<back - TOM WAITS - Thomas Alan Waits was born on December 7, 1949 in Pomona, CA. Tom became interested in music early and began tacking up sheets of Bob Dylan's lyrics in his room and even framed some in the rest of his house. He would keep a pad of paper and pencil by his bed so that he could remember the lyrics that he would think up in the middle of the night. He taught himself how to play the piano and then learned the guitar. Tom Waits got into the music business at the early age of 22. Playing at the Troubadour, he was noticed by Herb Cohen, who managed Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Cohen offered him a contract with Asylum Records.

In 1973, Waits cut his first album, Closing Time. It included Ol' 55 covered by The Eagles. Next came The Heart of Saturday Night (1974). Tom Waits toured steadily opening for Charlie Rich, Bonnie Raitt, John Hammond Jr, and Frank Zappa, gaining an ever growing fan base. His music was becoming Jazzier, and he recorded his first 'live' album Nighthawks at the Diner (1975). Then followed Small Change (1976), Foreign Affairs (1977), Blue Valentine (1978) and Heart Attack and Vine (1980) to complete the decade and the last of his recordings for Asylum Records. Moving to Island Records, Waits made Swordfish Trombones (1983), which found him experimenting with horns and percussion and unusual recording techniques. In 1985, he released Rain Dogs. In 1986, he made his theatrical debut with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 'Frank's Wild Years', a musical play he had written. An album based on the play was released in 1987, In 1988, he released a film and soundtrack album depicting one of his concerts, Big Time. In 1992, after working in film as an actor and composer he released Bone Machine, which won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. In 1993, Tom released The Black Rider, the recording of a musical he had co-written with beat novelist William Burroughs. A long absence from recording resulted in the 1998 release of Beautiful Maladies, a retrospective of his work for Island. In 1999, Waits returned with a new album, Mule Variations, his first for the independent Epitaph Records. A small tour followed, but Waits jumped back into the studio and began 2 new albums. In the spring of 2002, Tom released both Alice and Blood Money. A musician, movie star, and film composer, Tom Waits has never had a hit, but some of his songs are best-known for being covered by other artists. His low brow wit and lyrical prowess have put him in a category unto himself. Just what that category is remains unclear. Named as one of VH-1's 'Most Influential Artists of All Time', there's no surprise that Waits' body of work has been covered by Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, John Hammond Jr, Long John Baldry and many more. -LB    MP3- Romeo is Bleeding | Blue Valentine |