Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) 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 worked primarily in jazz during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected greater influence from blues, rock, vaudeville, and experimental genres.Waits was born and raised in a middle-class family in Whittier, California. Inspired by the work of Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, he began singing on the San Diego folk music circuit as a young boy. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1972, where he worked as a songwriter before signing a recording contract with Asylum Records. His first albums were the jazz-oriented Closing Time (1973) and The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), which reflected his lyrical interest in nightlife, poverty, and criminality. He repeatedly toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, and attracted greater critical recognition and commercial success with Small Change (1976), Blue Valentine (1978), and Heartattack and Vine (1980). He produced the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppolas film One from the Heart (1981), and subsequently made cameo appearances in several Coppola films.In 1980, Waits married Kathleen Brennan, split from his manager and record label, and moved to New York City. With Brennans encouragement and frequent collaboration, he pursued a more experimental and eclectic musical aesthetic influenced by the work of Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart. This was reflected in a series of albums released by Island Records, including Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), and Franks Wild Years (1987). He continued appearing in films, notably starring in Jim Jarmuschs Down by Law (1986), and also made theatrical appearances. With theatre director Robert Wilson, he produced the musicals The Black Rider (1990) and Alice (1992), first performed in Hamburg. Having returned to California in the 1990s, his albums Bone Machine (1992), The Black Rider (1993), and Mule Variations (1999) earned him increasing critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Awards. In the late 1990s, he switched to the record label ANTI-, which released Blood Money (2002), Alice (2002), Real Gone (2004), and Bad as Me (2011).Despite a lack of mainstream commercial success, Waits has influenced many musicians and gained an international cult following, and several biographies have been written about him. In 2015, he was ranked at No. 55 on Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.Description above from the Wikipedia article Tom Waits, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")
Film 2004
Zack
Film 1986
Self / Sè stesso
Film 2005
Self
Film 2017
Self
Film 1988
Self
Film 1980
Self - Organ/Guitar
Film 1988
Narrator (voice)
Film 2011
Kenny
Film 1989
Narrator
Film 2012
Self
Film 1999
Self
Film 2009
Self
Film 2006
Self
Film
Self
Film 2008
Self
Film 2006
Self
Film 2008
Self
Film 1978
(voice)
Film
Zack (Archive footage)
Film 1990
The Caller
Film
Silva
Film 1989
Narrator
Film 2013
Self
Film 2024
Self
Film 2022
Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
Film 1990
Self
Film 2015
Disabled Vet (uncredited)
Film 1991
Film
Self
Film 1999
Self
Film 2016
Trumpet player (uncredited)
Film 1982
Radio DJ (voice)
Film 1989
Self
Film 1979
Tom
Film 1997
Self
Film 2017
Self
Film 2003
Petrified man at carnival (uncredited)
Film 1984
Self
Film 1982
Self
Film 1993
Hermit Bob
Film 2019
Captain Millipede (voice)
Film 2018
Self
Film 1990
Self
Film 1977
Drunken Bar Owner (uncredited)
Film 1981
News Stand Owner (uncredited)
Film 2019
Self
Film 1982
Virgil (Voice)
Film 2011
Narrator (voice)
Film 1997
Self
Tv 1996
Self - Musical Guest
Tv 1993
Self
Tv 1975
Self - Musical Guest
Tv 1975
Self
Tv 1961
Self
Tv 1991