Tom Waits

Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is a distinguished American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society, delivered in his signature deep, gravelly voice. He started off in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music has since the 1980s reflected diverse genres including rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. As cited by The Wall Street Journal, Waits "has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today." His music creates three-dimensional characters accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history. Keith Richards, Marc Ribot, Gavin Bryars, The Rolling Stones, PJ Harvey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Dr. John among others are artists he has tirelessly collaborated with. He also contributed significantly to films by acting and creating soundtracks, and won critical accolades including the Grammy Award.

Waits was born and raised in Pomona, California. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazz-oriented Closing Time (1973), The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), which reflected his lyrically driven interest in poverty, criminality and nightlife. He repeated touring the United States, Europe and Japan and found greater critical and commercial success with the albums Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978) and Heartattack and Vine (1980). Subsequently, Waits ventured into film, acting in Francis Ford Coppola's films among others. In 1980, after marrying Kathleen Brennan and largely due to her encouragement and collaboration, he pursued a more diverse and experimental sound. He went on to win international cult following and critical acclaim. His songs have been covered by numerous musicians and he has written songs for artists like Johnny Cash and Norah Jones. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.