Tom Waits was born today in California in 1949. He is a self-taught musician and I am confident that no one would take credit for giving him singing lessons, that is, if he ever even took one. Waits is the kind of artist that you love or hate but always respect, similar to a Bob Dylan or a Frank Zappa. He is undeniably American in a way that only a kid who grew up a few miles from the Mexican border can be. Waits is Kerouac and Bukowski read through a carnival barker’s megaphone set to maudlin piano filtered through gauzy muslin, yellowed electric footlights and cigar smoke.
Waits was playing in R&B bands while in high school in San Diego and then joined the Coast Guard after graduation. After leaving the Coast Guard he relocated to Los Angeles and released his first album, “Closing Time”, in 1973. He built a following by opening for a wide variety of acts including avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa, country singer Charlie Rich and Motown artists Martha and the Vandellas and released albums in 1974 and 1975.
The touring and recording schedule led to Waits developing quite a thirst and he was hitting the bottle rather hard. His breakthrough album in 1976, “Small Change”, reflected this lifestyle. “Small Change” was Waits’ first album to reach the Top 100 chart. He put together a regular touring band, The Nocturnal Emissions, and he toured and recorded steadily through 1980.
Around this time Waits started working with director Francis Ford Coppola and he married a screenwriter he met on one of Coppola’s movies. The 80s saw Waits appearing in movies, contributing music to soundtracks and writing his own plays and musicals. In 1985 he released the superb album “Rain Dogs”, which would be counted as one of the best albums of the entire decade.
In the 1990s Waits worked with the progressive/alternative rock band Primus which introduced him to an even wider audience. He also started working with directors Jim Jarmusch and Terry Gilliam and acted in multiple films throughout the decade. In 1992 his album “Bone Machine” won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Waits has continued acting and making music and his last album, “Bad As Me”, came in 2011. In total, he has released 19 studio albums and has appeared in countless movies and television shows.
“Old Shoes” off the album “Closing Time” 1973:
“Invitation to the Blues” off the album “Small Change” 1976:
“Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” off the album “Blue Valentine” 1978:
“16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six” off the album “Swordfishtrombones” 1983:
“Downtown Train” off the album “Rain Dogs” 1985:
“Goin’ Out West” off the album “Bone Machine” 1992:
