Post by sacrilegend on May 17, 2007 13:14:41 GMT -5
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by one critic as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock styles such as blues, jazz, and Vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona.
Lyrically, Waits' songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of bizarre, seedy characters and places, although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional and touching ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists—for example "Jersey Girl" performed by Bruce Springsteen, "Downtown Train" performed by Rod Stewart and "Ol' 55" performed by the Eagles. Although Waits's albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards, and has won Grammy Awards for two albums.
Waits has also worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including The Fisher King and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He has been nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work.
Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has joked about other artists who do. ("If Michael Jackson wants to work for Pepsi, why doesn't he just get himself a suit and an office in their headquarters and be done with it.") He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission. He has been quoted, "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car," he said in a statement, referring to Mercury-Lincoln's "Cougar" automobile. "I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."
Discography
Major releases
1973 Closing Time
1974 Heart of Saturday Night
1975 Nighthawks at the Diner
1976 Small Change
1977 Foreign Affairs
1978 Blue Valentine
1980 Heartattack and Vine
1982 One from the Heart
1983 Swordfishtrombones
1985 Rain Dogs
1987 Franks Wild Years
1988 Big Time
1992 Night on Earth
1992 Bone Machine
1993 The Black Rider Collaboration
1999 Mule Variations
2002 Blood Money
2002 Alice
2004 Real Gone
2006 Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Collections
1981 Bounced Checks (Asylum)
1983 Anthology of Tom Waits (Elektra)
1984 The Asylum Years
1991 The Early Years, Volume One
1993 The Early Years, Volume Two
1998 Beautiful Maladies: The Island Years
2001 Used Songs, 1973-1980
Contributions
1975 Homeplate. by Bonnie Raitt: Waits plays piano and sings backing vocals on "Your Sweet and Shiney Eyes".
1985 Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill: Waits performs "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" (from The Threepenny Opera).
1988 Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films: Waits performs "Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song)".
1990 Red, Hot and Blue: Waits performs Cole Porter's "It's All Right With Me". Music video directed by Jim Jarmusch.
1991 Sailing the Seas of Cheese, by Primus: Waits does character vocals on "Tommy the Cat".
1991 Devout Catalyst, by Ken Nordine: Waits appears on "Thousand Bing Bangs" and "The Movie".
1992 Beautiful Mess, by Thelonious Monster: Waits appears as a guest singer on "Adios Lounge".
1993 Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet, by Gavin Bryars: Waits appears as guest singer.
1993 Born to Choose, a compilation to benefit women's reproductive health groups, features "Filipino Box Spring Hog"
1995 Little Criminals features Waits' song, "Clap Hands".
1996 Dead Man Walking: Waits performs original compositions "Fall of Troy" and "Walk Away" for the film's soundtrack.
1997 All for Nothing/Nothing for All, by The Replacements: Waits appears as guest singer on "Date to Church".
1999 Antipop, by Primus: Waits produces, provides vocals, and plays the mellotron on the song "Coattails of a Deadman".
1999 More Oar: A Tribute to Skip Spence by various artists: Waits covers Spence's "Books of Moses".
1999 Extremely Cool by Chuck E. Weiss: Waits appears as a guest vocalist and guitarist. Waits also co-produced the album and executive produced the album with Kathleen Brennan.
2000 Helium, by Tin Hat Trio: Waits appears as guest singer on "Helium Reprise".
2000 Free the West Memphis 3 by various artists: Waits performs the Chuck E. Weiss song "Rains on Me".
2000 Beatin' the Heat, by Dan Hicks features Waits' original song, "The Piano Has Been Drinkin'". Waits also performs with Hicks on song "I'll Tell Why That is".
2000 Your Favorite Band Live by The Red Elvises features Waits song "Telephone Call From Istanbul"
2001 It's a Wonderful Life, by Sparklehorse: Waits does vocals on "Dog Door".
2001 Witness by trumpeter Dave Douglas: Waits is featured in the 25-minute track "Mahfouz" (named for Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz), reading an excerpt from Mahfouz's work.
2002 Hullabaloo Soundtrack, by Muse: the recording of Waits reading of his poem; "What's He Building in There" hidden in the disc's pregap.
2002 For the Kids by various artists: Waits performs the lullaby "Bend Down the Branches".
2002 Don't Give Up On Me, by Solomon Burke features Waits' original song, "Diamond in Your Mind".
2003 We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones by various artists: Waits covers "Return of Jackie and Judy".
2004 The Ride by Los Lobos: Waits does vocals on the track "Kitate".
2004 The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered by various artists: Waits covers Johnston's "King Kong".
2005 Blinking Lights and other Revelations by Eels: Waits screams on the track "Going Fetal".
2006 Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain by Sparklehorse: Waits plays piano on the track "Morning Hollow".
Tribute albums
1989 Fjorton sånger - Tom Waits på svenska , Bad Liver och hans brustna hjärtan
1990 The piano has been drinking, Gerd Köster, in German - Cologne dialect, refer to German Wikipedia-website for details (in German)
1995 Temptation, Holly Cole
1995 Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits, various artists
1996 Rød pust: Sven Henriksen synger Tom Waits, Sven Henriksen
1998 Povabilo Na Bluz (Invitation to the Blues) Jani Kovacic (Slovenian)
2000 Nach mir die Sintflut – Ambros singt Waits, Wolfgang Ambros
2000 New Coat of Paint, various artists
2001 Wicked Grin, John Hammond (produced by Tom Waits, who appears on several tracks)
2001 Saving All My Love – A Tribute to Tom Waits, Claudia Bettinaglio
2002 Way Down in the Hole, Theme to HBO Series, The Wire. Waits' version of the song was used in the second season while other artists' versions have appeared in other seasons
2003 Greetings from HELL – The Tom Waits Songbook, Hell Blues Choir
2003 Piosenki Toma Waitsa (Tom Waits's Songs), Kazik Staszewski
2005 Being Tom Waits, Billy's Band
2005 The Silver Hearts Play Rain Dogs, The Silver Hearts
Filmography
1978 Movie debut as 'Mumbles' in Paradise Alley.
1980 Worked with Francis Ford Coppola on the soundtrack to One from the Heart.
1981 Cameo as a bar-owner seen singing "Jitterbug Boy" from his album Small Change in Wolfen
1982 Soundtrack of One from the Heart. Nominated for an Academy Award for best original score.
Played petrified man in carnival in The Stone Boy.
Appeared as himself in Poetry in Motion
1983 Played Buck Merrill in The Outsiders.
Played Bennie the pool hall owner in Rumble Fish.
1984 Played Irving Stark in The Cotton Club.
Soundtrack to Streetwise, a documentary about street kids on Pike St. in Seattle.
1986 Starred as Zack in Down by Law, which also features the songs "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" and "Tango Till They're Sore" from Rain Dogs .
1987 Played Rudy The Kraut in Ironweed.
Played Al Silk in Candy Mountain.
1989 Played the 'Punch & Judy Man' in Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale.
Starred as Kenny the Hitman in Cold Feet.
Voice of the radio DJ "Lee Baby Sims" in Mystery Train. Composer on Sea of Love
1990 Played a plainclothes police officer in The Two Jakes.
1991 Played Wolf in At Play in the Fields of the Lord.
Played a disabled Veteran beggar in The Fisher King.
Wrote the score of Night on Earth (With Kathleen Brennan).
Played Monte in Queens Logic.
1992 Composer (With Kathleen Brennan) on American Heart.
Played R.M. Renfield in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
1993 Played Earl Piggott in Short Cuts.
Appeared as himself in the IFC TV series Fishing with John.
1995 "Earth Died Screaming" appears in the movie Twelve Monkeys.
"Jockey Full of Bourbon" appears in the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.
"Innocent when you dream" and "Downtown Train" appears in the movie Smoke.
1996 Composer on soundtrack of Dead Man Walking.
Composer on soundtrack of The End of Violence.
"Cold Cold Ground" and "Temptation" appeared on the soundtrack to Léolo.
"Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)" appears in the biopic Basquiat
1999 Mystery Men – played an inventor who specialized in non-lethal weapons.
"Goin' Out West" is heard in the movie Fight Club.
2000 Contributed song "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" to the film Maelström.
Contributed song "The World Keeps Turning" to the film Pollock.
2001 Composer on soundtrack of Big Bad Love.
2002 Night at the Golden Eagle opens to the sound of "Swordfishtrombones".
2003 Appeared in conversation with Iggy Pop in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes on the "Somewhere In California" sequence (filmed in 1993).
2004 Composer (with Kathleen Brennan) on soundtrack of Shrek 2. Also appears, in a shared role with Nick Cave, as an animated piano-playing Captain Hook singing "A Little Drop Of Poison".
Contributed song "On the Nickel" to film Mon Ange
"Heartattack and Vine" appears in the film Hellboy
2005 Played the Wanderer in Domino
Contributed song "Soldier's Things" to soundtrack of film Jarhead.
Played himself in the 2005 Italian movie La Tigre e la Neve (English: The Tiger and the Snow) and contributed song "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" to the film's soundtrack.
Contributed song "Underground" to film Robots.
Contributed to soundtrack of the film The Secret Life of Words
Contributed songs to movie Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room:
"Temptation"
"What's He Building?"
"Straight To The Top (Vegas)"
"God’s Away On Business"
Contributed music including "Innocent When You Dream" to Jessica Yu's documentary Henry Darger: In The Realms of the Unreal.
2006 Played Raphael Kneller in Wristcutters: A Love Story
2007 Played Jacques in The Good Heart
2007 Will be appearing in Texas Lullaby
Tours
1973 Closing Time touring
1974–1975 The Heart Of Saturday Night touring
1975–1976 Small Change touring
1977 Foreign Affairs touring
1978–1979 Blue Valentine touring
1980–1982 Heartattack and Vine touring
1985 Rain Dogs touring
1987 Big Time touring
1999 Get Behind The Mule Tour
2004 Real Gone Tour
2006 The Orphans Tour
Lyrically, Waits' songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of bizarre, seedy characters and places, although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional and touching ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists—for example "Jersey Girl" performed by Bruce Springsteen, "Downtown Train" performed by Rod Stewart and "Ol' 55" performed by the Eagles. Although Waits's albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards, and has won Grammy Awards for two albums.
Waits has also worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including The Fisher King and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He has been nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work.
Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has joked about other artists who do. ("If Michael Jackson wants to work for Pepsi, why doesn't he just get himself a suit and an office in their headquarters and be done with it.") He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission. He has been quoted, "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car," he said in a statement, referring to Mercury-Lincoln's "Cougar" automobile. "I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."
Discography
Major releases
1973 Closing Time
1974 Heart of Saturday Night
1975 Nighthawks at the Diner
1976 Small Change
1977 Foreign Affairs
1978 Blue Valentine
1980 Heartattack and Vine
1982 One from the Heart
1983 Swordfishtrombones
1985 Rain Dogs
1987 Franks Wild Years
1988 Big Time
1992 Night on Earth
1992 Bone Machine
1993 The Black Rider Collaboration
1999 Mule Variations
2002 Blood Money
2002 Alice
2004 Real Gone
2006 Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Collections
1981 Bounced Checks (Asylum)
1983 Anthology of Tom Waits (Elektra)
1984 The Asylum Years
1991 The Early Years, Volume One
1993 The Early Years, Volume Two
1998 Beautiful Maladies: The Island Years
2001 Used Songs, 1973-1980
Contributions
1975 Homeplate. by Bonnie Raitt: Waits plays piano and sings backing vocals on "Your Sweet and Shiney Eyes".
1985 Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill: Waits performs "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" (from The Threepenny Opera).
1988 Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films: Waits performs "Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song)".
1990 Red, Hot and Blue: Waits performs Cole Porter's "It's All Right With Me". Music video directed by Jim Jarmusch.
1991 Sailing the Seas of Cheese, by Primus: Waits does character vocals on "Tommy the Cat".
1991 Devout Catalyst, by Ken Nordine: Waits appears on "Thousand Bing Bangs" and "The Movie".
1992 Beautiful Mess, by Thelonious Monster: Waits appears as a guest singer on "Adios Lounge".
1993 Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet, by Gavin Bryars: Waits appears as guest singer.
1993 Born to Choose, a compilation to benefit women's reproductive health groups, features "Filipino Box Spring Hog"
1995 Little Criminals features Waits' song, "Clap Hands".
1996 Dead Man Walking: Waits performs original compositions "Fall of Troy" and "Walk Away" for the film's soundtrack.
1997 All for Nothing/Nothing for All, by The Replacements: Waits appears as guest singer on "Date to Church".
1999 Antipop, by Primus: Waits produces, provides vocals, and plays the mellotron on the song "Coattails of a Deadman".
1999 More Oar: A Tribute to Skip Spence by various artists: Waits covers Spence's "Books of Moses".
1999 Extremely Cool by Chuck E. Weiss: Waits appears as a guest vocalist and guitarist. Waits also co-produced the album and executive produced the album with Kathleen Brennan.
2000 Helium, by Tin Hat Trio: Waits appears as guest singer on "Helium Reprise".
2000 Free the West Memphis 3 by various artists: Waits performs the Chuck E. Weiss song "Rains on Me".
2000 Beatin' the Heat, by Dan Hicks features Waits' original song, "The Piano Has Been Drinkin'". Waits also performs with Hicks on song "I'll Tell Why That is".
2000 Your Favorite Band Live by The Red Elvises features Waits song "Telephone Call From Istanbul"
2001 It's a Wonderful Life, by Sparklehorse: Waits does vocals on "Dog Door".
2001 Witness by trumpeter Dave Douglas: Waits is featured in the 25-minute track "Mahfouz" (named for Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz), reading an excerpt from Mahfouz's work.
2002 Hullabaloo Soundtrack, by Muse: the recording of Waits reading of his poem; "What's He Building in There" hidden in the disc's pregap.
2002 For the Kids by various artists: Waits performs the lullaby "Bend Down the Branches".
2002 Don't Give Up On Me, by Solomon Burke features Waits' original song, "Diamond in Your Mind".
2003 We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones by various artists: Waits covers "Return of Jackie and Judy".
2004 The Ride by Los Lobos: Waits does vocals on the track "Kitate".
2004 The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered by various artists: Waits covers Johnston's "King Kong".
2005 Blinking Lights and other Revelations by Eels: Waits screams on the track "Going Fetal".
2006 Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain by Sparklehorse: Waits plays piano on the track "Morning Hollow".
Tribute albums
1989 Fjorton sånger - Tom Waits på svenska , Bad Liver och hans brustna hjärtan
1990 The piano has been drinking, Gerd Köster, in German - Cologne dialect, refer to German Wikipedia-website for details (in German)
1995 Temptation, Holly Cole
1995 Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits, various artists
1996 Rød pust: Sven Henriksen synger Tom Waits, Sven Henriksen
1998 Povabilo Na Bluz (Invitation to the Blues) Jani Kovacic (Slovenian)
2000 Nach mir die Sintflut – Ambros singt Waits, Wolfgang Ambros
2000 New Coat of Paint, various artists
2001 Wicked Grin, John Hammond (produced by Tom Waits, who appears on several tracks)
2001 Saving All My Love – A Tribute to Tom Waits, Claudia Bettinaglio
2002 Way Down in the Hole, Theme to HBO Series, The Wire. Waits' version of the song was used in the second season while other artists' versions have appeared in other seasons
2003 Greetings from HELL – The Tom Waits Songbook, Hell Blues Choir
2003 Piosenki Toma Waitsa (Tom Waits's Songs), Kazik Staszewski
2005 Being Tom Waits, Billy's Band
2005 The Silver Hearts Play Rain Dogs, The Silver Hearts
Filmography
1978 Movie debut as 'Mumbles' in Paradise Alley.
1980 Worked with Francis Ford Coppola on the soundtrack to One from the Heart.
1981 Cameo as a bar-owner seen singing "Jitterbug Boy" from his album Small Change in Wolfen
1982 Soundtrack of One from the Heart. Nominated for an Academy Award for best original score.
Played petrified man in carnival in The Stone Boy.
Appeared as himself in Poetry in Motion
1983 Played Buck Merrill in The Outsiders.
Played Bennie the pool hall owner in Rumble Fish.
1984 Played Irving Stark in The Cotton Club.
Soundtrack to Streetwise, a documentary about street kids on Pike St. in Seattle.
1986 Starred as Zack in Down by Law, which also features the songs "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" and "Tango Till They're Sore" from Rain Dogs .
1987 Played Rudy The Kraut in Ironweed.
Played Al Silk in Candy Mountain.
1989 Played the 'Punch & Judy Man' in Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale.
Starred as Kenny the Hitman in Cold Feet.
Voice of the radio DJ "Lee Baby Sims" in Mystery Train. Composer on Sea of Love
1990 Played a plainclothes police officer in The Two Jakes.
1991 Played Wolf in At Play in the Fields of the Lord.
Played a disabled Veteran beggar in The Fisher King.
Wrote the score of Night on Earth (With Kathleen Brennan).
Played Monte in Queens Logic.
1992 Composer (With Kathleen Brennan) on American Heart.
Played R.M. Renfield in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
1993 Played Earl Piggott in Short Cuts.
Appeared as himself in the IFC TV series Fishing with John.
1995 "Earth Died Screaming" appears in the movie Twelve Monkeys.
"Jockey Full of Bourbon" appears in the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.
"Innocent when you dream" and "Downtown Train" appears in the movie Smoke.
1996 Composer on soundtrack of Dead Man Walking.
Composer on soundtrack of The End of Violence.
"Cold Cold Ground" and "Temptation" appeared on the soundtrack to Léolo.
"Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)" appears in the biopic Basquiat
1999 Mystery Men – played an inventor who specialized in non-lethal weapons.
"Goin' Out West" is heard in the movie Fight Club.
2000 Contributed song "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" to the film Maelström.
Contributed song "The World Keeps Turning" to the film Pollock.
2001 Composer on soundtrack of Big Bad Love.
2002 Night at the Golden Eagle opens to the sound of "Swordfishtrombones".
2003 Appeared in conversation with Iggy Pop in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes on the "Somewhere In California" sequence (filmed in 1993).
2004 Composer (with Kathleen Brennan) on soundtrack of Shrek 2. Also appears, in a shared role with Nick Cave, as an animated piano-playing Captain Hook singing "A Little Drop Of Poison".
Contributed song "On the Nickel" to film Mon Ange
"Heartattack and Vine" appears in the film Hellboy
2005 Played the Wanderer in Domino
Contributed song "Soldier's Things" to soundtrack of film Jarhead.
Played himself in the 2005 Italian movie La Tigre e la Neve (English: The Tiger and the Snow) and contributed song "You Can Never Hold Back Spring" to the film's soundtrack.
Contributed song "Underground" to film Robots.
Contributed to soundtrack of the film The Secret Life of Words
Contributed songs to movie Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room:
"Temptation"
"What's He Building?"
"Straight To The Top (Vegas)"
"God’s Away On Business"
Contributed music including "Innocent When You Dream" to Jessica Yu's documentary Henry Darger: In The Realms of the Unreal.
2006 Played Raphael Kneller in Wristcutters: A Love Story
2007 Played Jacques in The Good Heart
2007 Will be appearing in Texas Lullaby
Tours
1973 Closing Time touring
1974–1975 The Heart Of Saturday Night touring
1975–1976 Small Change touring
1977 Foreign Affairs touring
1978–1979 Blue Valentine touring
1980–1982 Heartattack and Vine touring
1985 Rain Dogs touring
1987 Big Time touring
1999 Get Behind The Mule Tour
2004 Real Gone Tour
2006 The Orphans Tour
Doesn't he like Scandinavia? 
