Tom Waits Gets into the Hall: BDT and WHAT?

This past March 14^th, Tom Waits became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with such diverse artists as Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John and Leon Russell. But then, Tom Waits is a pretty diverse artist unto himself.

My first reaction to the news was BDT (as in 'bout damn time)! After all, the guy has been eligible since 1998. The Hall's temporal criterion is that eligibility starts twenty-five years after the artist's first album, whether that artist is active, inactive, alive or dead.

Then, on further reflection, I began thinking, "What is a musician like Tom Waits doing in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I can think of a number of ways to classify his music, but "Rock and Roll" does not spring to mind. The closest anyone could come to what he does is "alt. rock." On the other hand, since there is no Beat Poetry Set to Music Hall of Fame, I guess the one in Cleveland will have to do. Somebody needs to recognize the amazing talents of Tom Waits.

To illustrate my point, let me provide an excellent, but not-all-that atypical example of his music, in the form of this link to Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis . If you can take but a moment to peer through the stark simplicity of the music and the crudeness of the subject matter, you will see it is one of the most beautiful and touching songs he or any modern popular composer ever wrote. The point is, it is not straight-ahead Rock and Roll as we may think of it. If that is the only kind of music you like, then Tom Waits may not be your cup of Lapsang Souchong.

I will be the first to admit, Tom Waits is a lot like scotch: an acquired taste. Partially that is because, at first listen-hell, at last listen and every one in between-Waits often sounds like a drunken street-crazy. Perhaps, at some level, he may be the voice of all the drunken street-crazies out there, but, beneath that odd and possibly off-putting sound, there is a world of artistry and profundity.

Please note that, while Tom Waits is anything but unfamiliar with the taste of whiskey, he is not the barely-coherent drunk his stage persona seems to be. In fact, he has been off the sauce for a number of years. When he wants to, he can sing in a relatively clear voice, as he did with one of his more popular numbers, Ol' 55 .

There is nothing dishonest or pretentious about Waits' style of singing. While he is a man who is probably doing all right these days, after his compilation album, Orphans, went gold, he was never about the commercial success, only about the artistry, as he defined that term. In fact, his most popular single album (and maybe his best), Small Change, got no higher than 89^th on the charts.

Furthermore, he has steadfastly resisted the blandishments of the corporate world to put his music to use moving product. On top of that, when Frito-Lay tried to put out a parody of Waits' brilliant song, "Step Right Up," using an imitator to sing it, to get around his refusal of permission, he successfully sued the company. Maybe for that alone he should be in some kind of musical hall of fame, since the case, which went all the way up to the Supreme Court (fortunately, not the Bush Court), established that you cannot rip off a recording artist by using an imitator as a stand-in.

As interesting as that song was as a test case, it is even more noteworthy as the best selection in that Small Change album. Treat yourself to a listen and see if you do not find Step Right Up some of the best poetry you have heard in a while.

Tom Waits has been around since 1973, and he is still at it. That being the case, it would be impossible to list all his songs and accomplishments without the reader's eyes starting to glaze over. Let me instead suggest that you invest in the purchase of the aforementioned Small Change album. Then, if you like what you hear, you can go exploring on your own. To my way of thinking, there are no bad Tom Waits albums out there, so you are not likely to get burned if you do decide to expand your horizons in that direction. To further assist you with your possible exploration, I will include a few more Waits links in the Resources sidebar.

I think it is fitting that Waits was introduced at his induction by Neil Young. To be sure, Waits and Young are nowhere near each other in terms of song styling, but they do share a certain iconoclasm. I remember when Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young fragmented into Crosby, Stills and Nash, on one hand, and Neil Young, on the other, everybody I knew began following the former fragment, while ignoring the latter, while I went the opposite way. I am glad I did. Today, Neil Young is recognized as one of our greatest musicians, while Crosby, Stills and Nash were never anything but slightly-better-than average. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.

Tom Waits, though, will never be slightly-better-than-average. Like him or hate him, "average" is about the last word you would associate with his music.

Sources

http://rockhall.com/inductees/

Wikipedia

YouTube