Tom Waits is a unique character. It is very difficult to describe his music as a part of a genre. His folk rock music can also be considered as alternative rock, pre-rock/pop sounds, vaudeville and beat poetry. But it is his voice, which seems like it has been buried in vat of whisky, after having smoked a thousand cigarettes and being run over by a car - all in the same day! This is the voice of the devil himself! The image of his music is about strange and dirty characters, which he seems to embody.

Tom Waits - The Black Rider

"Don't you know there is no devil, that's just God when he is Drunk!" - Tom Waits

Dangerous Low-life Poet

Tom Waits is a unique character. It is very difficult to describe his music as a part of a genre. His folk rock music can also be considered as alternative rock, pre-rock/pop sounds, vaudeville and beat poetry. But it is his voice, which seems like it has been buried in vat of whisky, after having smoked a thousand cigarettes and being run over by a car - all in the same day! This is the voice of the devil himself! The image of his music is about strange and dirty characters, which he seems to embody.

Inspired by the writings Williams S. Burroughs, influenced by blues and jazz of Muddy Waters and Louis Armstrong, Tom Waits remains the consummate enigma and outsider. He has acted in several movies in the last 3 decades and contributes regularly to movie soundtracks. Ironically his commercial success comes from the raspy vocal rendition of cover songs of other artists. Tom Waits tours all around the world and has won Grammy awards in various categories including Best Alternative Album in 1992.

Troubadour's Beginning

Tom Waits was born in California and by the time he reached high school he was already playing in bands. His early influence includes Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. After various jobs as a doorman at a night club, working at a Pizza joint and even a stint with the coast guard, Tom Waits took his band to sing at the LA club The Troubadour. By 1971 he signed with Herb Cohen who used to manage Frank Zappa. Tom Waits was 21, when he started recording demos for Cohen.

He signed with Asylum Records in 1973 and released "Closing Time" which created the buzz for the singer. It is considered by many as his greatest album. The jazz-folk influenced album allowed Waits to immediately set out on a national tour. He also opened for Frank Zappa.

The Night Club Performer

His next few albums gathered tremendous critical acclaim and he quickly established a cult following. His night club performing persona could be seen from the '74 album "The Heart of Saturday Night". The titled song which was half-spoken and half sung was played with a jazz setting. His next album "Nighthawks at the Dinner" was recorded with a small audience to capture the atmosphere of a live performance. Waits was becoming a bit of a story teller as there were many lengthy spoken interludes between songs.

In 1976, the highly acclaimed "Small Change" was more personal and bitter in its overall mood; Waits reflecting on his drinking problem which was by now quickly going out of control. It was the first album which broke him into Top 100 and was a commercial success. And he went on a lengthy tour of US and Europe. His prolific songwriting saw him release "Foreign Affairs" in 1977 which contains the visually pleasurable spoken song "Potters Field".

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