Thomas Alan Waits is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits “has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtrodden, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.”
Waits c. 1974–75
Waits as a high-school senior at Hilltop High School in 1967. He dropped out at the age of 18.
Waits in an early publicity photo for Asylum Records, 1973
The Troubadour in West Hollywood, where Waits's performances brought him to the attention of Herb Cohen and David Geffen
Closing Time is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released on March 6, 1973, on Asylum Records. Produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, Closing Time was the first of seven of Waits' major releases by Asylum.
Closing Time (album)
The Troubadour was the site of many early Waits performances
Tim Buckley covered "Martha" the same year it was released
