Behind the Dramatic Vocal Change in Tom Waits’ Early Career

It’s time to dive into the Tom Waits catalog. But where to start? To date, Waits boasts 17 studio LPs, including his latest in 2011, Bad as Me. So you start at the beginning with Closing Time, which was first released in 1973. But that’s when the surprise hits.

Closing Time is odd and unexpected. Waits sounds like a chummy crooner. Of course, the songs and the music are excellent. They’re jazzy, tossed off in an overworked kind of way. They’re lounge songs, Scotch on the Rocks tracks.

In fact, Waits’ first three albums all showcase this side of him. He’s like a sailor that has come ashore at the local piano bar, spreading his tunes. The 1974 LP, The Heart of Saturday Night, and the 1975 album, Nighthawks at the Diner, show this smoother side, too.

Small Change

Always one for a wry bit of humor, Waits changed his approach in 1976 and took his voice from honey-spread to crag-like. Jagged, rough. But why?

While Waits has never outright said why he changed his voice, speculation includes whispers about him not wanting to be compared to other stars before and currently at the time, men like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. It would seem that Waits flouted the handsome poet look and instead went for the down-and-out sound, complete with a raspy voice.

Put me in a box? No way! And so what did he title the album in which he made this dramatic left turn? Yes, Small Change.

Family

The 2009 book by Barney Hoskyns, Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits, talks about how the singer later took inspiration from his maternal relatives who lived in Gridley and Marysville, California. It was his uncle’s raspy, gravelly voice that gave him clues on how he could try to sing.

He also has described his rough voice as being “the sand in the sandwich,” according to the 2007 book by Patrick Humphries, The Many Lives of Tom Waits. He did always have a way with words, famous for also saying, “Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends.”

Legacy

Inspired by many artists, from Jack Kerouac to James Brown, Waits is a signature figure in music. His voice is one of the first things you think about when considering his music and, like his songs, it has an interesting history.

Today, the 73-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is rumored to be “writing again.” What that will sound like, well, is still anyone’s guess.

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