Tom Waits (read more)
18,816,375 plays scrobbled on Last.fm
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor.
He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit ‘n’ sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation (poets like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs). He could not make a living from his music, although he was well accepted by the critics. The people at that time didn’t like his classical bar music, pre-rock and americana styles reminiscent of musical genres of the 50s and 40s, such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville.
Waits has a devoted cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. In fact, his songs are perhaps best known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists, such as the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart.
Although Waits’ albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries.
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.
While opening for Frank Zappa, the audience catcalled and refused to listen to him. It appeared that Wait’s classical americana and Zappa’s avantgarde jazz Rock were a less than a perfect match. Waits’ voice back then was soft, warm and clear. He sang songs about the losers on the streets: alcoholics, junkies, prostitutes and social outcasts.
(read more)
He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit ‘n’ sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation (poets like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs). He could not make a living from his music, although he was well accepted by the critics. The people at that time didn’t like his classical bar music, pre-rock and americana styles reminiscent of musical genres of the 50s and 40s, such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville.
Waits has a devoted cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. In fact, his songs are perhaps best known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists, such as the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart.
Although Waits’ albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries.
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.
While opening for Frank Zappa, the audience catcalled and refused to listen to him. It appeared that Wait’s classical americana and Zappa’s avantgarde jazz Rock were a less than a perfect match. Waits’ voice back then was soft, warm and clear. He sang songs about the losers on the streets: alcoholics, junkies, prostitutes and social outcasts.
(read more)
Listen Now
| Track | Time | Listeners | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Add this track to your playlist Clap Hands full track | 3:47 | 59,050 | Buy mp3 |
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Add this track to your playlist Jockey Full of Bourbon full track | 2:46 | 55,515 | Buy mp3 |
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Add this track to your playlist Singapore full track | 2:44 | 54,282 | Buy mp3 |
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Add this track to your playlist Downtown Train full track | 3:50 | 52,915 | Buy mp3 |
Radio (show all 10)
- Play Tom Waits’s Similar Artists Including: Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and more
- Play Tom Waits’s Top Listeners
- Play blues Tag Radio
- Play singer-songwriter Tag Radio
- Play experimental Tag Radio
- Play rock Tag Radio
- Play alternative Tag Radio
- Play jazz Tag Radio
- Play folk Tag Radio
- Play indie Tag Radio
Videos (see all 200)
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Play
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
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Play
Tom Waits Big Black Mariah
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Play
Tom Waits - Downtown Train -1985
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Play
Tom Waits' Time
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Play
Tom Waits - Jockey Full of Bourbon
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Play
TOM WAITS - CEMETERY POLKA
Top Albums (see all)
Top Tracks, Last Week
| – | 1 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Clap Hands
full track
|
1,660 |
| – | 2 |
|
1,637 | |
| – | 3 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Singapore
full track
|
1,517 |
| – | 4 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Downtown Train
full track
|
1,308 |
1 |
5 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Rain Dogs
full track
|
1,276 |
1 |
6 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Time
full track
|
1,268 |
| – | 7 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Cemetery Polka
full track
|
1,245 |
| – | 8 |
|
1,186 | |
| – | 9 |
|
1,162 | |
| – | 10 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Big Black Mariah
full track
|
1,144 |
| – | 11 |
|
1,071 | |
| – | 12 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Gun Street Girl
full track
|
1,017 |
1 |
13 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Union Square
full track
|
870 |
1 |
14 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Walking Spanish
full track
|
844 |
2 |
15 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
9th & Hennepin
full track
|
842 |
2 |
16 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Underground
full track
|
840 |
1 |
17 |
|
Add this track to your playlist
Blind Love
full track
|
829 |
| – | 18 |
|
811 | |
4 |
19 | 805 | ||
1 |
20 | 787 |
Number of listeners for the last week More top tracks…




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