Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer and actor. His distinctive deep gravelly voice was described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding as though "it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car". Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona with his trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental.\n', '

Waits was raised in Whittier, California, and moved to San Diego with his family at the age of 12. Inspired by Bob Dylan and the Beat Generation, as a teenager he began singing on the San Diego folk music scene. Relocating to Los Angeles, he secured work as a songwriter before gaining a recording contract with Asylum Records and producing his first albums, Closing Time (1973) and The Heart of Saturday Night (1974). Repeatedly touring across the U.S., Europe, and Japan, he attracted greater critical recognition and commercial success with Small Change (1976).\n', 'He has worked as a composer for movies and musicals and has acted in supporting roles in films, including Paradise Alley and Bram Stoker\'s Dracula. He also starred in Jim Jarmusch\'s 1986 film Down by Law. Waits was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the soundtrack of the musical film One from the Heart.\n', '

Waits\' lyrics frequently present atmospheric portraits of grotesque, often seedy characters and places, although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent singer-songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. His songs have reached further success through cover versions by more commercial artists: "Jersey Girl" performed by Bruce Springsteen, "Ol\' \'55" by the Eagles, and "Downtown Train" by Rod Stewart. Waits\' albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, although they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries.\n', '

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