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{{Short description|American singer, songwriter, composer and actor (born 1949)}}
{{about|the singer, songwriter, composer and actor|the actor and acting teacher|Thomas G. Waites}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tom Waits
| image = Tom Waits (1974–75 Asylum publicity photo - headshot).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Waits in a publicity photo for [[Asylum Records]] {{circa}} 1974–75
| birth_name = Thomas Alan Waits
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age |1949|12|7}}
| birth_place = [[Pomona, California]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| years_active = 1969–present
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|composer|actor}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Kathleen Brennan]]|1980}}
| children = 3
| module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|piano|harmonium}}
| genre = {{hlist|[[Experimental music|Experimental]]|[[Rock music|rock]]|[[blues]]|[[jazz]]}}<!-- Do not alter genres without discussion. -->
| discography = [[Tom Waits discography]]
| label = {{hlist|[[Asylum Records|Asylum]]|[[Island Records|Island]]|[[ANTI-]]}}
| website = {{URL|tomwaits.com}}
}}
}}
'''Thomas Alan Waits''' (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, composer and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the [[American folk music|folk]] scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as [[Rock music|rock]], [[jazz]], [[Delta blues]], [[opera]], [[vaudeville]], [[cabaret]], [[funk]] and experimental techniques verging on [[industrial music]].<ref name=Bowman>{{cite web| last=Bowman| first=Rob| author-link=Rob Bowman (music writer)| title= Tom Waits| url= https://www.rockhall.com/sites/default/files/2019-11/Tom%20Waits_2011.pdf| work=rockhall.com| publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Tom Waits in Concert: Gruff Yet Tender | first=Jim | last=Fusilli | author-link=Jim Fusilli| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121503939521824567?mod=2_1168_1 | newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=July 3, 2008 | access-date=July 4, 2008}}</ref>
Tom Waits was born in a middle-class family in [[Pomona, California]] and grew up there. Inspired by the work of [[Bob Dylan]] and the [[Beat Generation]], he began singing on the [[San Diego]] folk circuit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-29 |title=The 5 San Diego concerts you won't want to miss this week |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/08/29/the-3-san-diego-concerts-you-wont-want-to-miss-this-week/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-19 |title=How to write a song like Tom Waits |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/write-a-song-like-tom-waits/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> He moved to [[Los Angeles]] in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with [[Asylum Records]]. His debut album was [[Closing Time (album)|''Closing Time'']] (1973) and by ''[[The Heart of Saturday Night]]'' (1974) and ''[[Nighthawks at the Diner]]'' (1975) followed. He toured the United States, Europe, and Japan finding greater critical and commercial success with [[Small Change (Tom Waits album)|''Small Change'']] (1976), [[Blue Valentine (album)|''Blue Valentine'']] (1978), and ''[[Heartattack and Vine]]'' (1980). During that time, Waits entered the world of film, acting in ''[[Paradise Alley]]'' (1978) where he met [[Kathleen Brennan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/oct/29/popandrock1|title=Off beat|last=O'Hagan|first=Sean| author-link=Sean O'Hagan (journalist)|date=October 28, 2006|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=August 11, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In 1980, Waits married Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to [[New York City]]. With Brennan's encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more eclectic and experimental sound influenced by [[Harry Partch]] and [[Captain Beefheart]], as heard on the loose trilogy ''[[Swordfishtrombones]]'' (1983), ''[[Rain Dogs]]'' (1985) and ''[[Franks Wild Years]]'' (1987). In 1990, he collaborated with theater director [[Robert Wilson (director)|Robert Wilson]] on the musical ''[[The Black Rider]]'', the songs for which were released on [[The Black Rider (album)| the album of the same name]]. Waits and Wilson reunited for the musicals ''Alice'' (1992) and [[Woyzeck (musical)|''Woyzeck'']] (2000). In 2002, the songs from them were released on the albums [[Alice (Tom Waits album)|''Alice'']] and [[Blood Money (Tom Waits album)|''Blood Money'']]. Waits won [[Grammy Awards| Grammys]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album| Best Alternative Music Album]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album| Best Contemporary Folk Album]] for ''[[Bone Machine]]'' (1992) and ''[[Mule Variations]]'' (1999). Waits went on to release [[Real Gone (album)|''Real Gone'']] (2004), the compilation ''[[Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards]]'' (2006), the live album ''[[Glitter and Doom Live]]'' (2009) and ''[[Bad as Me]]'' (2011).
Waits has influenced many artists and gained an international [[cult following]]. His songs have been covered by [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Tori Amos]], [[Rod Stewart]], and the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]] and he has written songs for [[Johnny Cash]] and [[Norah Jones]] among others. In 2011, he was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Caspar Llewellyn |date=2011-03-15 |title=Tom Waits inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/15/tom-waits-rock-roll-hall-fame |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Michaels |first=Sean| author-link=Sean Michaels (writer)| date=2010-12-16 |title=Tom Waits to enter Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/16/tom-waits-rock-roll-hall-fame |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Introducing him, [[Neil Young]] said "This next man is indescribable, and I'm here to describe him. He's sort of a performer, singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling." Accepting the honor, Waits mused: "They say that I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with. And they say that like it's a ''bad'' thing!"<ref name="Induction"/>
==
===Childhood and adolescence: 1949–1968===
[[File:Tom Waits (1968 yearbook senior portrait).jpg|thumb|alt=|Waits as a high-school senior at [[Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)|Hilltop High School]] in [[Chula Vista, California]] in 1967. He dropped out at the age of 18.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=34}}]]
Thomas Alan Waits was born on December 7, 1949, in [[Pomona, California]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=10|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=6}} He has one older and one younger sister.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=11|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=4}} His father, Jesse Frank Waits, was a [[Texas]] native of Scots-Irish descent, and his mother, Alma Fern (née Johnson), hailed from [[Oregon]] and had Norwegian ancestry.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=6}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/obituary.aspx?n=alma-fern-mcmurray-waits&pid=140080899|title = ALMA McMURRAY Obituary (2010) Union-Tribune|website = [[Legacy.com]]}}</ref> Alma, a regular church-goer, managed the household. Jesse taught Spanish at a local school and was an alcoholic; Waits later related that his father was "a tough one, always an outsider."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=7–8}} They lived at 318 North Pickering Avenue in [[Whittier, California]]. He recalled having a "very middle-class" upbringing and "a pretty normal childhood". He attended Jordan Elementary School, where he was bullied. There, he learned to play the [[bugle]] and [[guitar]]. His father taught him to play the [[ukulele]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=4, 8, 13–16, 27}}
During the summers, he visited maternal relatives in [[Gridley, California|Gridley]] and [[Marysville, California|Marysville]]. both in California. He later recalled that it was an uncle's raspy, gravelly timbre that inspired his own singing voice.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=9, 11}} In 1959, his parents separated and his father moved away from the family home, a traumatic experience for the 10-year-old Waits.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=16|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=17}} Alma took her children and relocated to [[Chula Vista]], a middle-class suburb of [[San Diego]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=17}} Jesse visited the family there, taking his children on trips to [[Tijuana]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=17|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=19}} In nearby [[Southeast San Diego]], Waits attended [[O'Farrell Community School]], where he fronted a school band, the Systems,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=22|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=22}} which he described as "white kids trying to get that [[Motown]] sound." He developed a love of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] and [[Soul music|soul]] singers like [[Ray Charles]] and [[Wilson Pickett]], as well as [[country music]] and [[Roy Orbison]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=19, 21–22}} [[Bob Dylan]] later became an inspiration; Waits placed transcriptions of Dylan's lyrics on his bedroom walls.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=22–23}}
Waits recalls: "I was fifteen and I snuck in to see [[Lightnin' Hopkins]]. Amazing show. Every time he opened his mouth he had that orchestra of gold teeth, and I was devastated... He walked through a door, and slammed the door behind him, and on the door it said, I swear to God, 'KEEP OUT. This room is for entertainers ONLY.' And I knew, at that moment, that I had to get into show business as soon as possible."<ref name="Induction">{{cite web |date=June 24, 2020 |title=Neil Young Inducts Tom Waits – "Make It Rain" & "Rain Dogs" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTLEkAu9NJE |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> He recalls: "I first saw [[James Brown]] in 1962 at an outdoor theatre in San Diego and it was indescribable ... it was like putting a finger in a light socket... It was really like seeing mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Christmas."<ref name="Albums">{{cite news| last=Waits| first=Tom| date=March 20, 2005| title= 'It's perfect madness'| work=[[The Guardian]]| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/mar/20/popandrock1}}</ref> By the time he was studying at [[Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)|Hilltop High School]] in [[Chula Vista, California]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carone |first=Angela |date=2010-12-22 |title=Photo Gallery: Celebrating Tom Waits |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2010/12/22/photo-gallery-celebrating-tom-waits |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=KPBS Public Media |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Waits |first=Tom |title=Tom Waits {{!}} San Diego Reader |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/tom-waits/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.sandiegoreader.com |language=en}}</ref> he later said he was "kind of an amateur juvenile delinquent", interested in "malicious mischief" and breaking the law.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=23}} He later said that he was a "rebel against the rebels", eschewing the [[hippie]] subculture which was growing in popularity for the 1950s [[Beat generation]],{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=35}} especially [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], and [[William S. Burroughs]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=30|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=26}} In 1968, at age 18, Waits dropped out of high school.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=34}} He was an avid watcher of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' and ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=26}} Another influence was the comedian [[Lenny Bruce]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=33}}
Waits worked at Napoleone's pizza restaurant in [[National City, California]], and both there and at a local diner developed an interest in the lives of the patrons, writing down phrases and snippets of dialogue he overheard.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=26, 28–29|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=30–32, 37–38}} He worked in the forestry service as a fireman for three years{{Sfn|Humphries|2007|p=29}} and served with the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/celeb.asp |title=Coast Guard History: Frequently Asked Questions: What celebrities or other famous persons once served in or were associated with the Coast Guard? | publisher=Uscg.mil |date=October 28, 2009 |access-date=January 27, 2010}}</ref> He enrolled at [[Southwestern College (California)|Southwestern Community College]] in Chula Vista to study photography, for a time considering a career in the field. He continued pursuing his musical interests, taking piano lessons. He began frequenting venues around San Diego, being drawn into the city's [[folk music|folk]] scene.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=38–39, 41–42}}
===Early musical career: 1969–1976===
[[File:Troubadour 02.jpg|thumb|right|[[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|The Troubadour]] in [[West Hollywood]], where Waits's performances brought him to the attention of [[Herb Cohen]] and [[David Geffen]]]]
In 1969, he was hired as an occasional doorman for the Heritage coffeehouse, which held regular performances from folk musicians.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=40|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=43}}<ref name= innocent385>Montadon, Mac, "Timeline and Discography" in ''Innocent When You Dream'', p. 385</ref> He began to sing at the Heritage; his set initially consisted largely of covers of Dylan and [[Red Sovine]]'s "[[Phantom 309]]".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=46–47}}
In time, he performed his own material as well, often parodies of country songs or bittersweet ballads influenced by his relationships; these included early songs "[[Ol' 55]]" and "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=49}} As his reputation grew, he played at other San Diego venues, supporting acts like [[Tim Buckley]], [[Sonny Terry]], [[Brownie McGhee]], and his friend [[Jack Tempchin]]. Aware that San Diego offered little opportunity for career progression, Waits began traveling into Los Angeles to play at the [[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|Troubadour]] in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=38|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=53–56}}
It was there, in the autumn of 1971, that Waits came to the attention of [[Herb Cohen]], who signed him to publishing and recording contracts.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=43–43|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=60–61, 64}} The recordings which were produced under that recording agreement were eventually released in the early 1990s as [[The Early Years (album series)|''The Early Years'']] and [[The Early Years (album series)|''The Early Years, Volume Two'']]. In early 1972, after quitting his job at Napoleone's to concentrate on his songwriting career, Waits moved to an apartment in [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles|Silver Lake]], Los Angeles, a poor neighborhood known for its Hispanic and [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] communities.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=65, 69}}
He continued performing at the Troubadour and there met [[David Geffen]], who gave Waits a recording contract with his [[Asylum Records]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=44–45|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=76–79}} [[Jerry Yester]] was chosen to produce his first album, with the recording sessions taking place in Hollywood's [[Sunset Sound]] studios.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=49|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=81–82}} The album, [[Closing Time (album)|''Closing Time'']], was released in March 1973{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=49|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=89}} although it attracted little attention{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=52}} and did not sell well.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=105}} Biographer [[Barney Hoskyns]] noted that ''Closing Time'' was "broadly in step with the singer-songwriter school of the early 1970s";{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=88}} Waits had wanted to create a piano-led jazz album although Yester had pushed its sound in a more folk-oriented direction. Buckley covered "Martha" on his album ''[[Sefronia]]'' later that year.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=49}} An [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]] recording of "Ol' 55" on their album ''[[On the Border]]'' brought Waits further money and recognition, although he regarded their version as "a little antiseptic".{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=52|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=119–120}}
To promote his debut, Waits and a three-piece band embarked on a U.S. tour, where he was the supporting act for more established artists.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=89}} He supported [[Tom Rush]] at [[Washington D.C.]]'s [[The Cellar Door]], [[Danny O'Keefe]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]'s [[Club Passim]], [[Charlie Rich]] at [[New York City]]'s [[Max's Kansas City]], [[Martha Reeves and the Vandellas]] in [[East Lansing, Michigan]], and [[John P. Hammond]] in [[San Francisco]].
Waits returned to Los Angeles in June, feeling demoralized about his career.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=90–93}} That month, he was the cover star of free music magazine ''[[Music World]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=93–95}} He began composing songs for his second album, and attended the [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]] Poetry Workshop to try out this new material in front of an audience.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=96}} Although Waits was eager to record this new material, Cohen instead convinced him to take over as a support act for [[Frank Zappa]]'s [[the Mothers of Invention]] after previous support act Kathy Dalton pulled out due to the hostility from Zappa's fans. Waits joined Zappa's tour in [[Ontario]], but like Dalton found the audiences hostile; while on stage he was jeered at and pelted with fruit.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=58–59|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=98, 100}} Although he liked the Mothers of Invention, he was intimidated by Zappa himself.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=101}}
[[File:Bette Midler (1981).jpg|thumb|left|Waits met and had an intermittent romantic relationship with [[Bette Midler]] (pictured here in 1981) and collaborated with her on the song "I Never Talk to Strangers".]]
Waits moved from Silver Lake to [[Echo Park, Los Angeles|Echo Park]], spending much of his time in [[downtown Los Angeles]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=95}} In early 1974, he continued to perform around the West Coast, getting as far as [[Denver]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=103}} For Waits's second album, Geffen wanted a more jazz-oriented producer, selecting [[Bones Howe]] for the job.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=72–73|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=105}} Howe recounts his first encounter with the young artist: "I told him I thought his music and lyrics had a [[Jack Kerouac| Kerouac]] quality to them, and he was blown away that I knew who Jack Kerouac was. I told him I also played jazz drums and he went wild. Then I told him that when I was working for [[Norman Granz]], Norman had found these tapes of Kerouac reading his poetry from The Beat Generation in a hotel room. I told Waits I'd make him a copy. That sealed it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/bones-howe-tom-waits|title = 'Bones' Howe & Tom Waits}}</ref> Recording sessions for ''[[The Heart of Saturday Night]]'' took place at [[Wally Heider Studios#Background|Wally Heider's Studio 3]] on [[Cahuenga Boulevard]] in Hollywood in April and May,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=107, 113}} with Waits conceptualizing the album as a sequence of songs about U.S. nightlife.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=97}} The album was far more widely reviewed than ''Closing Time'' had been.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=121}} Waits himself later dismissed the album as "very ill-formed, but I was trying".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=74}}
After recording ''The Heart of Saturday Night'', Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility. The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=117, 119}} In October 1974, he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast; in New York City he met and befriended [[Bette Midler]],{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=122–123}} with whom he had a sporadic affair.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=159}} Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a [[live album]]. To this end, he performed two shows at the [[Record Plant]] Studio in front of a small invited audience to recreate the atmosphere of a [[jazz club]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hoskyns|first=Barney|author-link=Barney Hoskyns|title=Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits|publisher=[[Faber and Faber]]|year=2011|isbn=9780571261246|page=132|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_DOvgMH-KgC&pg=PA132}}</ref>{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=130–131}} Again produced and engineered by Howe (as all his future Asylum releases would be), it was released as ''[[Nighthawks at the Diner]]'' in October 1975.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=75|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=139}} The album cover and title were inspired by [[Edward Hopper]]'s [[Nighthawks (Hopper)|''Nighthawks'']] (1942).
He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney nightclub, an off-Broadway–style club in New York City.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=140–141}} In December he appeared on the [[PBS]] concert show ''[[Soundstage (TV series)|Soundstage]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=145}} From March to May 1976, he toured the U.S.,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=82|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=147–150}} telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=144}} In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in [[London]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Brussels]] and [[Copenhagen]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=85, 88|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=150–156}} On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend [[Chuck E. Weiss]], moving into the [[Tropicana Motel]] in [[West Hollywood]], which had an established reputation in rock music circles.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=68|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=157}} Visitors noted his two-room apartment there was heavily cluttered. Waits told the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' that "You almost have to create situations in order to write about them, so I live in a constant state of self-imposed poverty".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=161}}
===''Small Change'' and ''Foreign Affairs'': 1976–1978===
In July 1976, Waits recorded [[Small Change (Tom Waits album)|''Small Change'']], again produced by Howe.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=91|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=164}} He recalled it as a seminal episode in his development as a songwriter, the point when he became "completely confident in the craft".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=164}} The album was critically well received and was his first release to break into the [[Billboard Hot 100|Billboard Top 100 Album List]], peaking at 89.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=97–98}} Per Bowman, ''Small Change'' "made it clear that Waits had evolved into a master storyteller, reflecting the influence of crime-noir writers such as [[Dashiell Hammett]] and [[John D. MacDonald]]. Arguably his first masterpiece, the album featured exquisite piano ballads such as '[[Tom Traubert's Blues]]' and ‘[[The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening With Pete King)|The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)]],’ the word-jazz of ‘Pasties and a G-String,’ and the tour-de-force tenor-sax-accompanied hucksterism of ‘[[Step Right Up (Tom Waits song)|Step Right Up]].’”<ref name=Bowman/> He received growing press attention, being profiled in ''[[Newsweek]]'', ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]],'' and ''[[The New Yorker]]'';{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=170}} he had begun to accrue a [[cult following]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=99}} He went on tour to promote the new album, backed by the Nocturnal Emissions ([[Frank Vicari]], [[Chip White]] and Fitz Jenkins).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=98|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=170}} In reference to "Pasties and a G-String", a female stripper joined him onstage.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=172–173}} He began 1977 by touring [[Japan]] for the first time.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=179}}
[[File:Rickie-Lee-Jones.jpg|thumb|left|In 1977, Waits began a relationship with singer-songwriter [[Rickie Lee Jones]] (pictured here in 2008); their work and styles influenced each other.]]
Back in Los Angeles, he encountered various problems. One female fan, recently escaped from a mental health institution in [[Illinois]], began [[stalking]] him and lurking outside his Tropicana apartment.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=179}} In May 1977, Waits and close friend [[Chuck E. Weiss]] were arrested for fighting with police officers in a coffee shop. They were charged with two counts of disturbing the peace but were acquitted after the defense produced eight witnesses who refuted the police officers' account of the incident.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=101|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=177–178}} In response, Waits sued the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] and five years later was awarded $7,500 in damages.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=101|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=178}}
In July and August 1977, he recorded his fourth studio album, ''[[Foreign Affairs (Tom Waits album)|Foreign Affairs]]'';{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=183}} [[Bob Alcivar]] had been employed as its [[Arrangement|arranger]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=181}} The album included "I Never Talk to Strangers", a duet with Midler, with whom he was still in an intermittent relationship.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=103|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=185–186}} She appeared with him at the Troubadour to sing the song; the next day he repaid the favor by performing at a [[gay rights]] benefit at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] that Midler was involved with.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=191}} ''Foreign Affairs'' was not as well received by critics as its predecessor, and unlike ''Small Change'' failed to make the Billboard Top 100 album chart.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=106|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=189}} That year, he began a relationship with the singer-songwriter [[Rickie Lee Jones]]; their work and styles influenced each other.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=69|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=192–197}} In October 1977, he returned to touring with the Nocturnal Emissions; it was on this tour that he first began using props onstage, in this case a street lamp.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=198}} Again, he found the tour exhausting.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=199}} In March 1978, he embarked on his second tour of Japan.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=202–203}}
During these years, Waits sought to broaden his career beyond music. He befriended actor and director [[Sylvester Stallone]] and made his film debut as a drunken piano player in Stallone's ''[[Paradise Alley]]'' (1978).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=111–112|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=200–201}} With [[Paul Hampton]], Waits also began writing a movie musical, although this project never came to fruition.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=204}} Another project he began at this time was a book about entertainers of the past whom he admired.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=204}}
===''Blue Valentine'' and ''Heartattack and Vine'': 1978–1980===
[[File:Tom Waits (1979–80 publicity photo in kitchen by Greg Gorman).jpg|thumb|left|alt=|Publicity photo of Waits taken by [[Greg Gorman]], {{nowrap|{{circa}} 1979–80}}]]
In July 1978, Waits began the recording sessions for [[Blue Valentine (album)|''Blue Valentine'']].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=205}} Part way through the sessions, he replaced his musicians to create a less jazz-oriented sound;{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=206}} for the album, he switched from a piano to an electric guitar as his main instrument.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=107}} For the album's back cover, Waits used a picture of himself and Jones leaning against his car, a [[Ford Thunderbird (fourth generation)|1964 Ford Thunderbird]], taken by Elliot Gilbert.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=106|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=214}} Per Bowman, "Waits gradually began writing about junkies and prostitutes instead of skid-row drunks. In songs such as [[Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis|'Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis’]] and ‘Red Shoes by the Drugstore,’ his writing became ever more vivid, compact, and complex."{{Sfn|Bowman}} From the album, Waits's first single, a cover of [[Leonard Bernstein]] and [[Stephen Sondheim]]'s [[Somewhere (song)|"Somewhere"]] from ''[[West Side Story]]'', was released, but failed to chart.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=106}} For his ''Blue Valentine'' tour, Waits assembled a new band; he also had a gas station built as a set for his performances.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=215}} His support act on the tour was [[Leon Redbone]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=216}} In April, he embarked on a European tour, there making television appearances and press interviews; in Austria he was the subject of a short documentary.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=222–223}} From there, he flew to Australia for his first tour of that country before returning to Los Angeles in May.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=226–228}}
[[File:Francis Ford Coppola -1976.jpg|thumb|[[Francis Ford Coppola]] (pictured in 1976) convinced Waits to leave [[New York City]] and return to [[Los Angeles]] to score his film ''[[One from the Heart]]''.]]
Waits was dissatisfied with Elektra-Asylum, who he felt had lost interest in him as an artist in favor of their more commercially successful acts like [[Eagles (band)|the Eagles]], [[Linda Ronstadt]], [[Carly Simon]] and [[Queen (band)|Queen]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=216}} After a phone call with their mutual friend Chuck E. Weiss, Waits told Jones, "Chuck E.'s in love". This was the inspiration for her song "[[Chuck E.'s in Love]]".<ref name=Saunders>{{cite video| author=Bret Saunders| title=Tom Waits Interview & Performance - KBCO| date=October 13, 1999| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCGvgswQpE}}</ref> Jones's musical career was taking off; after an appearance on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', "Chuck E.'s In Love" reached number 4 in the singles chart, straining her relationship with Waits.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=82–83|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=220–221}} Their relationship was further damaged by Jones's [[heroin]] addiction.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=228–229}} Waits joined Jones for the first leg of her European tour, but then ended his relationship with her. Her grief at the breakup was channeled into the 1981 album ''[[Pirates (Rickie Lee Jones album)|Pirates]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=231}} In September, Waits moved to [[Crenshaw Boulevard]] to be closer to his father,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=110|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=232}} before deciding to relocate to New York City. He initially lived in the [[Hotel Chelsea|Chelsea Hotel]] before renting an apartment on West 26th Street.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=112|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=235–236}} On arriving in the city, he told a reporter that he "just needed a new urban landscape. I've always wanted to live here. It's a good working atmosphere for me".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=236}} He considered writing a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical based on [[Thornton Wilder]]'s ''[[Our Town]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=237}} A [[rotoscoped]] Waits performed "The One That Got Away" in the music video ''[[Tom Waits For No One]]'' (1979).
[[Francis Ford Coppola]] asked Waits to return to Los Angeles to write a soundtrack for his forthcoming film, ''[[One from the Heart]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=124–125|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=238}} Waits was excited, but conflicted, by the prospect; Coppola wanted him to create music akin to his early work, a genre that he was trying to leave behind, and thus he characterized the project as an artistic "step backwards".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=239}} He nevertheless returned to Los Angeles to work on the soundtrack in a room set aside for the purpose in Coppola's Hollywood studios.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=239, 241}} This style of working was new to Waits; he later recalled that he was "so insecure when I started ... I was sweating buckets".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=244}} Waits was nominated for the 1982 [[Academy Award for Original Music Score]].
Waits still contractually owed Elektra-Asylum another album, so took a break from Coppola's project to write an album that he initially called ''White Spades''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=247}} He recorded the album in June;{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=248–249}} it was released in September as ''[[Heartattack and Vine]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=251, 254}} The album was more guitar-based and had, according to Humphries, "a harder R&B edge" than any of its predecessors.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=135}} It again broke into the Top 100 Album Chart,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=254}} peaking at number 96.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=136}} Reviews were generally good.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=136}} Hoskyns called it "one of Waits's pinnacle achievements" as an album.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=254}} One of its tracks, "[[Jersey Girl (song)|Jersey Girl]]", was subsequently recorded by [[Bruce Springsteen]]. Waits was grateful, both for the revenue that the cover brought him and because he felt appreciated by a songwriter he admired.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=136–138}} While on the set of ''One from the Heart'', Waits encountered [[Kathleen Brennan]], a young [[Irish-American]] woman working as an assistant story editor. The two had previously met while Waits was filming ''Paradise Alley''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=131|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=244–245}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maher |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzDBAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22kathleen+brennan%22+songwriting&pg=PT212 |title=Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters |date=2011-11-01 |publisher=Aurum |isbn=978-1-84513-827-1 |language=en}}</ref> Waits would later describe this encounter with Brennan as "love at first sight"; they were engaged to be married within a week.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=245–247}} In August 1980, they married at a 24-hour wedding chapel on [[Manchester Boulevard]] in [[Watts, Los Angeles|Watts]] before honeymooning in [[Tralee]], a town in [[County Kerry]], Ireland, where Brennan had family.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=134–135|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=255}}
===''Swordfishtrombones'' and New York City: 1980–1984===
{{Quote box
| quote = A whip and a chair. The Bible. The Book of Revelations. She grew up Catholic, you know, blood and liquor and guilt. She pulverizes me so that I don't just write the same song over and over again. Which is what a lot of people do, including myself.
| source=— Waits on what his wife brought to his creative process{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=152}}
| align = right
| width = 25em
}}
Returning to Los Angeles, Waits and Brennan moved into a Union Avenue apartment.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=257}} Hoskyns noted that with Brennan, "Waits had found the stabilizing, nurturing companion he'd always wanted", and that she brought him "a sense of emotional security he had never known" before.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=246–247}} At the same time, many of his old friends felt cut off after his marriage.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=271}} Waits said of Brennan: "She rescued me. Maybe I rescued her too; that's often how it works. Upshot is that we both got into the same leaky boat. Maybe the weight drags it down, because now you've two people sitting in it. Sorry, baby! But on the other hand you've also got two peoples' imagination to patch it up again. Everybody knows she's the brains behind Pa, as Dylan might have said. I'm just the figurehead. She's the one who's steering the ship."<ref>{{cite news| last=Brooks|first=Xan| title=Tom Waits gives the devil his due |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/08/tom-waits-gives-devil-due| work=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 8, 2009}}</ref>
Recording of Waits's ''One from the Heart'' soundtrack began in October 1980 and continued until September 1981.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=259, 265}} A number of the tracks were recorded as duets with [[Crystal Gayle]]; Waits had initially planned to duet with Midler but she proved unavailable.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=129|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=260}} The film was released in 1982, to largely poor reviews.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=132|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=265}} Waits makes a small cameo as a trumpet player in a crowd scene.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=129}} Waits's [[One from the Heart (album)|soundtrack album]] was released by [[Columbia Records]] in 1982.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=266, 268}} Waits had misgivings about the album, thinking it over-produced.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=269}} Humphries thought that working with Coppola was an important move in Waits's career: it "led directly to Waits moving from cult (i.e. largely unknown) artiste to center-stage."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=127}}
[[File:JohnLurie RayHenders.jpg|thumb|left|In New York City, Waits shared a workspace with jazz musician [[John Lurie]] (pictured in 2013).]]
Newly married and with his Elektra-Asylum contract completed, Waits decided that it was time to artistically reinvent himself.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=275}} He wanted to move away from using Howe as his producer, although the two parted on good terms.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=128|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=270}} With Brennan's help, he began the process of firing Cohen as his manager, with him and Brennan taking on managerial responsibilities themselves.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=142|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=270}} He came to believe that Cohen had been swindling him out of much of his earnings, later relating that "I thought I was a millionaire and it turned out I had, like, twenty bucks."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=270}} Waits credited Brennan with introducing him to much new music, most notably [[Captain Beefheart]], a key influence on the direction in which he wanted to take his work.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=147|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=276–277}} He later said that "once you've heard Beefheart it's hard to wash him out of your clothes. It stains, like coffee or blood."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=277}} She also introduced him to [[Harry Partch]], a composer who created his own instruments out of everyday materials.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=145–146}} Waits began to use images rather than moods or characters as the basis for his songs.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=279}}
{{Quote box
| quote = I like to imagine how it feels for the object to become music. Imagine you're the lid to a fifty-gallon drum. That's your job. You work at that. That's your whole life. Then one day I find you and I say, "We're gonna drill a hole in you, run a wire through you, hang you from the ceiling of the studio, bang on you with a mallet, and now you're in show business, baby!"
| source=— Waits on his unique use of instruments<ref name=Instruments>{{cite web| last=Waits| first=Tom| title=Tom Waits - Instruments| url=http://tomwaitslibrary.info/biography/quotes/instruments/}}</ref>
| align = right
| width = 25em
}}
Waits wrote the songs for ''[[Swordfishtrombones]]'' during a two-week trip to Ireland.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=279}} He recorded it at Sunset Sound studios and produced it himself; Brennan often attended the sessions and gave him advice.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=284–285}} ''Swordfishtrombones'' abandoned the jazz sound characteristic of his earlier work; it was his first album not to feature a saxophone{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=147}} and his first to feature the [[marimba]].{{Sfn|Bowman}} When the album was finished, he took it to Asylum, but they declined to release it.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=142|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=291–292}} Waits wanted to leave the label; in his view, "They liked dropping my name in terms of me being a 'prestige' artist, but when it came down to it they didn't invest a whole lot in me in terms of faith".{{Sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=142|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=292}} [[Chris Blackwell]] of [[Island Records]] learned of Waits' dissatisfaction and approached him, offering to release ''Swordfishtrombones'';{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=144|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=292–293}} Island had a reputation for signing more experimental acts, such as [[King Crimson]], [[Roxy Music]] and [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=145}} Waits did not tour to promote the album, partly because Brennan was pregnant.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=294}} Although unenthusiastic about the new trend for [[music video]]s, he appeared in one for the song "[[In the Neighborhood]]", co-directed by [[Haskell Wexler]] and [[Michael A. Russ]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=148–149|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=294–295}} Russ also designed the ''Swordfishtrombones'' album cover, featuring an image of Waits with [[Lee Kolima]], a circus strongman, and [[Angelo Rossitto]], a dwarf.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=295}}
[[Jon Pareles]] wrote that "On ''Swordfishtrombones'', Waits has made a breakthrough–he's found music as evocative as his words. Waits's grumble of a voice now bounces off a peculiar assortment of horns and percussion and organ and keyboards, as if he'd led a Salvation Army band into a broken-down Hong Kong disco. It's as if he's shifted from monologues to screenplays."<ref>{{cite news| last=Pareles| first= Jon| author-link=Jon Pareles| date=January 1984| title=Swordfishtrombones review| work=[[GQ]]}}</ref> According to David Smay, ''Swordfishtrombones'' was "the record where Tom Waits radically reinvented himself and reshaped the musical landscape."{{sfn|Smay|2008|p=3}} ''[[NME]]'' named it the second best album of the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/features/1983-2-1045394 |title=NME's best albums and tracks of 1983 |website=[[NME]] |date=October 10, 2016 |access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref> In 1989, [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'']] magazine named it the second greatest album of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-bxxO5B-xsC&pg=PA46 |title=The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |date=April 1989 |access-date=August 14, 2007 |pages=46–48, 50–51}}</ref>
In 1983, Waits appeared in three more Coppola films: as Benny, a philosopher running a billboard store in ''[[Rumble Fish]]''; as Buck Merrill in [[The Outsiders (film)|''The Outsiders'']]; and as the maître'd in [[The Cotton Club (film)|''The Cotton Club'']].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=169–174|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=296–297, 298}} He later said that "Coppola is actually the only film director in Hollywood that has a conscience... most of them are egomaniacs and money-grabbing bastards".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=128}} In September, Brennan gave birth to their daughter, Kellesimone.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=150|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=297}} Waits was determined to keep his family life separate from his public image and to spend as much time as possible with his daughter.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=297}} With Brennan and their child, Waits moved to New York City to be closer to Brennan's parents and Island's U.S. office. They settled into a loft apartment near [[Union Square, Manhattan| Union Square]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=300–303}}
Waits found New York City life frustrating, although it allowed him to meet many new musicians and artists. He befriended [[John Lurie]] of [[the Lounge Lizards]], and the duo began sharing a music studio in the Westbeth artist-community building in [[Greenwich Village]]. He began networking in the city's arts scene, and, at a party [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]] held for Lurie, he met the filmmaker [[Jim Jarmusch]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=303–305}}
===''Rain Dogs'' and ''Franks Wild Years'': 1985–1988===
[[File:Jim Jarmusch Cannes 2013.JPG|thumb|right|Waits appeared in several films by [[Jim Jarmusch]] (pictured in 2013).]]
Starting in the mid-80s, [[Kurt Weill]] became an important influence on Waits's work. Bowman writes that "Waits had become interested in Weill's late-1920s and 1930s musical-theater works... Weill's slightly off-kilter, stylized [[cabaret]] approach to melody, rhythm, orchestration, and musical narrative permeated much of Waits' later work."{{sfn|Bowman}} Waits did the soundtrack for the documentary [[Streetwise (1984 film)|''Streetwise'']], about homeless youth in Seattle;<ref>{{cite web| title=Streetwise (1984) -Soundtracks| website=[[IMDb]]| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088196/soundtrack/}}</ref> it was another influence on the subjects of his next album. ''[[Rain Dogs]]'' was recorded at the [[RCA Studio A|RCA Studios]] in mid 1985.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=307, 310}} Musically, Waits called the album "kind of an interaction between Appalachia and Nigeria".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=161}} [[Keith Richards]] played on several tracks;{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=176|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=313}} Richards later acknowledged Waits's encouragement of his debut solo album, ''[[Talk is Cheap]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=177|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=314}} ''Rain Dogs'' also marked [[Marc Ribot]]'s debut as a session guitarist; he played on many later Waits albums.<ref>Ruhlman, W. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r21380|pure_url=yes}}</ref> [[Jean-Baptiste Mondino]] directed a music video of "[[Downtown Train]]" featuring boxer [[Jake LaMotta]]. The song was subsequently covered by [[Patty Smyth]] in 1987, and later by [[Rod Stewart]], where it reached the top five in 1990.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=317}} In 1985, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' named Waits its "Songwriter of the Year".{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=165|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=327}} Arion Berger wrote that "With ''Rain Dogs'', he dropped his bedraggled lounge-piano act and fused outsider influences–socialist decadence by way of Kurt Weill, pre-rock integrity from old [[dirty blues]], the elegiac melancholy of [[jazz funeral|New Orleans funeral brass]]–into a singularly idiosyncratic American style... The music is bony and menacingly beautiful, the desultory electric-guitar solo as cold as the rattle of marimbas in 'Clap Hands'. The evocative, elliptical rhymes describe scenes and characters with poetic precision but use atmosphere, not narrative, to connect them."<ref>{{cite magazine| last= Berger| first= Arion| title=Tom Waits: Rain Dogs| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' named ''Rain Dogs'' the best album of the year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1985-2-1045389 |title=NME's Best Albums and Tracks of 1985 |date=2018 |work=[[NME]] |access-date=August 30, 2018 }}</ref>
In September 1985, his son Casey was born.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=154|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=318}} Waits assembled a band and went on tour, kicking it off in Scotland in October before proceeding around Europe and then the U.S.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=166|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=318–319}} He changed the setlist for each performance; most of the songs chosen were from his two Island albums.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=319–320}} Returning to the U.S., he traveled to [[New Orleans]] to act in Jarmusch's [[Down by Law (film)|''Down by Law'']]. Jarmusch wrote ''Down by Law'' with Waits and Lurie in mind.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=184–186|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=322}} The film opened and closed with songs from ''Rain Dogs''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=187|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=324}} Jarmusch noted that "Tom and I have a kindred aesthetic. An interest in unambitious people, marginal people."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=321–322}} The pair developed a friendship; Waits called Jarmusch "Dr. Sullen", while Jarmusch called Waits "The Prince of Melancholy".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=325}}
Waits had devised a musical, ''Franks Wild Years'', loosely based on "Frank's Wild Years" from ''Swordfishtrombones''. In late 1985, he reached an agreement that the play would be performed by the [[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]] in [[Chicago]]'s [[Briar Street Theatre]]{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=153–154|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=327–330}} Waits starred as Frank, whom he described as <blockquote>Quite a guy. Grew up in a bird's eye frozen, oven-ready, rural American town where [[Bing Crosby|Bing]], [[Bob Hope|Bob]], [[Dean Martin|Dean]], [[Wayne Newton|Wayne]] & [[Jerry Lewis|Jerry]] are considered major constellations. Frank, mistakenly, thinks he can stuff himself into their shorts and present himself to an adoring world. He is a combination of [[Will Rogers]] and [[Mark Twain]], playing accordion–but without the wisdom they possessed. He has a poet's heart and a boy's sense of wonder with the world. A legend in Rainville since he burned his house down and took off for the Big Time.<ref>{{cite web| title=Tom Waits - Texts| work=Tom Waits Library| url=http://tomwaitslibrary.info/theatre/franks-wild-years/texts/}}</ref></blockquote> Reviews were generally positive. He had initially considered a run in New York City but decided against it.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=330–331}} The songs from the show were recorded for his ninth studio album, ''[[Franks Wild Years]]'', and released by [[Island Records]] in 1987.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=156|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=331, 339}} ''NME'' ranked ''Franks Wild Years'' fifth on its list of albums of the year.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1987-2-1045385 |title=Albums and Tracks of the Year: 1987 |date=2018 |magazine=[[NME]] |access-date=24 November 2018 }}</ref> The album was Waits's first collaboration with [[David Hidalgo]], who played accordion on "Cold, Cold Ground" and "Train Song". After its release, Waits toured North America and Europe,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=166|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=350, 352–353}} his last full tour for two decades.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=167}} Two of the performances were the basis for Chris Blum's concert film [[Big Time (1988 film)|''Big Time'']] (1988).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=195|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=347–348, 352–353}}
Waits continued interacting and working with other artists he admired. He was a great fan of [[The Pogues]] and went on a Chicago [[pub crawl]] with them in 1986.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=158–160}} In 1987, he appeared as a master of ceremonies on several dates of [[Elvis Costello]]'s "Wheel of Fortune" tour.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=178–179}}
{{Quote box
| quote = At rehearsals, Tom Waits looked like any moment he might break at the waist or his head fall off his shoulders on to the floor. I once saw a small-town idiot walking across the park, totally drunk, but he was holding an ice-cream, staggering, but also concentrating on not allowing the ice-cream to fall. I felt there was something similar to Tom.
| source=— [[Jack Nicholson]], Waits's co-star in ''Ironweed''{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=193}}
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In 1986, he took a small part in ''[[Candy Mountain]]'', as millionaire golf enthusiast Al Silk.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=187|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=340–342}} He costarred in [[Hector Babenco]]'s [[Ironweed (film)|''Ironweed'']], as Rudy the Kraut.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=190–192|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=342–345}} Hoskyns noted that ''Ironweed'' put Waits "on the mainstream Hollywood map as a character actor". In Fall 1987, Waits and his family left New York and returned to Los Angeles, settling on Union Avenue.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=345}} He appeared as a hitman in [[Robert Dornhelm]]'s [[Cold Feet (1989 film)|''Cold Feet'']]{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=188–189|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=358–359}} and lent his voice to Jarmusch's [[Mystery Train (film)|''Mystery Train'']].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=213–214|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=361}}
Although Waits had provided a voice-over for a 1981 television advert for Butcher's Blend dog food,{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=205|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=355}} he objected to musicians letting companies use their songs in advertising; he said that "artists who take money for ads poison and pervert their songs".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=355–356}} In November 1988, he brought a lawsuit against [[Frito-Lay]] for using an impersonator performing "Step Right Up" in an advertisement for [[Doritos]]; it came to court in April 1990, and Waits won the case in 1992. He received a $2.6 million settlement, a sum larger than his earnings from all of his previous albums combined.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=202–203|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=354–356}} This earned him and Brennan reputations as tireless adversaries.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=378}}
===''The Black Rider'', ''Bone Machine'', and ''Alice'': 1989–1998===
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| footer = Waits collaborated with [[Robert Wilson (director)|Robert Wilson]] (left) and [[William S. Burroughs]] (right) on ''The Black Rider''.
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In 1989, Waits began planning a collaboration with [[Robert Wilson (director)|Robert Wilson]], a theater director he had known throughout the 1980s. Their project was the "cowboy opera" ''[[The Black Rider]]''. It was based on a German folk tale, the [[Freischütz]], which had inspired [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s opera ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' (1821).{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=361–362, 364–365}} In 2004, Waits related that "Wilson is my teacher. There's nobody that's affected me that much as an artist".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=367}} Waits wrote the music and, at the suggestion of [[Allen Ginsberg]], Waits and Wilson approached [[William S. Burroughs]] to pen the lyrics. They flew to [[Kansas]] to meet with Burroughs, who agreed to join the project. Waits traveled to [[Hamburg|Hamburg, Germany]] in May 1989 to work on the project, and was later joined there by Burroughs.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=365–368}} ''The Black Rider'' debuted in Hamburg's [[Thalia Theater (Hamburg)|Thalia Theater]] in March 1990.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=210|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=369}} On completing its run at the Thalia, the play went on an international tour,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=402}} with a second run of performances occurring in the mid-2000s.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=288}}
In June 1989, Waits traveled to London to play a [[Punch and Judy]] puppeteer in Ann Guedes's film ''Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=230|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=369–370}} He proceeded to [[Ireland]], where he was joined by Brennan and spent time with her family.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=370}} In December 1989, he began a stint as Curly, a mobster's son, at the [[Los Angeles Theatre Center]] production of [[Thomas Babe]]'s play ''Demon Wine''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=213|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=361}} Over the next four years, he made seven film appearances.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=370}} He nevertheless repeatedly told press that he did not see himself as an actor, but only as someone who did some acting.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=375}} He made a brief appearance as a plainclothes cop in ''[[The Two Jakes]]'' (1990) and played a disabled war veteran in [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[The Fisher King]]'' (1991).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=229–231|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=370–371}} He had a cameo in [[Steve Rash]]'s ''[[Queens Logic]]'' (1991) and played a pilot-for-hire in [[Héctor Babenco]]'s ''[[At Play in the Fields of the Lord]]'' (1991).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=215, 230–231|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=370–371}}<ref name="Stories" /> He appeared as himself fishing with [[John Lurie]] on ''[[Fishing with John]]''. He was [[Renfield]] in Coppola's [[Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film)|''Bram Stoker's Dracula'']] (1992).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=238|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=372}} Waits starred as Earl Piggot, an alcoholic limousine driver, in [[Robert Altman]]'s ''[[Short Cuts]]'' (1993).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=251–254|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=373}} Hoskyns said that this "may be the best performance Waits ever gave as an actor."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=374}}
In 1991, Waits and his family moved to the outskirts of [[Sonoma, California|Sonoma]].<ref name="Stories">{{Cite journal|last=Sutcliffe|first=Phil|date=5 March 1991|title=Stories|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=10}}</ref> Waits's family later moved to a secluded house near [[Valley Ford]] after a bypass road was built near to their first Sonoma County house.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=255|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=380}} Also in 1991, 13 of Waits's 1971 pre-Asylum Records recordings were released for the first time on the first volume of [[The Early Years (album series)|''Tom Waits: The Early Years'']]. Waits was angered at this, describing many of his early demos as "baby pictures" that he would not want released. A second volume with 13 more recordings from 1971 was released in 1993.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=36, 43, 211–212|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=378–379}} In April 1992, Waits released the soundtrack album to Jarmusch's ''[[Night on Earth]]''. Largely instrumental, it had been recorded at the Prairie Sun studio in [[Cotati, California|Cotati]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=383}} In 1992, Waits quit drinking alcohol and joined [[Alcoholics Anonymous]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=381–382}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beamsandstruts.com/bits-a-pieces/item/882-the-piano-has-been-drinking-ginger-ale |title=Why Tom Waits Quit Drinking |first=TJ |last=Dawe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219203030/http://beamsandstruts.com/bits-a-pieces/item/882-the-piano-has-been-drinking-ginger-ale |access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-date=February 19, 2015 }}</ref> In the early 1990s he took part in several charitable causes. In 1990 he contributed a song to the [[HIV/AIDS]] benefit album ''[[Red Hot + Blue]]'' and later appeared at a [[Wiltern Theater]] fundraising show for the victims of the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=212–213|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=414–415}}
[[File:Hamburg Thalia-Thetaer 2010.jpg|thumb|left|[[Thalia Theater (Hamburg)|The Thalia]] in [[Hamburg]], where ''[[The Black Rider]]'' and ''Alice'' were first performed]]
In August 1992, Waits released his tenth studio album, ''[[Bone Machine]]''. Waits wanted to explore "more machinery sounds" with the album, reflecting his interest in [[industrial music]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=386–387}} It was recorded in an old storage room at Prairie Sun.
Waits recalled, "I found a great room to work in, it's just a cement floor and a hot water heater. Okay, we'll do it here. It's got some good echo."<ref name=thrasher>Interview with Brian Bannon for ''Thrasher'' magazine, February 1993; collected in ''Innocent When You Dream'' p.146</ref> Eight of the album's tracks were co-written with Brennan.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=386}} The cover was co-designed by Waits and [[Jesse Dylan]]. Jarmusch and Dylan directed videos for "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", and "Goin' Out West", respectively.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=395–396}} Critic Steve Huey called it "perhaps Tom Waits's most cohesive album... a morbid, sinister nightmare, one that applied the quirks of his experimental '80s classics to stunningly evocative—and often harrowing—effect... Waits's most affecting and powerful recording, even if it isn't his most accessible."<ref>{{cite web| url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r58488|pure_url=yes}} | title= Bone Machine review | access-date= November 24, 2007| last= Huey| first= Steve| publisher = AllMusic }}</ref> The album's closing track, "That Feel", was co-written with [[Keith Richards]]. ''Bone Machine'' won the [[Grammy Award|Grammy]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album|Best Alternative Music Album]];{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=247|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=435}} in response, Waits asked Jarmusch: "alternative to ''what''?!"{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=435}}
Waits decided to record an album of the songs written for ''The Black Rider'', and did so at Los Angeles's [[Sunset Sound Factory]]. [[The Black Rider (album)|''The Black Rider'']] was released in the fall of 1993.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=248|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=397–398, 401}} Waits and Wilson decided to collaborate again, this time on an operatic treatment of [[Lewis Carroll]]'s relationship with [[Alice Liddell]], who had provided the inspiration for ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and ''[[Through the Looking Glass]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=279|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=402}} Again scheduled to premier at the Thalia, they began working on the project in Hamburg in early 1992.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=402–403}} Waits characterized the songs he wrote for the play as "adult songs for children, or children's songs for adults". In his lyrics, Waits drew on his increasing interest in [[freak shows]] and the physically deformed.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=404–405}} He thought the play itself was about "repression, mental illness and obsessive, compulsive disorders".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=279}} ''Alice'' premiered at the Thalia in December 1992.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=279|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=407}}
In early 1993, Brennan was pregnant with Waits's third child, Sullivan.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=407}} He decided to reduce his workload so as to spend more time with his children; this isolation spawned rumours that he was seriously ill or had separated from his wife. For three years, he turned down all offers to perform gigs or appear in movies.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=410–411}} However, he made several cameos and guest appearances on albums by musicians he admired.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=413}} In February 1996, he held a benefit performance to raise funds for the legal defense of his friend Don Hyde, who had been charged with distributing [[LSD]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=415}} He wrote "Walk Away" and "The Fall of Troy" for [[Dead Man Walking (soundtrack)|the soundtrack]] of ''[[Dead Man Walking (film)|Dead Man Walking]]'' (1995){{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=255–257|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=414–415}} and "Little Drop of Poison" for ''[[The End of Violence]]'' (1997).{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=271}} In 1998, Island released ''[[Beautiful Maladies]]'', a compilation of 23 Waits tracks from his albums with the company, selected by Waits himself.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=257|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=429}}
===''Mule Variations'' and ''Woyzeck'': 1999–2003===
[[File:Paramount austin 2006.jpg|thumb|right|In March 1999, Waits performed at the [[Paramount Theatre (Austin, Texas)|Paramount Theater]] in [[Austin, Texas]].]]
After his contract with Island expired, Waits decided not to try to renew it, particularly as Blackwell had resigned from the company.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=257|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=417}} He signed to a smaller record label, [[Anti- (record label)|Anti-]], recently launched as an offshoot of the [[Punk rock|punk]]-label [[Epitaph Records]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=259|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=429}} He described the company as "a friendly place".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=429}} The president of Anti-, [[Andy Kaulkin]], said the label was "blown away that Tom would even consider us. We are huge fans."<ref name=billboard209>Bambarger, Bradley, "Tom Waits Joins Indie Epitaph for Mule Set", in Monanton, ''Innocent When You Dream'', p. 209</ref> Waits himself praised the label: "Epitaph is a label run by and for artists and musicians, where it feels much more like a partnership than a plantation... We shook on the deal over a coffee in a truck stop. I know it's going to be an adventure."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=259}}
In March 1999, Anti- released ''[[Mule Variations]]''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=429}} Waits had been recording the tracks at Prairie Sun since June 1998.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=260|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=419}} The tracks often dealt with themes involving rural life in the United States and were influenced by the early blues recordings made by [[Alan Lomax]];{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=418–419}} Waits coined the term "surrural" ("surreal" and "rural") to describe the album's content.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=263|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=419}} ''Mule Variations'' reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200, the highest showing of a Waits album.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=264|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=432}} The album was well received,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=429}} being named "Album of the Year" by ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=265}} It won the [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=264|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=435}} On the categorization of the album as [[folk music]], Waits said: "That's not a bad thing to be called if you've got to be in some kind of category."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=435}}
Also in March 1999, Waits gave his first live show in three years at [[Paramount Theatre (Austin, Texas)|Paramount Theater, Austin, Texas]] as part of the [[South by Southwest]] festival.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=430}} He then appeared in an episode of ''[[VH1 Storytellers]]''. In the later part of the year he embarked on the ''Mule Variations'' tour, primarily in the U.S. but also featuring dates in Berlin.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=431, 433}} In October, he performed at [[Neil Young]]'s annual [[Bridge School Benefit|Bridge School benefit]] concert.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=268|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=434}} In 1999, he appeared in [[Kinka Usher]]'s comic book spoof ''[[Mystery Men]]'' as Dr A. Heller, an eccentric inventor living in an abandoned amusement park.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=271–272|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=430}}
In 2000, Waits began writing songs for Wilson's adaptation of [[Georg Büchner]]'s ''[[Woyzeck]]'', which had earlier inspired [[Alban Berg]]'s opera ''[[Wozzeck]]'' (1925). It was scheduled to start at the Betty Nansen Theater in [[Copenhagen]] in November 2000. He initially worked on the songs at home before traveling to Copenhagen for rehearsals in October.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=273|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=438–440}} Waits said that he liked the play because it was "a proletariat story ... about a poor soldier who is manipulated by the government".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=438}} He decided to then record the songs he had written for both ''Alice'' and ''Woyzeck'', placing them on separate albums. For these recordings, he brought in a range of jazz and avant-garde musicians from San Francisco.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=441–443}} The two albums, [[Alice (Tom Waits album)|''Alice'']] and [[Blood Money (Tom Waits album)|''Blood Money'']], were released simultaneously in May 2002.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=275|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=457}} ''Alice'' entered the U.S. album chart at number 32 and ''Blood Money'' at number 33, his highest charting positions at that time.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=457}} Waits described ''Alice'' as being "more metaphysical or something, maybe more water, more feminine", while ''Blood Money'' was "more earthbound, more carnival, more the slaving meat-wheel that we're all on". Of the two, ''Alice'' was better received by critics.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=444, 458}}
Jesse Dylan directed a video for "God's Away On Business", but shooting was delayed when the [[emu]]s who were set to star were eaten by coyotes. Per ''[[NME]]'', "Replacements were hastily found and the video for ‘God’s Away On Business’, the single lifted from ‘Blood Money’, one of Waits’ two new albums, went ahead a little late."<ref>{{cite news| title=HIGHLY EMU-SING| date=May 3, 2002| work=[[NME]]| url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/tom-waits-52-1379875}}</ref>
In May 2001, Waits accepted a Founders Award at the 18th annual [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]] (ASCAP) Pop Music Awards in a ceremony at the [[The Beverly Hilton|Beverly Hilton Hotel]] in [[Beverly Hills, California]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=283|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=455}} That same month, he joined singers [[Nancy Wilson (rock musician)|Nancy]] and [[Ann Wilson]] of [[Heart (band)|Heart]], as well as [[Randy Newman]], in launching a $40 million lawsuit against [[mp3.com]] for copyright infringement.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=285|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=455}} In September 2002, he appeared at a hearing on accounting practices within the music industry in California. There, he expressed satisfaction with Anti- but declared more broadly that "the record companies are like cartels. It's a nightmare to be trapped in one."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=455–456}}
In September 2003, Waits performed at the Healing the Divide fundraiser in New York City.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=450}} He appeared in Jarmusch's ''[[Coffee and Cigarettes]]'' (2003), having a conversation with [[Iggy Pop]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=302|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=396–397}}
===''Real Gone'' and ''Orphans'': 2004–2011===
[[File:Tom Waits Praha 2008.jpg|thumb|right|Waits performing in [[Prague]] on his [[Glitter and Doom Tour]], July 2008]]
In 2004, Waits released his fifteenth studio album, [[Real Gone (album)|''Real Gone'']].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=288|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=458}} He had recorded it in an abandoned schoolhouse in [[Locke, California|Locke]]. Hoskyns called the album Waits' "roughest, most unkempt music to date". It incorporated Waits [[beatbox]]ing, a technique he had picked up from his growing interest in [[hip hop music|hip hop]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=458–459}} Humphries characterized it as "the most overtly political album of Waits' career".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=289}} It featured three political songs expressing Waits' anger at the presidency of [[George W. Bush]] and the [[Iraq War]]. He said: "I'm not a politician. I keep my mouth shut because I don't want to put my foot in it. But at a certain point, saying absolutely nothing is a political statement of its own."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=458}} ''Real Gone'' received largely positive reviews.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=294}} It made the Billboard Top 30 as well as the Top 10 in several European album charts,{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=469}} also earning him a nomination for Best International Male Solo Artist at the 2005 [[Brit Awards]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=301}} In October 2004, he launched a tour in [[Vancouver]] before heading to Europe, where his shows were sell-outs:{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=469–470}} his only London gig saw 78,000 applications for around 3,700 available tickets.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=299}} Per Bowman, "Much of ''Real Gone'' was built around oral-percussion home recordings that Waits made in his bathroom, using his mouth as a human beat-box. A superb example is the bed track underpinning the hellacious groove of ‘Metropolitan Glide’ that Waits aptly described as ‘cubist funk.’ In stark contrast, the album's closing track, 'Day After Tomorrow,' returned Waits to his singer-songwriter roots, and features a beautiful melody that sounds eerily similar to Dylan's early acoustic work."<ref name=Bowman/>
After several years without film appearances, he played a gun-toting [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] in [[Tony Scott]]'s ''[[Domino (2005 film)|Domino]]'' (2005).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=303–305|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=471}} Later in 2005, he traveled to [[Italy]] to appear in Benigni's ''[[The Tiger and the Snow]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=304|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=471}} Next Waits was in [[Wristcutters: A Love Story]] (2007) performing as an angel posing as a tramp.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=471}} In the summer of 2006, he embarked on his "Orphans" tour of southern and midwest states. His son Casey played in the band accompanying him on tour.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=484}} In 2006, Waits issued ''[[Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards]]'', a 54-song three-disc box set of rarities, unreleased tracks and new compositions; he said that the music is "songs that fell behind the stove while making dinner." The first disc, ''Brawlers'', consists of raucous [[rock music|rock]] and [[blues (music)|blues]]-based numbers; the second, ''Bawlers'', of melancholic [[country music|country]] songs and ballads; the third, ''Bastards'', of stories, [[spoken word]] pieces and other works not so easily categorized.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=472–473}} ''Orphans'' made the top ten in several European charts. In 2006, Waits was a guest on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' with [[Jon Stewart]], where he played "Day After Tomorrow".<ref>{{cite web| title= Moment of Zen - Day After Tomorrow - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart| date=November 29, 2006| url=https://www.cc.com/video/dt90ig/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-moment-of-zen-day-after-tomorrow| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922114122/https://www.cc.com/video/dt90ig/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-moment-of-zen-day-after-tomorrow| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 22, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Cole, Waits TIFF09 tweaked.jpg|thumb|left|Waits next to [[Lily Cole]] at the premiere for ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'' at the 2009 [[Toronto International Film Festival]]]]
In January 2008, Waits performed at a benefit for Bet Tzedek Legal Services—The House of Justice, a [[nonprofit]] poverty law center, in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.anti.com/news/index/419/TOM_WAITS_TO_PERFORM_3_SONGS_AT_BENEFIT_FOR_BET_TZEDEK_LEGAL_SERVICESTHE_HOUSE_OF_JUSTICE | title=Tom Waits to perform 3 songs at benefit for Bet Tzedek Legal Services-The House Or Justice|publisher=Anti.com | access-date=January 27, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511161218/http://www.anti.com/news/index/419/TOM_WAITS_TO_PERFORM_3_SONGS_AT_BENEFIT_FOR_BET_TZEDEK_LEGAL_SERVICESTHE_HOUSE_OF_JUSTICE | archive-date=May 11, 2008 }}</ref>
That year, Waits embarked on his [[Glitter and Doom Tour]], starting in the U.S. and moving to Europe. Both of his sons played with him on the tour.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=495, 497}} At the June concert in [[El Paso, Texas]], Waits was presented with the key to the city.<ref>{{cite news| title=Tom Waits awarded key to Texas city| date=June 28, 2006| work=NME| url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/tom-waits-35-1324967}}</ref> In 2009, he released the two-disc ''[[Glitter and Doom Live]]''. He continued acting, playing Mr Nick in Gilliam's ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'' (2009)<ref>{{Cite news| last=Stubbs | first=Phill | title=''The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus'' | publisher=Dreams |url=http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/parnprev.htm |date=October 2007| access-date=October 10, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| first=Shawn | last=Adler | url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/11/15/ledger-a-big-joker-when-it-comes-to-new-gilliam-film/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116122411/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/11/15/ledger-a-big-joker-when-it-comes-to-new-gilliam-film/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 16, 2007 | title=Ledger A Big Joker When It Comes To New Gilliam Film | publisher=MTV | date=November 15, 2007 | access-date=December 30, 2007}}</ref> and Engineer in ''[[The Book of Eli]]'' (2010), a [[post-apocalyptic]] film by the [[Hughes brothers]].<ref>{{cite web| title=The Book of Eli (2010) - Full Cast & Crew- IMDb| website=[[IMDb]] | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm}}</ref>
Waits found himself in a situation similar to his earlier one with Frito Lay in 2000 when [[Audi]] approached him, asking to use "Innocent When You Dream" for a commercial broadcast in Spain. Waits declined, but the commercial ultimately featured music very similar to that song. Waits undertook legal action, and a Spanish court recognized that there had been a violation of Waits's [[moral rights]] in addition to the infringement of copyright. The production company, Tandem Campmany Guasch, was ordered to pay compensation to Waits through his Spanish publisher. Waits later joked that they got the name of the song wrong, thinking it was called "Innocent When You Scheme".{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=305}}<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4629274.stm | title=Tom Waits wins advert mimic case | date=January 19, 2006 | work=BBC News | access-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> In 2005, Waits sued [[Adam Opel AG]], claiming that, after having failed to sign him to sing in their Scandinavian commercials, they had hired a sound-alike singer. In 2007, the suit was settled, and Waits gave his proceeds to charity.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6305403.stm | title=Waits settles in 'imitation' case | access-date=November 24, 2007 | work=BBC News | date=January 27, 2007 | ___location=London}}</ref>
===''Bad as Me'' and later work: 2011–present===
In 2010, Waits was reported to be working on a new stage musical with director and long-time collaborator [[Robert Wilson (director)|Robert Wilson]] and playwright [[Martin McDonagh]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.antilabelblog.com/?p=2257 | title=New Musical From Tom Waits on the Horizon | publisher=Anti Records | date=February 2, 2010 | access-date=February 3, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103000836/http://www.antilabelblog.com/?p=2257 | archive-date=November 3, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
In early 2011, Waits completed a set of 23 poems, ''Seeds on Hard Ground'', which were inspired by Michael O'Brien's portraits of the homeless in his book, ''Hard Ground''. O'Brien's book included the poems alongside the portraits. In anticipation of the book release, Waits and [[ANTI-]] printed limited edition chapbooks of the poems to raise money for Redwood Empire Food Bank, a homeless referral and family support service in [[Sonoma County, California]]. As of January 26, 2011, four editions, each limited to 1,000 copies, sold out, raising $90,000 for the food bank.<ref>{{cite web | title=UPDATED Tom Waits Seeds on Hard Ground Chap Book For Charity | url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/archive/201101/ | publisher=tomwaits.com | access-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref> On February 24, 2011, it was announced via Waits's official website that he had begun work on his next studio album.<ref>{{cite web | title=Tom Waits working on new studio album | url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/130/Tom_Waits/ | publisher=tomwaits.com | access-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> Waits said through his website that on August 23 he would "set the record straight" in regards to rumors of a new release.<ref>{{cite web | title=Tom Waits Sets the Rumors Straight | date=August 16, 2011 | access-date=August 29, 2011 |website=Tom Waits & ANTI Records |url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/150/Tom_Waits_Sets_the_Rumors_Straight/}}</ref> On August 23, the title of the new album was revealed to be ''[[Bad as Me]]'',<ref>{{cite web | title=Tom Waits Private Listening Party! | url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/153/Tom_Waits_Private_Listening_Party/ | date=August 23, 2011 | access-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> and the lead single and title track started being offered via [[Amazon.com]] and other sites.<ref>{{cite web | title=New Tom Waits single: Bad as Me | url=http://eyeballkid.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-tom-waits-single-bad-as-me.html | date=August 15, 2011 | access-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref>
In March 2011, Waits was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] by [[Neil Young]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/129/Tom_Waits_To_Be_Inducted_Into_Hall_Of_Fame_By_Neil_Young/ |title=Tom Waits To Be Inducted into Hall of Fame By Neil Young |publisher=tomwaits.com |access-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lyons|first=Margaret| title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2011 inductees include Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper: who else made the cut? |url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/12/15/rock-roll-hall-of-fame-2011-waits-cooper|magazine=Entertainment Weekly| date=December 15, 2010| access-date=December 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=McCall|first=Tris| author-link=Tris McCall|title=Full list of In 2011 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2010/12/full_list_of_2011_inductees_to.html|work=[[The Star-Ledger]]|date=December 15, 2010|access-date=December 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Breihan| first=Tom| title= Watch Tom Waits' Speech and Performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony| date= March 25, 2011| work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42009-watch-tom-waits-speech-and-performance-at-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony/}}</ref><ref name="Induction" />
In 2012, Waits had a supporting role in McDonagh's crime comedy ''[[Seven Psychopaths]]'' as a retired [[serial killer]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Hart |first1=Hugh |title=Seven Psychopaths Poster Giveaway: See Tom Waits as a Bunny-Loving Nut Job |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/10/seven-psychopaths-poster/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=October 5, 2012|access-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref> In 2013, he lent his voice to ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Homer Goes to Prep School]]" as a survivalist.<ref>{{cite news| last=MccGovern| first=Kyle| title=Tom Waits, Uh, Waits for the Apocalypse on 'The Simpsons'| work=Spin| date=January 14, 2013| url=https://www.spin.com/2013/01/tom-waits-the-simpsons-homer-goes-to-prep-school-watch-video/}}</ref> On May 5, 2013, he joined [[the Rolling Stones]] on stage at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, to duet with [[Mick Jagger]] on [[Willie Dixon]]'s "[[Little Red Rooster]]".<ref>{{cite magazine | first=RJ | last=Cubarrubia | title=Tom Waits Joins Rolling Stones for 'Little Red Rooster' – Video | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/rolling-stones-feature-tom-waits-on-little-red-rooster-20130506 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=May 6, 2013 | access-date=May 7, 2013 | archive-date=May 9, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509165717/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/rolling-stones-feature-tom-waits-on-little-red-rooster-20130506 | url-status=dead }}</ref> On October 27, 2013, Waits performed at the 27th annual [[Bridge School Benefit]] concert in Mountain View California; ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called his performance a "triumph".<ref>{{cite magazine| first=Andy | last=Greene | title=Tom Waits Triumphs at Bridge School Benefit | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-waits-triumphs-at-bridge-school-benefit-20131028 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=October 28, 2013 | access-date=December 19, 2013 | archive-date=December 10, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210200149/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-waits-triumphs-at-bridge-school-benefit-20131028 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Over the years, Waits made six appearances on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'',{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=487}} and on May 14, 2015, sang "Take One Last Look" on the show's fifth to last broadcast.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6568350/tom-waits-david-letterman-take-one-last-look-new-song | title=Watch Tom Waits Perform a New Song, Chat With Old Pal David Letterman | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]].com | date=May 15, 2015 | access-date=May 15, 2015 | first=Chris|last=Payne}}</ref> He was accompanied by [[Larry Taylor]] on upright bass and Gabriel Donohue on piano accordion, with the horn section of the [[CBS Orchestra]]. In 2016, Waits pursued litigation against French artist Bartabas, who had used several of his songs as a backdrop to a theatrical performance. Claims and counterclaims were made, with Bartabas claiming to have sought and been granted permission to use the material (and to have paid $400,000 for the privilege) but with Waits claiming that his identity had been stolen. The court ruled in Bartabas's favor, and the circus performance was allowed to continue, although the threat of further litigation meant that it was not performed outside France and the resulting DVD release does not contain Waits's material.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/68871-tom-waits-in-legal-battle-with-french-circus/|title=Tom Waits in Legal Battle With French Circus|first=Evan|last=Minsker|date=October 8, 2016|access-date=August 5, 2021|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>
In 2018, Waits had a feature role in ''[[The Ballad of Buster Scruggs]]'', a [[Western (genre)|Western]] anthology film by the [[Coen brothers]], as the Prospector.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stereogum.com/2007326/tom-waits-coen-brothers-the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs/news/ | title=Tom Waits Cast In Coen Brothers' The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs | first=Peter|last=Helman | work=[[Stereogum]] | date=July 25, 2018 | access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref> Also in 2018, Waits provided the recorded narration for performances of McDonagh's play ''[[A Very Very Very Dark Matter]]'', which was performed at the [[Bridge Theatre|Bridge Theatre, London]]. In 2021, Waits had a supporting role in [[Paul Thomas Anderson]]'s coming-of-age film ''[[Licorice Pizza]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11271038/ | title=Licorice Pizza | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> In 2023, he joined [[Iggy Pop]] on the ''Confidential Show'', where they swapped stories and songs.<ref>{{cite news| title=Iggy Pop and Tom Waits| url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/49/iggy-pop-and-tom-waits| work=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Iggy Pop - Iggy welcomes Tom Waits to the Confidential Show| date=December 3, 2023| work=BBC Sounds| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001st7l}}</ref> In 2025, he appeared as part of Italian public television channel RAI3’s ‘The Human Factor’ series in the last episode, “The Last Ride”, where he read from his poetry book “Seeds On Hard Ground”, and performed a few of his songs.<ref>{{Cite web |title="The Last Ride" |url=http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/315/The_Last_Ride/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Tom Waits |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBWWjwj3zcY |title=Tom Waits: le poesie per gli ultimi degli Usa - Il fattore umano 25/02/2025 |date=2025-02-26 |last=Rai |access-date=2025-03-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
==Musical style==
Tom Waits has taken influence from a wide variety of different artists and styles from across time. In his early career, he took influence from [[Bob Dylan]]'s [[contemporary folk music|folk]] music and the pre-war composers [[Irving Berlin]], [[Cole Porter]], and [[Hoagy Carmichael]]. [[Frank Sinatra]] and the 1940s and 1950s word-[[jazz]] and poetry of [[Beat Generation|Beat]] and Beat-influenced writers such as [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Lord Buckley]] and [[Charles Bukowski]] were a big influence on his albums in the 1970s. By 1982, his musical style shifted away from a lot of these earlier influences and took inspiration from a wider array of sources. Influences included; the [[Rolling Stones]], [[avant-garde]] composer [[Harry Partch]], [[Howlin' Wolf]] and [[Captain Beefheart]]'s late-1960s [[experimental rock]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=279}}<ref name="Bowman" />
In addition to Kerouac and Bukowski, literary influences include [[Nelson Algren]], [[John Rechy]] and [[Hubert Selby Jr]].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=72–74}} Bowman notes the influence of crime writers like [[Dashiell Hammett]] and [[John D. Macdonald]].{{Sfn| Bowman}} Waits says that "for a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and saw are to a carpenter."<ref name="Albums"/> Musical influences include [[Randy Newman]]{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=85, 111}} and [[Dr. John]]. He has praised [[Merle Haggard]]: "Want to learn how to write songs? Listen to Merle Haggard."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=211}}{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=167}} He is an [[opera]] lover; he recalls hearing [[Puccini]]'s "[[Nessun dorma]]" "in the kitchen at Coppola's with [[Raul Julia]] one night, and it changed my life, that particular Aria. I had never heard it. He asked me if I had ever heard it, and I said no, and he was like, as if I said I've never had spaghetti and meatballs - 'Oh My God, Oh My God!'-and he grabbed me and he brought me into the jukebox (there was a jukebox in the kitchen) and he put that on and he just kind of left me there. It was like giving a cigar to a five-year old."<ref name="Albums"/> A jazz influence is [[Thelonious Monk]]: "He almost sounded like a kid taking piano lessons. I could relate to that when I first started playing the piano, because he was decomposing the music while he was playing it."<ref name="Albums"/><ref name=Saunders/> One of Waits's own favorite descriptions of his vocal style was "[[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Ethel Merman]] meeting in Hell."{{sfn|Humphries|2007}}
He is known for his eclectic use of instruments, some of his own devising. On ''[[Swordfishtrombones]]'', his orchestration included [[talking drums]], [[bagpipes]], [[banjo]], [[bass marimba]] and [[glass harmonica]]; on ''[[Rain Dogs]]'', [[accordion]] and [[harmonium]]; on ''[[Franks Wild Years]]'', [[glockenspiel]], [[Mellotron]], [[Farfisa]] and [[Optigan]]; on ''[[Bone Machine]]'' and ''[[Mule Variations]]'', the [[Chamberlin]]; on ''[[The Black Rider]]'', the [[musical saw|singing saw]]; on ''[[Alice (Tom Waits album)|Alice]]'', the [[Stroh violin]]; on [[Blood Money (Tom Waits album)|''Blood Money'']], a 57-whistle pneumatic [[calliope (music)|calliope]] and an [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] seedpod.<ref name=Instruments/>
Waits credits his wife with inspiration: "She's an opera buff and bug collector. And she's done a lot of things. And she has dreams like [[Hieronymus Bosch]]. She writes more from her dreams, I wrote more from the world, or from the newspaper{{nbsp}}... And somehow it all works together." He credits her with helping him unify his eclectic musical interests: "it's really my wife that started helping me see that you can find the place where [[Lead Belly]] and [[Schoenberg]] overlap."<ref name=Conversations>{{cite video| title=Mule Conversations| author=Jody Denberg| date=February 26, 1999|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIhkq1CewdE&t=2761s}}</ref>
==Personal life==
[[File:Tomwaits.jpg|thumb|right|Waits performing at [[Le Grand Rex]] in [[Paris]], July 2008]]
During the 1970s, Waits had a brief relationship with comedian [[Elayne Boosler]],{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=173}} an intermittent relationship with [[Bette Midler]],{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=159}} and a relationship with [[Rickie Lee Jones]].{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=69|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=192–197}}
In 1980, Waits married frequent collaborator [[Kathleen Brennan]]. They live in [[Sonoma County, California]],{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=134–135|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=255}} and have three children: Kellesimone Wylder Waits (born 1983),{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=150|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=297}} Casey Waits (born 1985),{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=154|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=318}} and Sullivan Blake Waits (born 1993).{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=154}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Hagan |first=Sean|title=Off beat. Interview by Sean O'Hagan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/oct/29/popandrock1|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref> After he married and had children, Waits became increasingly reclusive.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=xii}} Safeguarding the privacy of his family life became very important to him.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=453}}
During interviews, he has deflected questions about his personal life and refused to sanction any biography.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=xi, xiii}} When Barney Hoskyns was researching his unauthorized 2009 biography, ''Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits'', Waits and his wife asked people not to talk to him. Hoskyns believed that it was Brennan who was responsible for the "wall of inaccessibility" surrounding Waits.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=xvi, xxiii}} When asked about his religious beliefs, he said, "With the God stuff I don't know. I don't know what's out there any more than anyone else."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=465}}
===Stage persona===
Waits has been determined to keep a distance between his public persona and his personal life.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=296}} According to Hoskyns, Waits hides behind his persona, noting that "Tom Waits is as much of a character created for his fans as it is a real man."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=xvii}} In Hoskyns's view, Waits's self-image is in part "a self-protective device, a screen to deflect attention."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=176}} A few music journalists have gone so far as to suggest that Waits is a "poseur".{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=xii, 87|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=147}} Hoskyns regarded Waits's "persona of the skid-row boho/hobo, a young man out of time and place" as an "ongoing experiment in performance art."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=xx}} He goes on to say that Waits has adopted a "self-appointed role as the bard of the streets."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=156}} Mick Brown, a music journalist from ''Sounds'' who interviewed Waits in the mid-1970s, noted that "he had immersed himself in this character to the point where it ''wasn't'' an act and had become an identity."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=151}} Louie Lista, a friend of Waits' during the 1970s, said that the singer's general attitude was, "I'm an outsider, but I'll ''revel'' in being an outsider."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=127}} Like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Waits is known for cutting contact with figures he worked with in his past.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=451}}
{{Quote box
| quote = "There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk."<br/>"I don't have a drinking problem, 'cept when I can't get a drink."<br>"Everybody I like is either dead or not feeling very well."<br>"I'm so broke I can't even pay attention."<br>"You have to keep busy, after all, no dog ever pissed on a moving car."<br>"I don't care who I have to step on on my way down."
| source=— Waits quotations which Humphries called "Waitsisms"{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=217}}
| align = left
| width = 25em
}}
Another friend from that time, Troubadour-manager Robert Marchese, related that Waits cultivated "the whole mystique of this really funky dude and all that [[Charles Bukowski]] crap" to give "his impression of how funky poor folk really are," whereas in reality Waits was "basically a middle-class, San Diego mom-and-pop-schoolteacher kid."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=127}} Humphries thought that there was a "conservative element" to Waits's persona, stating that behind his public image, "Waits has always been more of a white-picket-fence kind of guy than you might imagine."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=134}}
Jarmusch described Waits as "a very contradictory character," stating that he is "potentially violent if he thinks someone is ''screwing'' with him, but he's gentle and kind too."{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=185|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=xxii}} [[Herbert Hardesty]], who worked with Waits on ''Blue Valentine'', called him "a very pleasant human being, a very nice person."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=207}} Humphries referred to him as "an essentially reticent man ... reflective and surprisingly shy."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=xiii}} He has a sense of humor and enjoys jokes.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=92}} Hoskyns said that Waits is "unequivocally—some would say almost gruffly—heterosexual."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=141}}
Hoskyns suggested that Waits has had an "on-off affair with alcohol, never quite able to shake it off."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=346–347}} During the 1970s, he was known as a heavy drinker and a smoker but avoided any drugs harder than cocaine.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=138}} He told one interviewer, "I discovered alcohol at an early age, and that guided me a lot."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=25}} Humphries suggested that Waits's use of alcohol as opposed to illicit drugs marked him out as being different from many of his contemporaries on the 1970s U.S. music scene.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=75–76}}
During interviews, Waits has avoided questions about his personal life, gone off on tangents, and thrown in trivia.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=295}} Humphries noted that Waits has often supplied interviewers with "droll one-liners", something he termed "Waitsisms", observing that the singer was "dripping with wit and vinegar."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=217}} Waits is known for getting irate with journalists.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=455}}
He dislikes touring{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=298|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=155}} but Hoskyns added that Waits has "a strong work ethic".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=160}}
In concert, Waits tended to wear all black. Humphries noted that "on stage, Waits is a consummate performer, a raconteur of the recherché, and a genuine wit."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|pp=60, 76}} Waits has stated that a performance should be "a spectacle and entertaining".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=103}} It was on his 1977 tour for ''Foreign Affairs'' that he started employing props as part of his routine;{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=198}} one recurring prop was a megaphone through which he would shout at the audience.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=299}}
===Collaborations===
Over the years, Waits has collaborated with various artists he admires. He toured with the saxophonist [[Teddy Edwards]] and played on his album ''[[Mississippi Lad]]'' (1991). [[Bruce Springsteen]] performed [[Jersey Girl (song)|"Jersey Girl"]] with Waits on August 24, 1981, and included it on his retrospective "[[Live/1975–85]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXX0Y81eDI|title=Tom and Bruce - Jersey Girl - Full Version - 1981|last=JensdePens|date=2011|website=YouTube|access-date=7 December 2019}}</ref> In 1987, he joined Springsteen, [[Elvis Costello]], [[K.d. lang]], and others in a tribute to [[Roy Orbison]] at Los Angeles's Ambassador Hotel, filmed as ''[[Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=180–181|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=350}} Waits and Brennan wrote "Strange Weather" for [[Marianne Faithfull]], which she sang on her album [[Strange Weather (Marianne Faithfull album)|''Strange Weather'']] in 1987.<ref>{{cite web| title=Strange Weather, by Marianne Faithfull| date=March 9, 2016| url=https://musicaficionado.blog/2016/03/09/strange-weather-by-marianne-faithfull/}}</ref> [[Keith Richards]] played on ''[[Rain Dogs]]'', ''[[Bone Machine]]'' and ''[[Bad as Me]]'', and Waits and Richards recorded [[Oh Shenandoah|"Shenandoah"]] for ''[[Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys]]'' (2013). Richards said of Waits: “Tom’s music is so American. Probably more folk-American than anything, but somehow modern. He’s a weird mixture of stuff; a great bunch of guys!"<ref>{{cite news| last=Bonner| first=Michael| title=Keith Richards on Tom Waits: "He's a great bunch of guys!"| date=August 11, 2023| work=Uncut| url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/keith-richards-on-tom-waits-hes-a-great-bunch-of-guys-143428/}}</ref> Waits wrote a poem, "Burnt Toast to Keith", for Richards's 80th birthday.<ref>{{cite news| last= Freidlander| first= Matt| title=Read Tom Waits' Poem in Honor of Keith Richards 80th Birthday: "Burnt Toast to Keith"| work= American Songwriter| url=https://americansongwriter.com/read-tom-waits-poem-in-honor-of-keith-richards-80th-birthday-burnt-toast-to-keith/}}</ref> Waits covered [[Kurt Weill]]’s "[[What Keeps Mankind Alive?]]" from ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'' for [[Hal Willner]]'s Weill tribute album [[Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill|''Lost in the Stars'']] (1985) and "[[Heigh Ho]]" for his [[Disney]]-themed [[Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films|''Stay Awake'']] (1988).{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=177–178|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=361}} In 1991, he lent his voice to "[[Tommy the Cat]]" by [[Primus (band)|Primus]], and they appeared on ''Bone Machine'' and ''[[Mule Variations]]''. Waits and Primus performed [[Jack Kerouac]]'s song "On the Road" on ''[[Jack Kerouac Reads On the Road]]'' (1999).<ref>{{cite news| last=Kaufman| first=Gil| title=Tom Waits & Primus Do Kerouac| date=April 15, 1997}}</ref> [[Gavin Bryars]], and English composer, visited Waits in 1993 and Watts added vocals to a re-release of Bryars' ''[[Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet]]'',{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=215–216|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=413}} which was nominated for the [[Mercury Music Award]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=216}} He sang with [[Ramblin' Jack Elliott]] on "Louise (Tell It To Me)" on his album [[Friends of Mine (Ramblin' Jack Elliott album)|''Friends of Mine'']] (1998). In 1998, Waits produced and funded [[Chuck E. Weiss]]'s album ''Extremely Cool'' as a favor to his old friend.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=416}} He produced [[John P. Hammond]]'s ''[[Wicked Grin]]'' (2001) which consisted largely of covers of Waits songs, some written for the project.{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1pp=269–271|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2pp=435–438}} He covered "Return of Jackie & Judy" for ''[[We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones]]'' (2003).{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=226}} He appeared on [[Los Lobos]]'s [[The Ride (Los Lobos album)|''The Ride'']] (2004), [[Eels (band)|Eels]]'s ''[[Blinking Lights and Other Revelations]]'' (2005)<ref>{{cite web| title=Blinking Lights and Other Revelations| url= https://eelstheband.com/eels_blinkinglights.php}}</ref> and [[Sparklehorse]]'s ''[[Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain]]'' (2006).{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|pp=480, 486}} [[Ken Nordine]], whose "word jazz" influenced Waits, performed "Circus" for a video with animation by [[Joe Coleman (painter)|Joe Coleman]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Watch Tom Waits' weird and wonderful animated story, Circus| last=Taylor| first=Tom| work= Far Out| url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/watch-tom-waits-animated-story-circus/|date=May 30, 2022}}</ref> Waits was one of many guests on [[Dan Hicks (singer)|Dan Hicks]]'s ''Beatin' the Heat'' (2000).<ref>{{cite news| last=Smyers| first=Darryl| date=June 17, 2014| title=Dan Hicks on His Band the Hot Licks and Playing with Tom Waits| work=Dallas Observer| url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dan-hicks-on-his-band-the-hot-licks-and-playing-with-tom-waits-7053046}}</ref>
==Reception and legacy==
Bowman writes that "At the dawn of the second decade of the 21st century, Waits’s influence can be seen in the work of many of the most forward-thinking contemporary artists, including [[Beck]], [[PJ Harvey]], and [[Radiohead]]’s [[Thom Yorke]].”{{Sfn|Bowman}} Other musicians who have expressed admiration for Waits's work include [[Elvis Costello]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=178}} [[Bruce Springsteen]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=178}} [[Nanci Griffith]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=178}} [[Joe Strummer]] of [[the Clash]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=88}} [[Michael Stipe]] of [[R.E.M.]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=178}} [[Frank Black]] of [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]],{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=224}} and [[James Hetfield]] of [[Metallica]].{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=88}} [[Bob Dylan]], a major influence on the young Waits, called Waits one of his "secret heroes".{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=489}} Humphries said that he is "one of America's finest post-Dylan singer-songwriters" and, along with [[Edward Hopper]], "one of the two great depicters of American isolation."{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=142}} Hoskyns called him "as important an American artist as anyone the twentieth century has produced."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=xxv}}{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=4}} He notes that by the end of the twentieth century, "Waits was an iconic alternative figure, not just to the fans who'd grown up with him but to subsequent generations of music geeks",{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=434}} coming to be "universally acknowledged as an elder statesman of 'alternative' rock.'"{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=470}} Karen Schoemer of ''[[Newsweek]]'' said that "to the postboomer generation, he's more Dylan than Dylan. [His] melting-pot approach to [[Americana (music)|Americana]], his brilliant narratives and his hardiness against commercial trends have made him the ultimate icon for the alternative-minded."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=434}} [[Steve Vai]] said: "Tom Waits is my favorite artist now. I completely resonate deeply with his music, his voice and his lyrics; I buy everything he ever does. He's one of those guys who are totally at one with the creative element with no excuses or concerns about what's going on around him–totally uncompromising."<ref>{{cite web | url= https://thequietus.com/articles/09530-steve-vai-favourite-albums?page=7 | title= A Baker's Dozen: Steve Vai's 13 Favourite Albums Revealed| work=The Quietus|first=Mark |last=Eglinton| date= July 31, 2012 | access-date= August 5, 2020}}</ref> When asked which song she wished she had written, [[Florence Welch]] of [[Florence and the Machine]] said: “‘Green Grass’ by Tom Waits... Really, anything by Tom Waits. I wish I was Tom Waits. His songs are so visceral and bloody. I just love his use of imagery."<ref>{{cite news| last=Taysom| first=Joe| title=The one song Florence Welch wishes she wrote| date=August 28, 2021| work=Far Out| url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/song-florence-welch-wishes-she-wrote/}}</ref> [[Bones Howe]] says: "I do a lot of seminars. Occasionally I'll do something for songwriters. They all say the same thing to me. 'All the great lyrics are done.' And I say, 'I'm going to give you a lyric that you never heard before'", the following from "[[Tom Traubert's Blues]]": "A battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace / And a wound that will never heal." Howe calls this "the work of an extremely talented lyricist, poet, whatever you want to say. That is brilliant, brilliant work. And he never mentions the person, but you see the person."<ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobs|first=Jay S.|title=Wild Years: The Music and Myth of Tom Waits|year=2006|publisher=[[ECW Press]]|isbn=9781550227161|pages=73–74}}</ref>
{{Quote box
| quote = I've seen him standing in a bunch of dust, and I thought I saw sparkly things coming off of him. I looked at him when he was singing and I said, "Is my vision going? I'm seeing three, maybe four people up there?" And they all seem to be waiting for the other one to finish so that they come in. And then this other one would just ''whistle'' at me. And then one would speak in a kind of speaking-in-tongues kind of voice. And then The Eagles covered it.
| source = —Neil Young, inducting Waits into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], 2011<ref name="Induction"/>
| align = right
| width = 25em
}}
Various artists have covered his songs. In 1973, [[Tim Buckley]] covered "Martha", just like [[Meat Loaf]] did in 1995. [[The Eagles]] covered "[[Ol' 55]]" and [[Dion DiMucci|Dion]] covered "Heart of Saturday Night" and "San Diego Serenade".<ref>{{cite book| title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll| year=2001| page=1041}}</ref> [[Rod Stewart]] had success with covers of "[[Downtown Train]]" and "Tom Traubert's Blues";{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=221}} [[Bob Seger]] covered "Blind Love", "New Coat of Paint", and "Downtown Train".{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=221|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=470}}{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=223}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graff |first1=Gary |title=Bob Seger to Debut 'Downtown Train' Single Monday |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/472855/bob-seger-to-debut-downtown-train-single-monday |website=Billboard.com |date=February 27, 2011 |access-date=January 1, 2020}}</ref> [[Paul Young]] covered "Soldier's Things" on ''[[The Secret of Association]]'' (1985) and the [[Ramones]] covered "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" on their final album, ''[[¡Adios Amigos!]]'' (1995).{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=226}} [[Johnny Cash]] sang "Down There by the Train", which Waits wrote for him, on [[American Recordings (album)|''American Recordings'']] (1994), calling Waits "a very special writer, my kind of writer."{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=227|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=411}} [[Tori Amos]] covered [[Time (Tom Waits song)|"Time"]] on ''[[Strange Little Girls]]'' (2001); she performed it on the ''[[Late Show With David Letterman]]'', the first musical performance on the show after [[9/11]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://thedent.com/letterman0901.html| title=The Late Show with David Letterman - Sept 18, 2001}}</ref> [[Willie Nelson]] covered "Picture in a Frame" on ''[[It Always Will Be]]'' (2004). [[Holly Cole]] released an album of Waits covers, [[Temptation (Holly Cole album)|''Temptation'']] (1995),{{sfnm|1a1=Humphries|1y=2007|1p=225|2a1=Hoskyns|2y=2009|2p=411}} as did [[Scarlett Johansson]] with ''[[Anywhere I Lay My Head]]'' (2008).{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=490}} [[Neko Case]] performed "[[Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis]]" on the tribute album ''[[New Coat of Paint]]'' (2000).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Denise|title=Tom Waits: Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/christmas-card-from-a-hooker-in-minneapolis-mt0029143376|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026092816/https://www.allmusic.com/song/christmas-card-from-a-hooker-in-minneapolis-mt0029143376|archive-date=2021-10-26|access-date=2021-12-10|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> [[Norah Jones]] included a song Waits wrote for her, "Long Way Home", on her album [[Feels Like Home (Norah Jones album)|''Feels Like Home'']] (2004).{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=223}}{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=306}} [[Joan Baez]] covered his songs on [[Day After Tomorrow (Joan Baez album)|''Day After Tomorrow'']] (2008) and [[Whistle Down the Wind (album)|''Whistle Down the Wind'']] (2018). [[Rosanne Cash]], [[Aimee Mann]], [[Phoebe Bridgers]] and others contributed to ''[[Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits]]'' (2019).<ref>{{cite news| title=Album Review: 'Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits| last=Parker| first=Chris| work=Variety| url=https://variety.com/2019/music/album-reviews/come-on-up-to-the-house-women-sing-tom-waits-tribute-album-review-1203413149/}}</ref>
He was included on [[Rolling Stone (magazine)|''Rolling Stone'']]'s lists of 100 Greatest Singers<ref>{{cite magazine|title=100 Greatest Singers of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=June 10, 2015|archive-date=April 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429022814/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time|100 Greatest Songwriters]]. In 2006, Waits and Brennan were ranked fourth on [[Paste (magazine)|''Paste'']]'s list of the hundred greatest living songwriters.<ref>{{cite news| title=Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters| work=Paste| date=January 8, 2006| url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/pastes-100-best-living-songwriters-the-list}}</ref> In 2016, Waits and Brennan, along with [[John Prine]], were honored with [[List of PEN literary awards#PEN New England (today PEN America Boston)|The Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award]] from [[List of PEN literary awards#PEN New England (today PEN America Boston)|PEN New England]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tom Waits, Wife Kathleen Brennan and John Prine to Be Honored With Songwriting Award |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/tom-waits-john-prine-song-lyrics-literary-excellence-awards-7511287/#! |access-date=4 December 2022 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=September 19, 2016}}</ref> [[Colum McCann]] presented the honor to Waits and Brennan, saying “They find out what others have not quite fathomed yet. They catch the ordinary so that it can be sung extraordinarily in the future.”<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marcelo |first1=Philip |title=Tom Waits, John Prine, Kathleen Brennan Receive Songwriting Awards |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/12095101/tom-waits-john-prine-kathleen-brennan-receive-songwriting-awards |access-date=4 December 2022 |work=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=September 20, 2016}}</ref>
Waits has influenced artists in other fields. [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] recalls how Waits influenced his novel ''[[The Remains of the Day]]'':<blockquote> I thought I’d finished ''Remains'', but then one evening heard Tom Waits singing his song "Ruby’s Arms". It’s a ballad about a soldier leaving his lover sleeping in the early hours to go away on a train. Nothing unusual in that. But the song is sung in the voice of a rough American hobo type utterly unaccustomed to wearing his emotions on his sleeve... there comes a moment, when the singer declares his heart is breaking, that’s almost unbearably moving because of the tension between the sentiment itself and the huge resistance that’s obviously been overcome to utter it. Waits sings the line with cathartic magnificence, and you feel a lifetime of tough-guy stoicism crumbling in the face of overwhelming sadness. I heard this and reversed a decision I’d made, that Stevens would remain emotionally buttoned up right to the bitter end. I decided that at just one point–which I’d have to choose very carefully–his rigid defence would crack, and a hitherto concealed tragic romanticism would be glimpsed.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ishiguro| first=Kazuo| author-link=Kazuo Ishiguro| date=December 6, 2014| title=Kazuo Ishiguro: how I wrote The Remains of the Day in four weeks| work=[[The Guardian]]| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/06/kazuo-ishiguro-the-remains-of-the-day-guardian-book-club}}</ref></blockquote>
Another author who notes Waits's influence is [[Ian Rankin]]:<blockquote>I already knew Tom Waits’s music, those soulful communications from the louche underbelly of the American dream, but nothing had prepared me for ''[[Swordfishtrombones]].'' I first heard it on a friend’s stereo system, the pair of us transfixed by what was happening in front of our ears. It felt to me as if a vaudeville show was taking place in a scrapyard, the music whirling and clanging, Waits presiding over it all like a bruised but keen-eyed master of ceremonies. ''[[Rain Dogs]]'' added extra textures and refinements, laying its (marked) cards on the table with its opening track, "Singapore", a novel contained within two and a half minutes of controlled musical mayhem. By the time of its release I had left university and was trying to shape myself into a writer. I admired Waits’s lyrical vision and concision–the man was a born storyteller, stopping travellers who had wandered into the wrong part of town and compelling them with his words.<ref>{{cite news| last=Adams| first=Tim| title='All these bulletproof songs, one after another': remembering Tom Waits' extraordinary mid-career trilogy| work=[[The Guardian]]| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/20/tom-waits-frank-trilogy-reissues-swordfishtrombones-rain-dogs-franks-wild-years}}</ref></blockquote>
His songs have been used in film, television and theater. When the actor [[Robert Carlyle]] formed a theatre, he named it the Rain Dog Theatre after Waits's album.{{sfn|Humphries|2007|p=224}} [[Cabaret]] shows have been set to his songs, among them Robert Berdahl's ''Warm Beer, Cold Women'' and Stewart D'Arrietta's ''Belly of a Drunken Piano''.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=470}} In addition to scoring films for Bell, Coppola, and Jarmusch, Waits has written songs for soundtracks: "Never Let Go" for [[American Heart (film)|''American Heart'']]; "Walk Away" and "The Fall of Troy" for [[Dead Man Walking (film)|''Dead Man Walking'']] and "Little Drop of Poison" for ''[[The End of Violence]]'', which later appeared in ''[[Shrek 2]]''. "Temptation" and "Cold Cold Ground" appear in ''[[Léolo]]''; [[Innocent When You Dream (song)|"Innocent When You Dream"]] in [[Smoke (film)|''Smoke'']]; "Goin' Out West" in ''[[Fight Club]]'';<ref>{{cite web|title=Fight Club Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play| website=[[Screen Rant]]| date=March 14, 2023| url=https://screenrant.com/every-song-in-fight-club-movie/}}</ref> "All The World is Green" and "Green Grass" in [[The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)|''The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'']].{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=448}} ''[[Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room]]'' features "What's He Building?", "Straight to the Top (Vegas)", "Temptation" and "God's Away on Business".<ref>{{cite web| title=Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - Soundtracks - IMDb| website=[[IMDb]]| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016268/soundtrack/}}</ref> The titles of the films ''[[Romeo Is Bleeding]]'' and ''[[Blue Valentine (film)|Blue Valentine]]'' are derived from Waits songs. "Hold On" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" were sung by [[Beth Greene]] ([[Emily Kinney]]) in ''[[The Walking Dead (TV series)|The Walking Dead]]'' episodes "[[I Ain't a Judas]]" and "[[Infected (The Walking Dead)|Infected]]", respectively.<ref>{{cite web | first=Evan|last=Schlansky | title=Walking Dead Producer Loves Bob Dylan, Tom Waits | url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/02/walking-dead-producer-loves-bob-dylan-tom-waits/ | work=[[American Songwriter]] | date=February 25, 2013 | access-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Scott|last=Johnson | title=The Walking Dead: What Song Does Beth Sing To Baby Judith? | url=https://comicbook.com/blog/2013/10/20/the-walking-dead-what-song-does-beth-sing-to-baby-judith/ | work=Comicbook.com | date=October 20, 2013 | access-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref> ''[[The Wire]]'' used "[[Way Down in the Hole]]" as its opening theme; each season featured a different rendition, including [[the Blind Boys of Alabama]], Waits, [[the Neville Brothers]], DoMaJe, and [[Steve Earle]]. The season four rendition was arranged and recorded for the show and is performed by five [[Baltimore]] teenagers: Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse.<ref>{{cite web |year=2006 |title=''The Wire'' on HBO: Play Or Get Played, Exclusive Q&A With David Simon (page 16) |access-date=October 17, 2007 |url=http://www.borderline-productions.com/TheWireHBO/exclusive-16.html}}</ref> In 2014, [[Aaron Posner]] and the magician [[Teller (magician)|Teller]] directed a production of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest]]'' featuring songs by Waits and Brennan.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/tempest/Tom_Waits| title=Tom Waits: Chicago Shakespeare Theater| date=November 8, 2015| access-date=January 4, 2017| first=Tim| last=Scherman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Hotchman| first=David| title=Teller and Tom Waits Conjure a Must-See 'Tempest| date=September 13, 2014| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhochman/2014/09/13/teller-and-tom-waits-conjure-a-must-see-tempest/?sh=2116f3b86113| work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Wren| first=Celia| title=At Round House Theatre, a magical 'Tempest'| date=November 29, 2022| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/11/29/round-house-the-tempest/}}</ref>
==Discography==
{{main|Tom Waits discography}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''[[Closing Time (album)|Closing Time]]'' (1973)
* ''[[The Heart of Saturday Night]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Nighthawks at the Diner]]'' (1975)
* [[Small Change (Tom Waits album)|''Small Change'']] (1976)
* ''[[Blue Valentine (album)|Blue Valentine]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Heartattack and Vine]]'' (1980)
* ''[[Swordfishtrombones]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Rain Dogs]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Franks Wild Years]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Bone Machine]]'' (1992)
* [[The Black Rider (album)|''The Black Rider'']] (1993)
* ''[[Mule Variations]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Alice (Tom Waits album)|Alice]]'' (2002)
* [[Blood Money (Tom Waits album)|''Blood Money'']] (2002)
* [[Real Gone (album)|''Real Gone'']] (2004)
* ''[[Bad as Me]]'' (2011)
{{div col end}}
==Tours==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Closing Time Tour (1973)
* The Heart of Saturday Night Tour (1974–1975)
* Small Change Tour (1975–1976)
* Foreign Affairs Tour (1977)
* Blue Valentine Tour (1978–1979)
* Heartattack and Vine Tour (1980–1982)
* Rain Dogs Tour (1985)
* Big Time Tour (1987)
* Get Behind the Mule Tour (1999)
* Real Gone Tour (2004)
* The Orphans Tour (2006)
* [[Glitter and Doom Tour]] (2008)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.anti.com/news/index/489/Tom_Waits_Press_Conference_announcement | title = Tom Waits Press Conference announcement | date = May 2, 2008 | access-date = May 5, 2008 | publisher = ANTI.com | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080512153907/http://www.anti.com/news/index/489/Tom_Waits_Press_Conference_announcement | archive-date = May 12, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>
{{div col end}}
==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable"
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}}
|Denotes films that have not yet been released
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1978
| ''[[Paradise Alley]]''
| Mumbles
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Wolfen (film)|Wolfen]]''
| Drunken Bar Owner
| Uncredited
|-
| 1982
| ''[[One from the Heart]]''
| Trumpet player
| Also composer (uncredited as actor)
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1983
| ''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]''
| Buck Merrill
|
|-
| ''[[Rumble Fish]]''
| Benny
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1984
| ''[[The Stone Boy (film)|The Stone Boy]]''
| Petrified man at carnival
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[The Cotton Club (film)|The Cotton Club]]''
| Irving Stark
|
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Down by Law (film)|Down by Law]]''
| Zach
|
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Ironweed (film)|Ironweed]]''
| Rudy
|
|-
|
| ''[[
| Narrator
| Video
|-
| ''[[Candy Mountain]]''
| Al Silk
|
|-
| ''[[Big Time (1988 film)|Big Time]]''
| Himself
| Documentary, also co-writer
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1989
| ''Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale''
| Silva
|
|-
| ''[[Cold Feet (1989 film)|Cold Feet]]''
| Kenny
|
|-
| ''[[Mystery Train (film)|Mystery Train]]''
| Radio D.J. (voice)
|
|-
| 1990
| ''[[
| Plainclothes Policeman
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1991
| ''[[At Play in the Fields of the Lord]]''
| Wolf
|
|-
| ''[[
| Disabled Veteran
| Uncredited
|-
| ''[[Queens Logic]]''
| Monte
|
|-
| ''[[Night on Earth]]''
| {{N/A}}
| Composer
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film)|Bram Stoker's Dracula]]''
| [[R. M. Renfield]]
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Short Cuts]]''
| Earl Piggot
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[
| Doc Heller
|
|-
| 2001
| ''[[The Last Castle]]''
| {{N/A}}
| Composer with [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
| ''[[Coffee and Cigarettes]]''
| rowspan="2" | Himself
| Segment: "[[Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California|Somewhere in California]]"
|-
| ''[[Bukowski: Born Into This]]''
| Documentary about [[Charles Bukowski]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| ''[[Domino (2005 film)|Domino]]''
| Wanderer
|
|-
| ''[[The Tiger and the Snow]]''
| Himself
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| ''[[Wristcutters: A Love Story]]''
| Kneller
|
|-
| ''Absolute Wilson''
| Himself
| Documentary about [[Robert Wilson (director)|Robert Wilson]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''
| Mr. Nick
|
|-
| ''One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur''
| Himself
| Documentary about [[Jack Kerouac]]
|-
| 2010
| ''[[The Book of Eli]]''
| Engineer
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2011
| ''The Monster of Nix''
| Virgil
| Short film
|-
| ''[[Twixt (film)|Twixt]]''
| Narrator
|
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Seven Psychopaths]]''
| Zachariah
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2018
| ''[[The Ballad of Buster Scruggs]]''
| Prospector
| Segment: "All Gold Canyon"
|-
| ''[[The Old Man & the Gun]]''
| Waller
|
|-
| 2019
| ''[[The Dead Don't Die (2019 film)|The Dead Don't Die]]''
| Hermit Bob
|
|-
| 2021
| ''
| Rex Blau
|
|-
| 2025
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| ''[[Father Mother Sister Brother]]'' {{dagger}}
|
| Post-production
|-
| 2026
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| ''[[Wildwood (film)|Wildwood]]'' {{dagger}}
| Sterling Fox (voice)
| In production
|-
| rowspan=2 |TBA
| style="background:#FFFFCC;" | ''[[Wild Horse Nine]]'' {{dagger}}
|
| Post-production
|-
| style="background:#FFFFCC;" | ''Los Lobos Native Sons'' {{dagger}}
| Himself
| Post-production
|-
|}
===
{| class="wikitable"
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}}
|Denotes films that have not yet been released
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Fishing with John]]''
| rowspan="5"| Himself
| Episode: "Tom Waits"
|-
| 1992
| ''Egos & Icons''
| Episode: Skid Romeo
|-
| 1999
| ''[[VH1 Storytellers]]''
| Season 4, Episode 3
|-
| 2000
| ''Tom Waits In Warsaw''
| [[Television in Poland|Polish]] network, [[TV4 (Polish TV channel)|TV4]] special
|-
| 2001
| ''Freedom Highway: Songs That Shaped a Century''
| [[Television in the Republic of Ireland|Irish]] TV documentary
|-
| 2013
| ''[[The Simpsons]]''
| Lloyd (voice)
| Episode: "[[Homer Goes to Prep School]]"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| ''[[Ultra City Smiths]]''
| The Narrator (voice)
| 6 episodes
|-
| ''Robert Wilson - The Beauty of the Mysterious''
| rowspan="2"| Himself
| [[Television in Germany|German]] network, [[Arte]] documentary about Robert Wilson
|-
| 2025
| ''[[:it:Il_fattore_umano_(programma_televisivo)|The Human Factor]]''
| Final episode: "The Last Ride" Rai-TV
|}
==
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Hoskyns |first=Barney |year=2009 |title=Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits |___location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=978-0571235537 }}
* {{cite book |last=Humphries |first=Patrick |year=2007 |title=The Many Lives of Tom Waits |___location=London |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1-84449-585-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Smay |first=David |year=2008 |title=Swordfishtrombones |___location=New York and London |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-2782-3 }}
{{refend}}
==
* {{Cite book|last= Jacobs |first= Jay S.| title= Wild Years The Music and Myth of Tom Waits |url= https://archive.org/details/wildyearsmusicmy0000jaco |url-access= registration |year= 2006 |publisher= ECW Press |isbn= 1-55022-716-5}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last= Montandon |editor-first= Mac | title= Innocent When You Dream: Tom Waits – The Collected Interviews |year= 2006 |publisher= Orion |isbn= 0-7528-7394-6 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Maher |first1=Paul |title=Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters |date=1 August 2011 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1-56976-927-0 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mahurin |first1=Matt |author1-link=Matt Mahurin |title=Tom Waits |date=29 October 2019 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-1-68335-658-5 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=Alex |title=Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles |date=8 August 2022 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78914-664-6 |language=en}}
==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q184805|species=no|mw=no|m=no|v=no|n=no|wikt=no|voy=no|s=no|b=no}}
* {{official website}}
* {{discogs artist}}
* {{IMDb name|0001823}}
* {{Rockhall}}
* [http://tomwaitslibrary.info Tom Waits Library]
{{Tom Waits|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Tom Waits
|list =
{{Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album}}
{{2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waits, Tom}}
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