Tom Waits always did things a little differently than most mainstream musicians. When Wait’s started his career in the 1970s the go-to-genres were rock and roll, country, or funk. Jazz, blues, and the seedy underbelly of urban America were far from many people’s minds, however, through underground success and an always growing cult following, Waits found mainstream success, and his albums are considered classics to both underground music fans and mainstream critics.
Waits made a career for himself as the offbeat yet always cool and collected eccentric. His songs usually explore the themes of the darker side of city living and Americana. He sings odes to strippers and dive bar degenerates, he sings about the poor and the elements of a city that only come out at night. When one watches Waits in television interviews, it’s like those dark themes of his songs come to life, oddly in a playful way, and his gravelly, raspy voice just makes it all seem so real.
Waits is a jack of all trades, as both a poet and musician he personifies his genres while simultaneously reinventing them. In addition to music and poetry, he dabbles in theater and acting too. Today, Tom Waits has at least $25 million to his name. This is how a pizza parlor employee born in Indiana (allegedly in the back seat of a cab) became a musical legend and the representative of the seedy side of America.
7 His Tour With Rock Legend Frank Zappa
While working night jobs to support his pursuit of a musical career, Waits began playing in nightclubs and open mics until he was discovered in 1971 performing at the Troubadour, a famous nightclub. Soon after gaining some notoriety, his first big break came in 1973 as the opening act for rock and roll legend Frank Zappa, who, like Waits, was notorious for following a weirder, off beaten path.
6 His First Album
Tom Waits’ first album Closing Time was released the same year as his tour with Zappa and it ended up certified gold on the U.K. charts. This and Waits’ other albums would gain a cult, underground following that would establish Waits permanently as an avant-garde poet in the music industry. Today, Waits has recorded 17 albums and 2 compilations, all of which continue to sell.
5 A Talk Show Favorite
Upon gaining his notoriety, from the 70s on Waits became a favorite guest of talk shows all over the world. His cool yet dark demeanor and impressive comedic timing helped to sell the mysterious persona that defined his music. He made a famous appearance on the parody talk show Fernwood Tonight, the show which launched the careers of Martin Mull and the late Fred Willard. He was also a favorite guest of David Letterman on both his NBC show Late Night and his CBS show The Late Show with David Letterman. Waits famously deflects questions about his personal life in interviews by answering them with bawdy jokes, thus helping him maintain the mysterious persona that he is just as famous for as his music.
4 His Acting Career
Waits began acting in 1978 with a supporting role in Paradise Alley alongside Sylvester Stallone, who also directed the film. Since then Waits has acted in over 20 films. He has worked with major Hollywood directors like Francis Ford Coppola and the Coen Brothers. He also has a close working relationship with Jim Jarmush, a prominent indie film director. Quite famously, Waits has an iconic scene in one of Jarmush’s most popular films, Coffee and Cigarettes, where he acts opposite another musical legend, Iggy Pop, leader of The Stooges.
3 His Theatrical Career
In 1990, Waits produced The Black Rider, a dark musical based on an old German folk tale. The play debuted in Hamburg, Germany, and Waits collaborated on the project with Avante Garde theater director Robert Wilson and legendary author and poet William S. Burroughs.
2 That Time When He Sued A Potato Chip Company
Waits famously refuses to do commercials, the one exception being a dog food commercial he narrated in the 80s, which Waits says he regrets. When Frito-Lay approached Waits about using one of his songs in a Doritos ad he refused. The company thought they found a way around this by recording a different song with a singer they got to impersonate Waits’ voice. The imitation was so similar that people contacted Waits asking him to do more commercials, not realizing it wasn’t him. Feeling this was an unapproved copy of his famous vocal style, Waits took the company to court and won. The court ordered Frito-Lay to pay him $2.5 million.
1 His Net Worth And Annual Income
Thanks to a continuously growing cult following that still buys his albums and a successful acting career, Waits now sits on $25 million and allegedly makes $6 million a year in album sales and film residuals. Waits also wrote the scores for multiple films like Coppola's One From The Heart, which earned Waits an Oscar nomination. While fans today speculate whether or not they will get another album out of the mysterious musical legend, nothing can change the fact he has an impressive legacy.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGirqKVdrK6qwNJmnJqqnpqxbn%2BPZqSipJyevK95zZ6rZq%2Bfp8Gpew%3D%3D