Tom Waits

Childhood: 1949–1971

Thomas Alan Waits was born on 7 December 1949 in Pomona, California.^[10] His father, Jesse Frank Waits, was a Texan of Scots-Irish ancestry, while his mother, Alma Waits, was raised in Oregon of Norwegian heritage.^[11] Alma was a conventional housewife and regular church-goer.^[12] Jesse taught Spanish at a local school and was an alcoholic; Waits later related that his father was "a tough one, always an outsider".^[13] The family lived at 318 North Pickering Avenue in Whittier, Los Angeles County.^[14] Waits was the second of three siblings, having both an older and younger sister.^[15] Waits described having a "very middle-class" upbringing and "a pretty normal childhood".^[16] He attended Jordan Elementary School, where he was bullied.^[17] There, he learned to play the bugle and guitar,^[18] while his father taught him to play the ukulele.^[19] During the summers, he visited maternal relatives in Gridley and Marysville.^[20] He later related that it was an uncle's raspy, gravelly voice that inspired the manner in which he later sang.^[21]

In 1959, Waits' parents separated and his father moved away from the family home; it was a traumatic experience for the ten year old boy.^[22] Alma took her children and relocated to Chula Vista, a middle-class suburb of San Diego.^[23] Jesse visited the family there, taking his offspring on trips to Tijuana in Mexico.^[24] In Chula Vista, Waits attended O'Farrell Junior High School, where he fronted a school band, the Systems,^[25] later describing the group as "white kids trying to get that Motown sound".^[26] He developed a love of rhythm and blues and soul singers like Ray Charles, James Brown, and Wilson Pickett,^[27] as well as country music and Roy Orbison.^[28] Later, Bob Dylan became a strong influence, with Waits placing transcriptions of Dylan's lyrics on his bedroom walls.^[29] He was an avid watcher of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Twilight Zone.^[30] By the time he was studying at Hilltop High School, he later related, he was "kind of an amateur juvenile delinquent", interested in "malicious mischief" and breaking the law.^[31] He later described himself as a "rebel against the rebels", for he eschewed the hippie subculture then growing in popularity and was instead inspired by the 1950s Beat generation,^[32] having a love of Beat writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs.^[33] In 1968, he dropped out of high school.^[34]

Waits worked at Napoleone's pizza restaurant in National City, and both here and at a local diner he developed an interest in the lives of the patrons, writing down phrases and snippets of dialogue which he overheard.^[35] He has also claimed that he worked in the forestry service as a fireman for three years.^[36] For a time he also served with the United States Coast Guard.^[37] He enrolled at Chula Vista's Southwestern Community College to study photography, for a time considering a career in the field.^[38] He continued pursuing his musical interests, taking piano lessons.^[39] He began frequenting folk music venues around San Diego, becoming drawn into the city's folk music scene.^[40] In 1969, he gained employment as an occasional doorman for the Heritage coffeehouse, which held regular performances from folk musicians.^[41][42] He also began to sing at the Heritage; his set initially consisted largely of covers of Dylan and Red Sovine's "Big Joe and Phantom 309".^[43] In time he performed his own material as well, often parodies of country songs or bittersweet ballads influenced by his relationships with girlfriends; these included early songs "Ol' 55" and "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You".^[44] As his reputation spread, he played at other San Diego venues, supporting acts like Tim Buckley, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and his friend Jack Tempchin.^[45] Aware that San Diego offered little opportunity for career progression, Waits began traveling into Los Angeles to play at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.^[46]

Early musical career: 1972–1976

It was at the Troubadour that Waits came to the attention of Herb Cohen, who signed him to a publishing contract; that Cohen did not give him a recording contract suggests that he was interested in Waits only as a songwriter rather than a performer.^[47] Quitting his job at Napoleone's to concentrate on his songwriting career,^[48] in early 1972 Waits moved to an apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, a poor neighbourhood known for its Hispanic and bohemian communities.^[49] He continued performing at the Troubadour and there met David Geffen, who gave Waits a recording contract with his Asylum Records.^[50] Jerry Yester was chosen to produce his first album, with the recording sessions taking place in Hollywood's Sunset Sound studios.^[51] The resulting album, Closing Time, was released in March 1973,^[52] although it did not sell well.^[53] Biographer Barney Hoskyns noted that Closing Time was "broadly in step with the singer-songwriter school of the early 1970s".^[54] An Eagles cover of its opening track, "Ol' 55", on their album On the Border, brought Waits further money and recognition, although he regarded their version as "a little antiseptic".^[55]

To promote his debut, Waits and a three-piece band embarked on a U.S. tour, largely on the East Coast, where he was the support act for more established artists.[52] As part of this, he supported Tom Rush at Washington D.C.'s The Cellar Door, Danny O'Keefe at 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.[56] Waits returned to Los Angeles in June, feeling demoralised about his career.[57] That month, he was the cover star of free music magazine, Music World.[58] He began composing songs for his second album, and attended the Venice Poetry Workshop to try out this new material in front of an audience.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61] Although he liked The Mothers of Invention's band members, he found Zappa himself intimidating.[62]

After recording The Heart of Saturday Night, Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility.[68] The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career.[69] In October 1974 he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast;[70] in New York City he met and befriended the singer Bette Midler.[71] Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a live album. To this end, he performed two live shows at the Record Pant Studio in front of an audience.[72] The recording was released as Nighthawks at the Diner in October 1975.[73] He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney in New York City,[74] and in December appeared on the PBS concert show Soundstage.[75] From March to May 1976 he toured the U.S.,[76] telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol.[77] In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen.[78] On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend Chuck E. Weiss by moving into the Tropicana motel in West Hollywood.[79]

1970s

Waits signed to Asylum Records in 1972^[80] and his first record was released in 1973, after numerous abortive recording sessions: the jazzy, folk-tinged Closing Time. The album was produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester. It received positive reviews, but Waits didn't gain widespread attention until more prominent artists covered a number of the album's tracks. Lee Hazlewood became one of the first major artists to cover a Tom Waits song, using the title variation "Those Were Days Of Roses (Martha)" on his album for Capitol "Poet, Fool, or Bum". Also in 1973, Tim Buckley released the album Sefronia, which contained another cover version of Waits' song "Martha" from Closing Time.^[81] This cover later appeared in the 1995 compilation Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits. The album's opening track "Ol' '55" was recorded by the Eagles in 1974 for their On the Border album.^[81]

He received increasing critical acclaim and gathered a loyal cult following with his subsequent albums. The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) featured the song "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" and revealed his roots as a nightclub performer, with half-spoken and half-crooned ballads often accompanied by a jazz backup band.^[82] Waits described the album as:

a comprehensive study of a number of aspects of this search for the center of Saturday night, which Jack Kerouac relentlessly chased from one end of this country to the other, and I've attempted to scoop up a few diamonds of this magic that I see.^[83]

In 1959, Waits' parents separated and his father moved away from the family home; it was a traumatic experience for the ten year old boy.[22] Alma took her children and relocated to Chula Vista, a middle-class suburb of San Diego.[23] Jesse visited the family there, taking his offspring on trips to Tijuana in Mexico.[24] In Chula Vista, Waits attended O'Farrell Junior High School, where he fronted a school band, the Systems,[25] later describing the group as "white kids trying to get that Motown sound".[26] He developed a love of rhythm and blues and soul singers like Ray Charles, James Brown, and Wilson Pickett,[27] as well as country music and Roy Orbison.[28] Later, Bob Dylan became a strong influence, with Waits placing transcriptions of Dylan's lyrics on his bedroom walls.[29] He was an avid watcher of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Twilight Zone.[30] By the time he was studying at Hilltop High School, he later related, he was "kind of an amateur juvenile delinquent", interested in "malicious mischief" and breaking the law.[31] He later described himself as a "rebel against the rebels", for he eschewed the hippie subculture then growing in popularity and was instead inspired by the 1950s Beat generation,[32] having a love of Beat writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs.[33] In 1968, he dropped out of high school.[34]

Waits worked at Napoleone's pizza restaurant in National City, and both here and at a local diner he developed an interest in the lives of the patrons, writing down phrases and snippets of dialogue which he overheard.[35] He has also claimed that he worked in the forestry service as a fireman for three years.[36] For a time he also served with the United States Coast Guard.[37] He enrolled at Chula Vista's Southwestern Community College to study photography, for a time considering a career in the field.[38] He continued pursuing his musical interests, taking piano lessons.[39] He began frequenting folk music venues around San Diego, becoming drawn into the city's folk music scene.[40] In 1969, he gained employment as an occasional doorman for the Heritage coffeehouse, which held regular performances from folk musicians.[41][42] He also began to sing at the Heritage; his set initially consisted largely of covers of Dylan and Red Sovine's "Big Joe and Phantom 309".[43] In time he performed his own material as well, often parodies of country songs or bittersweet ballads influenced by his relationships with girlfriends; these included early songs "Ol' 55" and "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You".[44] As his reputation spread, he played at other San Diego venues, supporting acts like Tim Buckley, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and his friend Jack Tempchin.[45] Aware that San Diego offered little opportunity for career progression, Waits began traveling into Los Angeles to play at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.[46

1980s

In August 1980, Waits married Kathleen Brennan, a screenwriter, whom he had met while working on the set of the Francis Ford Coppola movie One from the Heart. Brennan is regularly credited as co-author of many songs in his later albums, and Waits often cites her as a major influence on his work. She introduced him to the music of Captain Beefheart. Despite having shared a manager with Beefheart in the 1970s, Waits says, "I became more acquainted with him when I got married."^[92] Waits would later describe his relationship with Brennan as a paradigm shift in his musical development. After leaving Asylum, the label released the first Tom Waits "Best of" album in 1981, a collection called Bounced Checks, notable for including an alternate, stripped down version of "Jersey Girl" and the otherwise unreleased "Mr. Henry", as well as an alternate master of "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" and a live performance of "The Piano Has Been Drinking". During this period, Waits appeared in a series of minor movie roles, including a cameo role in Wolfen (1981) as an inebriated piano player, and his song "Jitterbug Boy" also appeared on the movie's soundtrack. One from the Heart received its official theatrical release in 1982, with Waits appearing in a cameo as a trumpet player as well as receiving an Oscar nomination for Original Song Score (eventually losing out to Victor Victoria, by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse). This marked the first in a series of collaborations between Waits and Coppola, with Waits appearing in cameos in Coppola's movies The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), and The Cotton Club (1984). Waits also contributed two songs to the documentary Streetwise (1984), "Rat's Theme" and "Take Care of All My Children".^{[citation needed]}

After leaving Asylum for Island Records, Waits released Swordfishtrombones in 1983, a record that marked a sharp turn in his musical direction. While Waits had before played either piano or guitar, he now gravitated towards less common instruments, saying, "Your hands are like dogs, going to the same places they've been. You have to be careful when playing is no longer in the mind but in the fingers, going to happy places. You have to break them of their habits or you don't explore; you only play what is confident and pleasing. I'm learning to break those habits by playing instruments I know absolutely nothing about, like a bassoon or a waterphone."^[93] Swordfishtrombones also introduced instruments such as bagpipes ("Town with No Cheer") and marimba ("Shore Leave") to Waits' repertoire, as well as pump organs, percussion (sometimes reminiscent of the music of Harry Partch), horn sections (often featuring Ralph Carney playing in the style of brass bands or soul music), experimental guitar, and obsolete instruments (many of Waits' albums have featured a damaged, unpredictable Chamberlin, and more recent albums have included the little-used Stroh violin).^{[citation needed]} The New Musical Express named Swordfishtrombones its album of the year.^[94]

After recording The Heart of Saturday Night, Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility.[68] The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career.[69] In October 1974 he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast;[70] in New York City he met and befriended the singer Bette Midler.[71] Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a live album. To this end, he performed two live shows at the Record Pant Studio in front of an audience.[72] The recording was released as Nighthawks at the Diner in October 1975.[73] He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney in New York City,[74] and in December appeared on the PBS concert show Soundstage.[75] From March to May 1976 he toured the U.S.,[76] telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol.[77] In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen.[78] On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend Chuck E. Weiss by moving into the Tropicana motel in West Hollywood.[79]

1990s

It was at the Troubadour that Waits came to the attention of Herb Cohen, who signed him to a publishing contract; that Cohen did not give him a recording contract suggests that he was interested in Waits only as a songwriter rather than a performer.[47] Quitting his job at Napoleone's to concentrate on his songwriting career,[48] in early 1972 Waits moved to an apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, a poor neighbourhood known for its Hispanic and bohemian communities.[49] He continued performing at the Troubadour and there met David Geffen, who gave Waits a recording contract with his Asylum Records.[50] Jerry Yester was chosen to produce his first album, with the recording sessions taking place in Hollywood's Sunset Sound studios.[51] The resulting album, Closing Time, was released in March 1973,[52] although it did not sell well.[53] Biographer Barney Hoskyns noted that Closing Time was "broadly in step with the singer-songwriter school of the early 1970s".[54] An Eagles cover of its opening track, "Ol' 55", on their album On the Border, brought Waits further money and recognition, although he regarded their version as "a little antiseptic".[55]

To promote his debut, Waits and a three-piece band embarked on a U.S. tour, largely on the East Coast, where he was the support act for more established artists.[52] As part of this, he supported Tom Rush at Washington D.C.'s The Cellar Door, Danny O'Keefe at 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.[56] Waits returned to Los Angeles in June, feeling demoralised about his career.[57] That month, he was the cover star of free music magazine, Music World.[58] He began composing songs for his second album, and attended the Venice Poetry Workshop to try out this new material in front of an audience.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61] Although he liked The Mothers of Invention's band members, he found Zappa himself intimidating.[62]

After recording The Heart of Saturday Night, Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility.[68] The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career.[69] In October 1974 he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast;[70] in New York City he met and befriended the singer Bette Midler.[71] Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a live album. To this end, he performed two live shows at the Record Pant Studio in front of an audience.[72] The recording was released as Nighthawks at the Diner in October 1975.[73] He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney in New York City,[74] and in December appeared on the PBS concert show Soundstage.[75] From March to May 1976 he toured the U.S.,[76] telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol.[77] In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen.[78] On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend Chuck E. Weiss by moving into the Tropicana motel in West Hollywood.[79]

2000s

It was at the Troubadour that Waits came to the attention of Herb Cohen, who signed him to a publishing contract; that Cohen did not give him a recording contract suggests that he was interested in Waits only as a songwriter rather than a performer.[47] Quitting his job at Napoleone's to concentrate on his songwriting career,[48] in early 1972 Waits moved to an apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, a poor neighbourhood known for its Hispanic and bohemian communities.[49] He continued performing at the Troubadour and there met David Geffen, who gave Waits a recording contract with his Asylum Records.[50] Jerry Yester was chosen to produce his first album, with the recording sessions taking place in Hollywood's Sunset Sound studios.[51] The resulting album, Closing Time, was released in March 1973,[52] although it did not sell well.[53] Biographer Barney Hoskyns noted that Closing Time was "broadly in step with the singer-songwriter school of the early 1970s".[54] An Eagles cover of its opening track, "Ol' 55", on their album On the Border, brought Waits further money and recognition, although he regarded their version as "a little antiseptic".[55]

To promote his debut, Waits and a three-piece band embarked on a U.S. tour, largely on the East Coast, where he was the support act for more established artists.[52] As part of this, he supported Tom Rush at Washington D.C.'s The Cellar Door, Danny O'Keefe at 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.[56] Waits returned to Los Angeles in June, feeling demoralised about his career.[57] That month, he was the cover star of free music magazine, Music World.[58] He began composing songs for his second album, and attended the Venice Poetry Workshop to try out this new material in front of an audience.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61] Although he liked The Mothers of Invention's band members, he found Zappa himself intimidating.[62]

After recording The Heart of Saturday Night, Waits reluctantly agreed to tour with Zappa again, but once more faced strong audience hostility.[68] The kudos of having supported Zappa's tour nevertheless bolstered his image in the music industry and helped his career.[69] In October 1974 he first performed as the headline act before touring the East Coast;[70] in New York City he met and befriended the singer Bette Midler.[71] Back in Los Angeles, Cohen suggested Waits produce a live album. To this end, he performed two live shows at the Record Pant Studio in front of an audience.[72] The recording was released as Nighthawks at the Diner in October 1975.[73] He followed this with a week's residency at the Reno Sweeney in New York City,[74] and in December appeared on the PBS concert show Soundstage.[75] From March to May 1976 he toured the U.S.,[76] telling interviewers that the experience was tough and that he was drinking too much alcohol.[77] In May, he embarked on his first tour of Europe, performing in London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen.[78] On his return to Los Angeles, he joined his friend Chuck E. Weiss by moving into the Tropicana motel in West Hollywood.[79]

Stylistically different from his previous LPs, 1983's Swordfishtrombones moves away from the piano and string orchestra arrangements of the late 1970s, replacing them instead with unusual instrumentation and a somewhat more abstract songwriting approach.^{[citation needed]}

Waits has stated that a performance should be "a spectacle and entertaining".^[64] He modelled some of his early vocal mannerisms after Richard Buckley.^[140] Waits' work was influenced by his voracious reading and by conversations that he overheard in diners.^[141] A major influence was the Beat writer Kerouac,^[142] although other writers who inspired him included Charles Bukowski, Nelson Algren, John Rechy, and Hubert Selby Jr.^[143] He was also inspired by the comedian Lenny Bruce.^[140] Musically, he was influenced by Randy Newman,^[144] and regarded James Brown as one of his musical heroes.^[145] He has praised Dylan, noting that "for a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and saw are to a carpenter".^[146]

According to Hoskyns, Waits hid behind his persona, noting that "Tom Waits is as much of a character created for his fans as it is a real man."^[148] Among music journalists, there was much suggestion that Waits was a fake or a phoney.^[149] Hoskyns regarded Waits' "persona of the skid-row boho/hobo, a young man out of time and place" as an "ongoing experiment in performance art".^[150] He added that Waits had adopted a "self-appointed role as the bard of the streets".^[151] 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".^[152] Louie Lista, a friend of Waits' during the 1970s, stated that the singer's general attitude was that: "I'm an outsider, but I'll revel in being an outsider".^[153] Another friend from the period, 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".^[153] Jarmusch described Waits as "a very contradictory character. He's potentially violent if he thinks someone is screwing with him, but he's gentle and kind too."^[154]

Humphries referred to him as "an essentially reticent man... reflective and surprisingly shy".^[155] Hoskyns described Waits as "unequivocally—some would say almost gruffly—heterosexual".^[156] During the 1970s, he was known as a heavy drinker and a smoker but avoided any drugs harder than cocaine.^[157] He told one interviewer that "I discovered alcohol at an early age, and that guided me a lot."^[158] Hoskyns also noted that Waits took a "grumpy attitude" towards touring.^[159]

After he married and had children, Waits became increasingly elusive.^[160] During interviews, he deflected questions about his personal life.^[155] Waits refused to sanction any biography of him.^[161] When Hoskyns was researching for a biography on Waits, Waits and his wife asked people not to talk to him.^[162] Hoskyns believed that it was Brennan who was responsible for the "wall of inaccessibility" surrounding Waits.^[163]

In 2016 Waits embarked upon litigation against French artist Bartabas who had used several of Waits' songs as a backdrop to a theatrical performance that in many ways paid homage to Waits' work. 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 seemingly of the view that his identity had been stolen. The case in the French courts was lost 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' material.^[175]

Hoskyns referred to him as being "as important an American artist as anyone the twentieth century has produced",^[164] while Humphries described him as "one of America's finest post-Dylan singer-songwriters".^[165] Among the celebrities who have described themselves as Waits fans have been Johnny Depp, John Oliver and Jerry Hall.^[166][167]

Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has joked about other artists who do (once commenting "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?").^[168] He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission, and said, "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...I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."^[169]

Waits filed his first lawsuit in this vein in 1988 against Frito-Lay. The company had approached Waits to use one of his songs in an advertisement, which Waits declined. Frito-Lay hired a Waits soundalike to sing a jingle similar to the song "Step Right Up" from the album Small Change, which is a song Waits has called "an indictment of advertising". Waits won the lawsuit, becoming one of the first artists to successfully sue a company for using an impersonator without permission.^[170] The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an award of $2.375 million in his favor (Waits v. Frito-Lay, 978 F. 2d 1093 (9th Cir. 1992)).^[171]

In 1993, Levi's used Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version of Waits' "Heartattack and Vine" in a commercial. Waits sued, and Levi's agreed to cease all use of the song and published a full page apology in Billboard.^[172]

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" (from Franks Wild Years) 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' moral rights in addition to the infringement of copyright. The production company, Tandem Campany 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".^[173]

In 2016 Waits embarked upon litigation against French artist Bartabas who had used several of Waits' songs as a backdrop to a theatrical performance that in many ways paid homage to Waits' work. 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 seemingly of the view that his identity had been stolen. The case in the French courts was lost 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' material.^[175]

[Main article: Tom Waits discography]

• 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

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2. ^ Kofford, Bret (2000). ""Tradition with a Twist"". In Maher, Paul. Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters. Aurum Press. ISBN 1845138279. 
3. ^ Cooper, Leonie (August 17, 2011). "Tom Waits to release first new material in seven years". NME. Retrieved September 18, 2017. 
4. ^ Rubin, Paul (June 18, 2008). "Tom Waits slays 'em on opening night in Phoenix". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved September 18, 2017. 
5. ^ Petridis, Alexis. "Tom Waits live at the Hammersmith Apollo, London review". The Guardian. Retrieved November 23, 2001. 
6. ^ "Tom Waits biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-08-11. 
7. ^ Lyons, Margaret (December 15, 2010). "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2011 inductees include Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper: who else made the cut?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 15, 2010. 
8. ^ McCall, Tris. "Full list of 2011 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved December 15, 2010. 
9. ^ "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 10, 2015. 
10. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 10; Hoskyns 2009, p. 6.
11. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 6.
12. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 7.
13. ^ Hoskyns 2009, pp. 7, 8.
14. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 4.
15. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 11; Hoskyns 2009, p. 4.
16. ^ Hoskyns 2009, pp. 4, 27.
17. ^ Hoskyns 2009, pp. 8, 13.
18. ^ Hoskyns 2009, pp. 13, 16.
19. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 14.
20. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 11.
21. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 9.
22. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 16; Hoskyns 2009, p. 17.
23. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 17.
24. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 17; Hoskyn 2009, p. 19.
25. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 22; Hoskyn 2009, p. 22.
26. ^ Hoskyn 2009, p. 22.
27. ^ Hoskyn 2009, p. 21.
28. ^ Hoskyn 2009, p. 19.
29. ^ Hoskyns 2009, pp. 22–23.
30. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 26.
31. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 23.
32. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 35.
33. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 30; Hoskyns 2009, p. 26.
34. ^ Hoskyns 2009, p. 34.
35. ^ Humphries 2007, pp. 26, 28–29; Hoskyns 2009, pp. 30–32, 37–38.
36. ^ Humphries 2007, p. 29.
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• Humphries, Patrick (2007). The Many Lives of Tom Waits. Omnibus. ISBN 1-84449-585-X. 
• Jacobs, Jay S. (2006). Wild Years The Music and Myth of Tom Waits. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-716-5. 
• Montandon, Mac (ed.) (2006). Innocent When You Dream: Tom Waits – The Collected Interviews. Orion. ISBN 0-7528-7394-6. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
• Hoskyns, Barney (2009). Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. Faber and Faber. 
• Smay, David (2007). Swordfishtrombones. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-2782-0. 

• Official website
• Tom Waits at Encyclopædia Britannica
• Tom Waits at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
• Tom Waits discography at Discogs
• Tom Waits on IMDb
• "Tom Waits". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 
• Works by or about Tom Waits in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Tom Waits Library