Tom Waits Biography

Tom Waits was born in 1949 in Pomona, California, and grew up in San Diego. He began playing music while still in high school, performing in a local R&B band, and after high school he began frequenting Los Angeles venue, The Troubadour, joining other musicians in a quest to appear onstage for the night’s performances. By the time he was in his early twenties, Waits had recorded a number of demo tapes that eventually garnered the attention of Asylum Records in 1972.

Waits’s debut album, Closing Time, was released in the year following. The album showcased Tom’s characteristic vocal growls, and featured his unusual blend of jazz, blues, and folk, a formula that greatly appealed to the critics but did not earn him the commercial success he’d hoped for at first. But Tom Waits continued on, opening for other notable artists such as Frank Zappa, and his popularity began to grow alongside his critical acclaim. The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Small Change (1976) fared better, and then Foreign Affairs (1977) finally brought him to the top of the charts. Since that time, Tom Waits has given a steady stream of albums to audiences, including: Blue Valentine (1978), Heartattack and Vine (1980), Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), Franks Wild Years (1987), Bone Machine (1992), The Black Rider (1993), Mule Variations (1999), Blood Money (2002), Alice (2002), and Real Gone (2004.)

In addition to his contributions to music, Tom Waits has appeared in a number of films as well, including: Paradise Alley (1978), One from the Heart (1982), The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), The Stone Boy (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Down by Law (1986), Ironweed (1987), Candy Mountain (1988), The Two Jakes (1990), the Fisher King (1991), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Coffee and Cigarettes III (1995), Mystery Men (1999), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Domino (2005), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), The Book of Eli (2010), and Seven Psychopaths (2012.)

In addition, Tom Waits is the author of Seeds on Hard Ground, a collection of poetry. Waits continues to record and perform; his most recent studio album, Bad as Me, was released in 2011.