Tom Waits

Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits on December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor.

Early Career

Born in Pomona, California, Waits began his recording career in 1971, after he relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Herb Cohen, manager of Frank Zappa, among others.

Related Topics:
Pomona - California - 1971 - Los Angeles - Herb Cohen - Frank Zappa

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After numerous abortive recording sessions, Waits' first record, the melancholic, country-tinged Closing Time was issued in 1973. It received warm reviews, but he first gained national attention when his "Ol' 55" was recorded by The Eagles in 1974. The Heart of Saturday Night showed Waits' roots as a nightclub singer, half speaking and half crooning ballads, often with a jazz background.

Related Topics:
Country - Closing Time - 1973 - The Eagles - 1974 - The Heart of Saturday Night - Jazz

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The 1975 album Nighthawks at the Diner, recorded in a studio but with a small audience to capture the ambience of a live show, captures this phase of his career, including the lengthy spoken interludes between songs that punctuated his live act. Regarding his music during this era, Waits reported that "I wasn't thrilled by Blue Cheer, so I found an alternative, even if it was Bing Crosby."http://www.keeslau.com/TomWaitsSupplement/Quotes/influences.htm

Related Topics:
1975 - Nighthawks at the Diner - Blue Cheer - Bing Crosby

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Small Change (1976) (featuring famed drummer Shelly Manne) was jazzier still, and songs such as "The Piano Has Been Drinking" and "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" cemented his hard living reputation, with a lyrical style pitched somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Charles Bukowski. Foreign Affairs (1977) and Blue Valentine (1978) were in a similar vein, but showed further refinement of his artistic voice. It was around this time that Waits had a famous romantic relationship with Rickie Lee Jones.

Related Topics:
Small Change - 1976 - Drum - Shelly Manne - Jazz - Raymond Chandler - Charles Bukowski - Foreign Affairs - 1977 - Blue Valentine - 1978 - Rickie Lee Jones

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1980 saw the release of Heartattack and Vine. Though not entirely unprecedented, the album's gritty rhythm and blues sound was different for Waits, and forshadowed the major changes in his music that would follow several years later. The same year, he began a long working relationship with Francis Ford Coppola, who asked Waits to provide music for his film One From The Heart. Waits tapped singer/songwriter Crystal Gayle as his vocal foil for the album. Waits began his acting career with his appearance in Coppola's Rumblefish. He starred in Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law in 1987, and has played supporting roles in films like The Outsiders, The Cotton Club, Coffee & Cigarettes (as himself) and Dracula (as the Dracula's insane slave Renfield). He has worked with such directors as Jarmusch, Coppola, and Robert Altman.

Related Topics:
1980 - Heartattack and Vine - Rhythm and blues - Francis Ford Coppola - Crystal Gayle - Jim Jarmusch - Down By Law - 1987 - The Outsiders - The Cotton Club - Coffee & Cigarettes - Dracula - Insane - Robert Altman

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In August 1980, Waits married Kathleen Brennan, whom he had met on the set of One from the Heart. Brennan is regularly credited as co-author of many songs on his later released albums, and Waits often cites her as a major influence on his work.

Related Topics:
1980 - Kathleen Brennan

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