened and closed with songs from ''Rain Dogs''. Jarmusch noted that "Tom and I have a kindred aesthetic. An interest in unambitious people, marginal people." The pair developed a friendship; Waits called Jarmusch "Dr. Sullen", while Jarmusch called Waits "The Prince of Melancholy". Waits had devised a musical, ''Franks Wild Years'', loosely based on "Frank's Wild Years" from ''Swordfishtrombones''. In late 1985, he reached an agreement that the play would be performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's Briar Street Theatre Waits starred as Frank, whom he described as
Quite a guy. Grew up in a bird's eye frozen, oven-ready, rural American town where
Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...
, Bob, Dean, Wayne & Jerry are considered major constellations. Frank, mistakenly, thinks he can stuff himself into their shorts and present himself to an adoring world. He is a combination of Will Rogers and
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
, playing accordion – but without the wisdom they possessed. He has a poet's heart and a boy's sense of wonder with the world. A legend in Rainville since he burned his house down and took off for the Big Time.
Reviews were generally positive. He had initially considered a run in New York City but decided against it. The songs from the show were recorded for his ninth studio album, '' Franks Wild Years'', and released by Island in 1987. ''NME'' ranked ''Franks Wild Years'' fifth on its list of albums of the year. The album was Waits's first collaboration with David Hidalgo, who played accordion on "Cold, Cold Ground" and "Train Song". After its release, Waits toured North America and Europe, his last full tour for two decades. Two of these performances were the basis for Chris Blum's concert film ''Big Time'' (1988). Waits continued interacting and working with other artists he admired. He was a great fan of
The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p ...
and went on a Chicago pub crawl with them in 1986. The following year, he appeared as a master of ceremonies on several dates of
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
's "Wheel of Fortune" tour. In 1986, he took a small part in '' Candy Mountain'', as millionaire golf enthusiast Al Silk. He costarred in Hector Babenco's ''Ironweed'', as Rudy the Kraut. Hoskyns noted that ''Ironweed'' put Waits "on the mainstream Hollywood map as a character actor". In Fall 1987, Waits and his family left New York and returned to Los Angeles, settling on Union Avenue. He appeared as a hitman in Robert Dornhelm's ''Cold Feet'' and lent his voice to Jarmusch's ''Mystery Train''. Although Waits had provided a voice-over for a 1981 television advert for Butcher's Blend dog food, he objected to musicians letting companies use their songs in advertising; he said that "artists who take money for ads poison and pervert their songs". In November 1988, he brought a lawsuit against Frito-Lay for using an impersonator performing "Step Right Up" in an advertisement for Doritos; it came to court in April 1990, and Waits won the case in 1992. He received a $2.6 million settlement, a sum larger than his earnings from all of his previous albums combined. This earned him and Brennan reputations as tireless adversaries.


''The Black Rider'', ''Bone Machine'', and ''Alice'': 1989–1998

In 1989, Waits began planning a collaboration with Robert Wilson, a theater director he had known throughout the 1980s. Their project was the "cowboy opera" '' The Black Rider''. It was based on a German folk tale, the
Freischütz In German folklore, the figure of the () is a marksman who, by a contract with the devil, has obtained a certain number of bullets destined to hit without fail whatever object he wishes. As the legend is usually told, six of the magic bullets ...
, which had inspired
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
's opera '' Der Freischütz'' (1821). In 2004, Waits related that "Wilson is my teacher. There's nobody that's affected me that much as an artist". Waits wrote the music and, at the suggestion of Allen Ginsberg, Waits and Wilson approached William S. Burroughs to pen the lyrics. They flew to
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
to meet with Burroughs, who agreed to join the project. Waits traveled to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany, in May 1989 to work on the project, and was later joined there by Burroughs. ''The Black Rider'' debuted in Hamburg's Thalia Theater in March 1990. On completing its run at the Thalia, the play went on an international tour, with a second run of performances occurring in the mid-2000s. In June 1989, Waits travelled to London to play a
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...
puppeteer in Ann Guedes's film ''Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale''. He proceeded to Ireland, where he was joined by Brennan and spent time with her family. In December 1989, he began a stint as Curly, a mobster's son, at the Los Angeles Theater Center production of Thomas Babe's play ''Demon Wine''. Over the next four years, he made seven film appearances. He nevertheless repeatedly told press that he did not see himself as an actor, but only as someone who did some acting. He made a brief appearance as a plainclothes cop in '' The Two Jakes'' (1990) and played a disabled war veteran in
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
's '' The Fisher King'' (1991). He had a cameo in Steve Rash's '' Queens Logic'' (1991) and played a pilot-for-hire in Héctor Babenco's '' At Play in the Fields of the Lord'' (1991). He appeared as himself fishing with John Lurie on '' Fishing with John''. He was Renfield in Coppola's ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992). Waits starred as Earl Piggot, an alcoholic limousine driver, in
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
's '' Short Cuts'' (1993). Hoskyns said that this "may be the best performance Waits ever gave as an actor." In 1991, Waits and his family moved to the outskirts of Sonoma. Waits's family later relocated to a secluded house near Valley Ford after a bypass road was built near to their first Sonoma County house. Also in 1991, 13 of Waits's 1971 pre-Asylum Records recordings were released for the first time on the first volume of ''Tom Waits: The Early Years''. Waits was angered at this, describing many of his early demos as "baby pictures" that he would not want released. A second volume with 13 more recordings from 1971 was released in 1993. In April 1992, Waits released the soundtrack album to Jarmusch's '' Night on Earth''. Largely instrumental, it had been recorded at the Prairie Sun studio in Cotati. In 1992, Waits quit drinking alcohol and joined
Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
. In the early 1990s he took part in several charitable causes. In 1990 he contributed a song to the
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
benefit album '' Red Hot + Blue'' and later appeared at a Wiltern Theater fundraising show for the victims of the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...
. In August 1992, Waits released his tenth studio album, '' Bone Machine''. Waits wanted to explore "more machinery sounds" with the album, reflecting his interest in industrial music. It was recorded in an old storage room at Prairie Sun. Waits recalled: "I found a great room to work in, it's just a cement floor and a hot water heater. Okay, we'll do it here. It's got some good echo."Interview with Brian Bannon for ''Thrasher'' magazine, February 1993; collected in ''Innocent When You Dream'' p.146 Eight of the album's tracks were co-written with Brennan. The cover was co-designed by Waits and Jesse Dylan. Jarmusch and Dylan directed videos for "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", and "Goin' Out West", respectively. Critic Steve Huey called it "perhaps Tom Waits's most cohesive album ... a morbid, sinister nightmare, one that applied the quirks of his experimental '80s classics to stunningly evocative—and often harrowing—effect ... Waits's most affecting and powerful recording, even if it isn't his most accessible." The album's closing track, "That Feel", was co-written with Keith Richards. ''Bone Machine'' won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album; in response, Waits asked Jarmusch: "alternative to ''what''?!" Waits decided to record an album of the songs written for ''The Black Rider'', and did so at Los Angeles's Sunset Sound Factory. ''The Black Rider'' was released in the fall of 1993. Waits and Wilson decided to collaborate again, this time on an operatic treatment of
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
's relationship with Alice Liddell, who had provided the inspiration for '' Alice in Wonderland'' and '' Through the Looking Glass''. Again scheduled to premier at the Thalia, they began working on the project in Hamburg in early 1992. Waits characterized the songs he wrote for the play as "adult songs for children, or children's songs for adults". In his lyrics, Waits drew on his increasing interest in freak shows and the physically deformed. He thought the play itself was about "repression, mental illness and obsessive, compulsive disorders". ''Alice'' premiered at the Thalia in December 1992. In early 1993, Brennan was pregnant with Waits's third child, Sullivan. He decided to reduce his workload so as to spend more time with his children; this isolation spawned rumours that he was seriously ill or had separated from his wife. For three years, he turned down all offers to perform gigs or appear in movies. However, he made several cameos and guest appearances on albums by musicians he admired. In February 1996, he held a benefit performance to raise funds for the legal defense of his friend Don Hyde, who had been charged with distributing LSD. He wrote "Walk Away" and "The Fall of Troy" for the soundtrack of '' Dead Man Walking'' (1995) and "Little Drop of Poison" for '' The End of Violence'' (1997). In 1998, Island released '' Beautiful Maladies'', a compilation of 23 Waits tracks from his albums with the company, selected by Waits himself.


''Mule Variations'' and ''Woyzeck'': 1999–2003

After his contract with Island expired, Waits decided not to try to renew it, particularly as Blackwell had resigned from the company. He signed to a smaller record label, Anti-, recently launched as an offshoot of the punk-label Epitaph Records. He described the company as "a friendly place". The president of Anti-, Andy Kaulkin, said the label was "blown away that Tom would even consider us. We are huge fans."Bambarger, Bradley, "Tom Waits Joins Indie Epitaph for Mule Set", in Monanton, ''Innocent When You Dream'', p. 209 Waits himself praised the label: "Epitaph is a label run by and for artists and musicians, where it feels much more like a partnership than a plantation ... We shook on the deal over a coffee in a truck stop. I know it's going to be an adventure." In March 1999, Anti- released '' Mule Variations''. Waits had been recording the tracks at Prairie Sun since June 1998. The tracks often dealt with themes involving rural life in the United States and were influenced by the early blues recordings made by Alan Lomax; Waits coined the term "surrural" ("surreal" and "rural") to describe the album's content. ''Mule Variations'' reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200, the highest showing of a Waits album. The album was well received, being named "Album of the Year" by '' Mojo''. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. On the categorization of the album as
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
, Waits said: "That's not a bad thing to be called if you've got to be in some kind of category." Also in March 1999, Waits gave his first live show in three years at Paramount Theater, Austin, Texas as part of the
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
festival. He subsequently appeared in an episode of '' VH1 Storytellers''. In the later part of the year he embarked on the ''Mule Variations'' tour, primarily in the U.S. but also featuring dates in Berlin. In October, he performed at
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
's annual Bridge School benefit concert. That year, he appeared in Kinka Usher's comic book spoof '' Mystery Men'' as Dr A. Heller, an eccentric inventor living in an abandoned amusement park. In 2000, Waits began writing songs for Wilson's adaptation of Georg Büchner's '' Woyzeck'', which had earlier inspired Alban Berg's opera '' Wozzeck'' (1925). It was scheduled to start at the Betty Nansen Theater in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
in November 2000. He initially worked on the songs at home before traveling to Copenhagen for rehearsals in October. Waits stated that he liked the play because it was "a proletariat story  ... about a poor soldier who is manipulated by the government". He decided to then record the songs he had written for both ''Alice'' and ''Woyzeck'', placing them on separate albums. For these recordings, he brought in a range of jazz and avant-garde musicians from San Francisco. The two albums, ''Alice'' and ''Blood Money'', were released simultaneously in May 2002. ''Alice'' entered the U.S. album chart at number 32 and ''Blood Money'' at number 33, his highest charting positions at that time. Waits described ''Alice'' as being "more metaphysical or something, maybe more water, more feminine", while ''Blood Money'' was "more earthbound, more carnival, more the slaving meat-wheel that we're all on". Of the two, ''Alice'' was better received by critics. Jesse Dylan directed a video for "God's Away On Business", but shooting was delayed when the
emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
s who were set to star were eaten by coyotes. Per ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', "Replacements were hastily found and the video for ‘God’s Away On Business’, the single lifted from ‘Blood Money’, one of Waits’ two new albums, went ahead a little late." In May 2001, Waits accepted a Founders Award at the 18th annual
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
(ASCAP) Pop Music Awards in a ceremony at Los Angeles's Beverly Hilton Hotel. That same month, he joined singers Nancy and Ann Wilson of
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
, as well as
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
, in launching a $40 million lawsuit against mp3.com for copyright infringement. In September 2002, he appeared at a hearing on accounting practices within the music industry in California. There, he expressed satisfaction with Anti- but declared more broadly that "the record companies are like cartels. It's a nightmare to be trapped in one." In September 2003, Waits performed at the Healing the Divide fundraiser in New York City. He appeared in Jarmusch's '' Coffee and Cigarettes'' (2003), having a conversation with
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
.


''Real Gone'' and ''Orphans'': 2004–2011

In 2004, Waits released his fifteenth studio album, ''Real Gone''. Waits had recorded it in an abandoned schoolhouse in Locke. Hoskyns called the album Waits' "roughest, most unkempt music to date". It incorporated Waits beatboxing, a technique he had picked up from his growing interest in
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. Humphries characterized it as "the most overtly political album of Waits' career". It featured three political songs expressing Waits' anger at the presidency of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. He said: "I'm not a politician. I keep my mouth shut because I don't want to put my foot in it. But at a certain point, saying absolutely nothing is a political statement of its own." ''Real Gone'' received largely positive reviews. It made the Billboard Top 30 as well as the Top 10 in several European album charts, also earning him a nomination for Best International Male Solo Artist at the 2005 Brit Awards. In October 2004, he launched a tour in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
before heading to Europe, where his shows were sell-outs: his only London gig saw 78,000 applications for around 3,700 available tickets. Per Bowman, "Much of ''Real Gone'' was built around oral-percussion home recordings that Waits made in his bathroom, using his mouth as a human beat-box. A superb example is the bed track underpinning the hellacious groove of ‘Metropolitan Glide’ that Waits aptly described as ‘cubist funk.’ In stark contrast, the album's closing track, 'Day After Tomorrow,' returned Waits to his singer-songwriter roots, and features a beautiful melody that sounds eerily similar to Dylan's early acoustic work." After several years without film appearances, he played a gun-toting Seventh-day Adventist in
Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...
's '' Domino'' (2005). Later that year, he traveled to Italy to appear in Benigni's '' The Tiger and the Snow''. He followed this with a performance as an angel posing as a tramp in '' Wristcutters: A Love Story'' (2007). In the summer of 2006, Waits embarked on his "Orphans" tour of southern and Midwest states. His son Casey played in the band accompanying him on tour. In 2006, he issued '' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards'', a 54-song three-disc box set of rarities, unreleased tracks and new compositions; Waits described its contents as "songs that fell behind the stove while making dinner." The first disc, ''Brawlers'', consists of raucous rock and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
-based numbers; the second, ''Bawlers'', of melancholic
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
songs and ballads; the third, ''Bastards'', of stories, spoken word pieces and other works not so easily categorized. ''Orphans'' made the top ten in several European charts. In 2006, Waits was a guest on ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'' with Jon Stewart, where he played "Day After Tomorrow". In January 2008, Waits performed at a benefit for Bet Tzedek Legal Services—The House of Justice, a
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
poverty law center, in Los Angeles. That year, Waits embarked on his Glitter and Doom Tour, starting in the U.S. and moving to Europe. Both of his sons played with him on the tour. At the June concert in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, Waits was presented with the key to the city. In 2009, he released the two-disc '' Glitter and Doom Live''. He continued acting, playing Mr Nick in Gilliam's '' The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' (2009) and Engineer in '' The Book of Eli'' (2010), a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
film by the
Hughes brothers Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (born April 1, 1972), known together professionally as the Hughes Brothers, are American twin brother filmmakers. They are known for visceral and often violent films, including ''Menace II Society'' (1993), ''De ...
. Waits found himself in a situation similar to his earlier one with Frito Lay in 2000 when
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
approached him, asking to use "Innocent When You Dream" for a commercial broadcast in Spain. Waits declined, but the commercial ultimately featured music very similar to that song. Waits undertook legal action, and a Spanish court recognized that there had been a violation of Waits's
moral rights Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. The moral rights include the right of attribution, the right to have a work p ...
in addition to the infringement of copyright. The production company, Tandem Campmany Guasch, was ordered to pay compensation to Waits through his Spanish publisher. Waits later joked that they got the name of the song wrong, thinking it was called "Innocent When You Scheme". In 2005, Waits sued Adam Opel AG, claiming that, after having failed to sign him to sing in their Scandinavian commercials, they had hired a sound-alike singer. In 2007, the suit was settled, and Waits gave his proceeds to charity.


''Bad as Me'' and later work: 2011–present

In 2010, Waits was reported to be working on a new stage musical with director and long-time collaborator Robert Wilson and playwright
Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...
. In early 2011, Waits completed a set of 23 poems, ''Seeds on Hard Ground'', which were inspired by Michael O'Brien's portraits of the homeless in his book, ''Hard Ground''. O'Brien's book included the poems alongside the portraits. In anticipation of the book release, Waits and ANTI- printed limited edition chapbooks of the poems to raise money for Redwood Empire Food Bank, a homeless referral and family support service in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
. As of January 26, 2011, four editions, each limited to 1,000 copies, sold out, raising $90,000 for the food bank. On February 24, 2011, it was announced via Waits's official website that he had begun work on his next studio album. Waits said through his website that on August 23 he would "set the record straight" in regards to rumors of a new release. On August 23, the title of the new album was revealed to be '' Bad as Me'', and the lead single and title track started being offered via Amazon.com and other sites. In March 2011, Waits was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
by
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
. In 2012, Waits had a supporting role in McDonagh's crime comedy '' Seven Psychopaths'' as a retired
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
. In 2013, he lent his voice to ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode " Homer Goes to Prep School" as a survivalist. On May 5, 2013, he joined
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
on stage at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, to duet with
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
on
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
's " Little Red Rooster". On October 27, 2013, Waits performed at the 27th annual Bridge School Benefit concert in Mountain View California; ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' called his performance a "triumph". Over the years, Waits made six appearances on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'', and on May 14, 2015, sang "Take One Last Look" on the show's fifth to last broadcast. He was accompanied by
Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...
on upright bass and Gabriel Donohue on piano accordion, with the horn section of the CBS Orchestra. In 2016, Waits pursued litigation against French artist Bartabas, who had used several of his songs as a backdrop to a theatrical performance. Claims and counterclaims were made, with Bartabas claiming to have sought and been granted permission to use the material (and to have paid $400,000 for the privilege) but with Waits claiming that his identity had been stolen. The court ruled in Bartabas's favor, and the circus performance was allowed to continue, although the threat of further litigation meant that it was not performed outside France and the resulting DVD release does not contain Waits's material. In 2018, Waits had a feature role in '' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'', a Western anthology film by the Coen brothers, as the Prospector. Also in 2018, Waits provided the recorded narration for performances of McDonagh's play '' A Very Very Very Dark Matter'', which was performed at the Bridge Theatre, London. In 2021, Waits had a supporting role in Paul Thomas Anderson's coming-of-age film '' Licorice Pizza''. In 2023, he joined
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
on the ''Confidential Show'', where they swapped stories and songs. In 2025, he appeared as part of Italian public television channel RAI3’s ‘The Human Factor’ series in the last episode, “The Last Ride”, where he read from his poetry book “Seeds On Hard Ground”, and performed a few of his songs.


Musical style

Tom Waits has taken influence from a wide variety of different artists and styles from across time. In his early career, he took influence from
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
's folk music and the pre-war composers Irving Berlin,
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...
, and Hoagy Carmichael.
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
and the 1940s and 1950s word-
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and poetry of Beat and Beat-influenced writers such as
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
, Lord Buckley and
Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...
were a big influence on his albums in the 1970s. By 1982, his musical style shifted away from a lot of these earlier influences and took inspiration from a wider array of sources. Influences included; the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
composer Harry Partch,
Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...
and Captain Beefheart's late-1960s
experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...
. In addition to Kerouac and Bukowski, literary influences include Nelson Algren, John Rechy and Hubert Selby Jr. Bowman notes the influence of crime writers like Dashiell Hammett and John D. Macdonald. Waits says that "for a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and saw are to a carpenter." Musical influences include
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
and Dr. John. He has praised Merle Haggard: "Want to learn how to write songs? Listen to Merle Haggard." He is an
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
lover; he recalls hearing Puccini's " Nessun dorma" "in the kitchen at Coppola's with Raul Julia one night, and it changed my life, that particular Aria. I had never heard it. He asked me if I had ever heard it, and I said no, and he was like, as if I said I've never had spaghetti and meatballs - 'Oh My God, Oh My God!' - and he grabbed me and he brought me into the jukebox (there was a jukebox in the kitchen) and he put that on and he just kind of left me there. It was like giving a cigar to a five-year old." A jazz influence is Thelonious Monk: "He almost sounded like a kid taking piano lessons. I could relate to that when I first started playing the piano, because he was decomposing the music while he was playing it." One of Waits's own favorite descriptions of his vocal style was "
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
and
Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...
meeting in Hell." He is known for his eclectic use of instruments, some of his own devising. On ''
Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...
'', his orchestration included talking drums,
bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...
,
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
, bass marimba and glass harmonica; on '' Rain Dogs'',
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
and harmonium; on '' Franks Wild Years'',
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
,
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
,
Farfisa Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a se ...
and Optigan; on '' Bone Machine'' and '' Mule Variations'', the Chamberlin; on '' The Black Rider'', the singing saw; on '' Alice'', the Stroh violin; on ''Blood Money'', a 57-whistle pneumatic
calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
and an Indonesian seedpod. Waits credits his wife with inspiration: "She's an opera buff and bug collector. And she's done a lot of things. And she has dreams like
Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ;  – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...
. She writes more from her dreams, I wrote more from the world, or from the newspaper... And somehow it all works together." He credits her with helping him unify his eclectic musical interests: "it's really my wife that started helping me see that you can find the place where Lead Belly and Schoenberg overlap."


Personal life

During the 1970s, Waits had a brief relationship with comedian
Elayne Boosler Elayne Boosler (born August 18, 1952) is an American comedian, writer, and actress. She was one of the few women working in stand-up comedy in the 1970s and 80s, and she broke ground by adopting an Observational comedy, observational style that ...
, an intermittent relationship with Bette Midler, and a relationship with Rickie Lee Jones. In 1980, Waits married frequent collaborator Kathleen Brennan. They live in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
, and have three children: Kellesimone Wylder Waits (born 1983), Casey Waits (born 1985), and Sullivan Blake Waits (born 1993). After he married and had children, Waits became increasingly reclusive. Safeguarding the privacy of his family life became very important to him. During interviews, he has deflected questions about his personal life, and refused to sanction any biography. When Barney Hoskyns was researching his unauthorized 2009 biography, ''Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits'', Waits and his wife asked people not to talk to him. Hoskyns believed that it was Brennan who was responsible for the "wall of inaccessibility" surrounding Waits. When asked about his religious beliefs, he noted: "With the God stuff I don't know. I don't know what's out there any more than anyone else."


Stage persona

Waits has been determined to keep a distance between his public persona and his personal life. According to Hoskyns, Waits hides behind his persona, noting that "Tom Waits is as much of a character created for his fans as it is a real man." In Hoskyns's view, Waits's self-image is in part "a self-protective device, a screen to deflect attention." A few music journalists have gone so far as to suggest that Waits is a "poseur". Hoskyns regarded Waits's "persona of the skid-row boho/hobo, a young man out of time and place" as an "ongoing experiment in performance art." He added that Waits has adopted a "self-appointed role as the bard of the streets." Mick Brown, a music journalist from ''Sounds'' who interviewed Waits in the mid-1970s, noted that "he had immersed himself in this character to the point where it ''wasn't'' an act and had become an identity." Louie Lista, a friend of Waits's during the 1970s, stated that the singer's general attitude was that of "I'm an outsider, but I'll ''revel'' in being an outsider." In a similar manner to contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Waits is known for cutting contact with figures he worked with in his past. Another friend from that period, Troubadour-manager Robert Marchese, related that Waits cultivated "the whole mystique of this really funky dude and all that
Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...
crap" to give "his impression of how funky poor folk really are," whereas in reality Waits was "basically a middle-class, San Diego mom-and-pop-schoolteacher kid." Humphries thought that there was a "conservative element" to Waits's persona, stating that behind his public image, "Waits has always been more of a white-picket-fence kind of guy than you might imagine." Jarmusch described Waits as "a very contradictory character," stating that he is "potentially violent if he thinks someone is ''screwing'' with him, but he's gentle and kind too." Herbert Hardesty, who worked with Waits on ''Blue Valentine'', called him "a very pleasant human being, a very nice person." Humphries referred to him as "an essentially reticent man ... reflective and surprisingly shy." He has a sense of humor and enjoys jokes. Hoskyns described Waits as "unequivocally—some would say almost gruffly—heterosexual." Hoskyns suggested that Waits has had an "on-off affair with alcohol, never quite able to shake it off." During the 1970s, he was known as a heavy drinker and a smoker but avoided any drugs harder than cocaine. He told one interviewer, "I discovered alcohol at an early age, and that guided me a lot." Humphries suggested that Waits's use of alcohol as opposed to illicit drugs marked him out as being different from many of his contemporaries on the 1970s U.S. music scene. During interviews, Waits has avoided questions about his personal life, gone off on tangents, and thrown in trivia. Humphries noted that Waits has often supplied interviewers with "droll one-liners", something he termed "Waitsisms", observing that the singer was "dripping with wit and vinegar." Waits is known for getting irate with journalists. He dislikes touring, but Hoskyns added that Waits has "a strong work ethic". In concert, Waits tended to wear all black. Humphries noted that "on stage, Waits is a consummate performer, a raconteur of the recherché, and a genuine wit." Waits has stated that a performance should be "a spectacle and entertaining". It was on his 1977 tour for ''Foreign Affairs'' that he started employing props as part of his routine; one recurring prop was a megaphone through which he would shout at the audience.


Collaborations

Over the years, Waits has collaborated with various artists he admires. He toured with the saxophonist Teddy Edwards and played on his album '' Mississippi Lad'' (1991).
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
performed "Jersey Girl" with Waits on August 24, 1981, and included it on his retrospective " Live/1975–85". In 1987, he joined Springsteen,
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
, k. d. lang and others in a tribute to Roy Orbison at Los Angeles's Ambassador Hotel, filmed as '' Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night''. Waits and Brennan wrote "Strange Weather" for Marianne Faithfull, which she sang on her album ''Strange Weather'' in 1987. Keith Richards played on '' Rain Dogs'', '' Bone Machine'' and '' Bad as Me'', and Waits and Richards recorded "Shenandoah" for '' Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys'' (2013). Richards said of Waits: “Tom’s music is so American. Probably more folk-American than anything, but somehow modern. He’s a weird mixture of stuff; a great bunch of guys!" Waits wrote a poem, "Burnt Toast to Keith", for Richards's 80th birthday. Waits covered Kurt Weill’s " What Keeps Mankind Alive?" from ''
The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...
'' for Hal Willner's Weill tribute album ''Lost in the Stars'' (1985) and " Heigh Ho" for his
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
-themed ''Stay Awake'' (1988). In 1991, he lent his voice to " Tommy the Cat" by Primus, and they appeared on ''Bone Machine'' and '' Mule Variations''. Waits and Primus performed
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
's song "On the Road" on '' Jack Kerouac Reads On the Road'' (1999). The English composer
Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, Musical historicism, historicism, Avant-garde music, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early lif ...
visited Waits in 1993, and he added vocals to a re-release of Bryars's ''
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet ''Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet'' is a 1971 composition by Gavin Bryars based on a Tape loop, loop of an unknown homeless man singing a brief improvised stanza. Rich harmonies, comprising String instrument, string and Brass instrument, bras ...
'', which was nominated for the Mercury Music Award. He sang with Ramblin' Jack Elliott on "Louise (Tell It To Me)" on his album ''Friends of Mine'' (1998). That year, Waits produced and funded Chuck E. Weiss's album '' Extremely Cool'' as a favor to his old friend. He produced John P. Hammond's '' Wicked Grin'' (2001) which consisted largely of covers of Waits songs, some written for the project. He covered "Return of Jackie & Judy" for '' We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones'' (2003). He appeared on Los Lobos's ''The Ride'' (2004), Eels's '' Blinking Lights and Other Revelations'' (2005) and Sparklehorse's '' Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain'' (2006).
Ken Nordine Ken Nordine (April 13, 1920 – February 16, 2019) was an American voice-over and recording artist, best known for his series of Word Jazz, word jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many advertising, commercial advertis ...
, whose "word jazz" influenced Waits, performed "Circus" for a video with animation by Joe Coleman. Waits was one of many guests on Dan Hicks's '' Beatin' the Heat'' (2000).


Reception and legacy

Bowman writes that "At the dawn of the second decade of the 21st century, Waits’s influence can be seen in the work of many of the most forward-thinking contemporary artists, including
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
, PJ Harvey, and
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
’s Thom Yorke.” Other musicians who have expressed admiration for Waits's work include
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
,
Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', starting in 1985 during season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on th ...
,
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
of
the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Frank Black of Pixies and
James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...
of
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
.
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, a major influence on the young Waits, called Waits one of his "secret heroes". Humphries described him as "one of America's finest post-Dylan singer-songwriters" and, along with
Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realism painter and printmaker. He is one of America's most renowned artists and known for his skill in depicting modern American life and landscapes. Born in Nyack, New York, to a ...
, "one of the two great depicters of American isolation." Hoskyns called him "as important an American artist as anyone the twentieth century has produced." He notes that by the end of the twentieth century, "Waits was an iconic alternative figure, not just to the fans who'd grown up with him but to subsequent generations of music geeks", coming to be "universally acknowledged as an elder statesman of 'alternative' rock.'" Karen Schoemer of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' said that "to the postboomer generation, he's more Dylan than Dylan. ismelting-pot approach to Americana, his brilliant narratives and his hardiness against commercial trends have made him the ultimate icon for the alternative-minded." Steve Vai said: "Tom Waits is my favorite artist now. I completely resonate deeply with his music, his voice and his lyrics; I buy everything he ever does. He's one of those guys who are totally at one with the creative element with no excuses or concerns about what's going on around him – totally uncompromising." When asked which song she wished she had written, Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine said: “‘Green Grass’ by Tom Waits.... Really, anything by Tom Waits. I wish I was Tom Waits. His songs are so visceral and bloody. I just love his use of imagery."
Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles (band), the Turtles cover o ...
says: "I do a lot of seminars. Occasionally I'll do something for songwriters. They all say the same thing to me. 'All the great lyrics are done.' And I say, 'I'm going to give you a lyric that you never heard before'", the following from " Tom Traubert's Blues": "A battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace / And a wound that will never heal." Howe calls this "the work of an extremely talented lyricist, poet, whatever you want to say. That is brilliant, brilliant work. And he never mentions the person, but you see the person." Various artists have covered his songs. In 1973, Tim Buckley covered "Martha", just like
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
did in 1995.
The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...
covered " Ol' 55" and Dion covered "Heart of Saturday Night" and "San Diego Serenade".
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
had success with covers of " Downtown Train" and "Tom Traubert's Blues"; Bob Seger covered "Blind Love", "New Coat of Paint", and "Downtown Train". Paul Young covered "Soldier's Things" on '' The Secret of Association'' (1985) and the Ramones covered "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" on their final album, '' ¡Adios Amigos!'' (1995).
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
sang "Down There by the Train", which Waits wrote for him, on ''American Recordings'' (1994), calling Waits "a very special writer, my kind of writer." Tori Amos covered "Time" on '' Strange Little Girls'' (2001); she performed it on the ''
Late Show With David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'', the first musical performance on the show after 9/11.
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
covered "Picture in a Frame" on '' It Always Will Be'' (2004). Holly Cole released an album of Waits covers, ''Temptation'' (1995), as did
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
with ''Anywhere I Lay My Head'' (2008). Neko Case performed "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" on the tribute album ''New Coat of Paint'' (2000). Norah Jones included a song Waits wrote for her, "Long Way Home", on her album Feels Like Home (Norah Jones album), ''Feels Like Home'' (2004). Joan Baez covered his songs on Day After Tomorrow (Joan Baez album), ''Day After Tomorrow'' (2008) and Whistle Down the Wind (album), ''Whistle Down the Wind'' (2018). Rosanne Cash, Aimee Mann, Phoebe Bridgers and others contributed to ''Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits'' (2019). He was included on Rolling Stone (magazine), ''Rolling Stone'''s lists of 100 Greatest Singers and Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, 100 Greatest Songwriters. In 2006, Waits and Brennan were ranked fourth on Paste (magazine), ''Paste'''s list of the hundred greatest living songwriters. In 2016, Waits and Brennan, along with John Prine, were honored with List of PEN literary awards#PEN New England (today PEN America Boston), The Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award from List of PEN literary awards#PEN New England (today PEN America Boston), PEN New England. Colum McCann presented the honor to Waits and Brennan, saying “They find out what others have not quite fathomed yet. They catch the ordinary so that it can be sung extraordinarily in the future.” Waits has influenced artists in other fields. Kazuo Ishiguro recalls how Waits influenced his novel ''The Remains of the Day'':
I thought I’d finished ''Remains'', but then one evening heard Tom Waits singing his song "Ruby’s Arms". It’s a ballad about a soldier leaving his lover sleeping in the early hours to go away on a train. Nothing unusual in that. But the song is sung in the voice of a rough American hobo type utterly unaccustomed to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. And there comes a moment, when the singer declares his heart is breaking, that’s almost unbearably moving because of the tension between the sentiment itself and the huge resistance that’s obviously been overcome to utter it. Waits sings the line with cathartic magnificence, and you feel a lifetime of tough-guy stoicism crumbling in the face of overwhelming sadness. I heard this and reversed a decision I’d made, that Stevens would remain emotionally buttoned up right to the bitter end. I decided that at just one point – which I’d have to choose very carefully – his rigid defence would crack, and a hitherto concealed tragic romanticism would be glimpsed.
Another author who notes Waits's influence is Ian Rankin:
I already knew Tom Waits’s music, those soulful communications from the louche underbelly of the American dream, but nothing had prepared me for ''
Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...
.'' I first heard it on a friend’s stereo system, the pair of us transfixed by what was happening in front of our ears. It felt to me as if a vaudeville show was taking place in a scrapyard, the music whirling and clanging, Waits presiding over it all like a bruised but keen-eyed master of ceremonies. '' Rain Dogs'' added extra textures and refinements, laying its (marked) cards on the table with its opening track, "Singapore", a novel contained within two and a half minutes of controlled musical mayhem. By the time of its release I had left university and was trying to shape myself into a writer. I admired Waits’s lyrical vision and concision – the man was a born storyteller, stopping travellers who had wandered into the wrong part of town and compelling them with his words.
His songs have been used in film, television and theater. When the actor Robert Carlyle formed a theatre, he named it the Rain Dog Theatre after Waits's album. Cabaret shows have been set to his songs, among them Robert Berdahl's ''Warm Beer, Cold Women'' and Stewart D'Arrietta's ''Belly of a Drunken Piano''. In addition to scoring films for Bell, Coppola and Jarmusch, Waits has written songs for soundtracks: "Never Let Go" for American Heart (film), ''American Heart''; "Walk Away" and "The Fall of Troy" for Dead Man Walking (film), ''Dead Man Walking'' and "Little Drop of Poison" for '' The End of Violence'', which later appeared in ''Shrek 2''. "Temptation" and "Cold Cold Ground" appear in ''Léolo''; Innocent When You Dream (song), "Innocent When You Dream" in Smoke (film), ''Smoke''; "Goin' Out West" in ''Fight Club''; "All The World is Green" and "Green Grass" in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film), ''The Diving Bell and the Butterfly''. ''Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' features "What's He Building?", "Straight to the Top (Vegas)", "Temptation" and "God's Away on Business". The titles of the films ''Romeo Is Bleeding'' and ''Blue Valentine (film), Blue Valentine'' are derived from Waits songs. "Hold On" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" were sung by Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) in ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' episodes "I Ain't a Judas" and "Infected (The Walking Dead), Infected", respectively. ''The Wire'' used "Way Down in the Hole" as its opening theme; each season featured a different rendition, including the Blind Boys of Alabama, Waits, the Neville Brothers, DoMaJe and Steve Earle. The season four rendition was arranged and recorded for the show and is performed by five Baltimore teenagers: Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse. In 2014, Aaron Posner and the magician Teller (magician), Teller directed a production of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'' featuring songs by Waits and Brennan.


Discography

* ''Closing Time (album), Closing Time'' (1973) * '' The Heart of Saturday Night'' (1974) * '' Nighthawks at the Diner'' (1975) * ''Small Change'' (1976) * Foreign Affairs (Tom Waits album), ''Foreign Affairs'' (1977) * ''Blue Valentine (album), Blue Valentine'' (1978) * '' Heartattack and Vine'' (1980) * ''
Swordfishtrombones ''Swordfishtrombones'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in 1983 on Island Records. It was the first album that Waits self-produced. Stylistically different from his previous albums, ''Swordfishtrombones ...
'' (1983) * '' Rain Dogs'' (1985) * '' Franks Wild Years'' (1987) * '' Bone Machine'' (1992) * ''The Black Rider'' (1993) * '' Mule Variations'' (1999) * '' Alice'' (2002) * ''Blood Money'' (2002) * ''Real Gone'' (2004) * '' Bad as Me'' (2011)


Tours

* Closing Time Tour (1973) * The Heart of Saturday Night Tour (1974–1975) * Small Change Tour (1975–1976) * Foreign Affairs Tour (1977) * Blue Valentine Tour (1978–1979) * Heartattack and Vine Tour (1980–1982) * Rain Dogs Tour (1985) * Big Time Tour (1987) * Get Behind the Mule Tour (1999) * Real Gone Tour (2004) * The Orphans Tour (2006) * Glitter and Doom Tour (2008)


Filmography


Film


Television


References


Sources

* * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* * * *
Tom Waits Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waits, Tom Tom Waits, 1949 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singer-songwriters American agnostics American male composers American male film actors American male singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American people of Norwegian descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent American bass-baritones American rock singers American rock songwriters Anti- (record label) artists Asylum Records artists Epitaph Records artists Grammy Award winners Helpmann Award winners Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California) alumni Island Records artists Male actors from San Diego Male actors from the San Francisco Bay Area Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area People from Chula Vista, California People from Echo Park, Los Angeles People from Pomona, California People from Sebastopol, California Singer-songwriters from California Volpi Cup winners Writers from Los Angeles Southwestern College (California) alumni