Since the 70s, Waits has gone from playing in diving bars to opera houses and prestigious concert halls around the world. He is on the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of 2010, as well as the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015. Waits was nominated for an Academy Award for his score and soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's From the Heart.
Childhood and youth
Thomas Alan Waits was born on December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California, the son of two teachers. His parents divorced when he was 10 years old. His passion for music began as a child when he played music on his neighbor's piano. He was a big fan of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Lord Buckley, Jack Kerouac, and Louis Armstrong. Although he greatly admired these musicians, he never tried to imitate any of them - he was more interested in developing his own style that would set him apart from other musicians. At the age of 16, Tom joined the R&B group and began writing songs. Tom Waits plays keyboards, guitar, accordion and many non-traditional instruments. A very characteristic feature of Waitsa's music is his deep voice. He sings his very personal, melancholic, bitter in pronunciation, cynical poems permeated with black humor.
Career
His musical career began when he worked as a doorman at the Heritage nightclub in San Diego. He got the chance to play his first gig there, for which he was paid $ 6. In 1971, manager Herb Cohen bumped into Waits at a bar called Troubadour and suggested that they work together. Later that year, Herb Cohen helped negotiate a contract with Bizarre / Straight records in 1971 where he began recording, and the following year Waits switched to Asylum Records. Throughout the 70s, he released six albums, toured and became very alcoholic. His 1976 album, 'Small Change' was his first major hit. The album went gold in both Australia and the UK.
A very important moment in Waits's life turned out to be a meeting in 1980 with Francis Ford Coppola, who proposed that he write the music for his film. He starred in more than 50 films, one of which was with Sylvester Stallone, and later wrote music for several films.
While working on the film One from the Heart, he met and, in August 1980, married screenwriter Kathleen Brennan. Love for Kathleen, was immortalized in the song Johnsburg, Illinois. In their marriage, three children were born: daughter Kelly and sons Xavier and Sullivan.
In 1990, he collaborated with theater director Robert Wilson and writer William Burroughs to create the avant-garde musical The Black Rider: The Casting Of The Magic Bullets.
In 1993, Tom Waits won a Grammy for Best Alternative Rock Album. This was followed by the Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2000.
The volume was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young on March 14, 2011.
Waits has released at least 28 albums and starred in at least 50 films.
He has never played in advertising, which he considers humiliating for an artist. He also did not agree to repeated attempts to use his music in any of them. Has won several lawsuits for illegal use of his music for commercial purposes, including with Frito Lay, Audi, Opel.
Waits is a member of the secret society known as the Sons of Lee Marvin.
