Top 10 Tom Waits Songs Of The 1970s

From the early 1970s until the end of the decade, Tom Waits released six albums of piano-infused ramblings of warm beer, cold women, phantom truck drivers, and late-night episodes of shame and pleasure. All songs came from a troubadour’s voice masquerading as a backroom piano man. Over the years, Tom Waits built a loyal following that would define the term cult artist across the board. Tom Waits’ first record, Closing Time, was released in 1973. That year in 1973 also saw the releases of Bruce Springsteen’s first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, Billy Joel’s Piano Man, and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Each album Waits released in the 1970s would present fans with a voice growing more profound and darker. Tom Waits’ career took a musically dramatic turn in 1980 after the release of the album Heartattack and Vine. From then on, Tom Waits would generate some of the most exciting arrangements of original material of almost any other artist of his generation. But many fans adore Tom Waits’ 1970s material. His early songs hold a special place in the hearts of longtime Tom Waits fans. Here are some of our favorites.

# 10 – Martha

Tom Waits’s “Martha” was released on his first album, Closing Time. The song centers around the story of old Tom Frost calling his ex after 40 years to go meet for a cup of coffee. Yes, before Facebook, there was the concept of calling people to go out. Tom Waits’s “Martha“ is one of his most beautiful songs. The idea of reaching out to your long-lost love after so much time resonates with so many people.

It is a song of beauty and yet pain. The strings circle Tom Waits’ vocals and piano chords, adding depth to the music and creating both clarity and ambiguity about the idea of rekindling a lost love. Tragic yet beautiful, it is what came to define the majority of Tom Waits songs in the 1970s

# 9 – Romeo is Bleeding

Tom Waits’ album Blue Valentine was inspired by the movie West Side Story. A modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet play. Many records were released in the 1970s, inspired by the art of West Side Story. Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run was perhaps the most famous record released that paid tribute to the film. Tom Waits took his tribute even further than Bruce because he recorded a song from the film for the Blue Valentine album.

Opening the record was one of the most heartfelt versions of “Somewhere (there’s a place for us),” ever recorded. Tom Waits’ low, grave baritone set the stage for a record that explores the landscape of the city streets. While “Somewhere” opened the door, “Romeo is Bleeding” landed the listener in the heart of Tom Waits’ urban drama.

# 8 – Muriel

Another tale of lost love, broken hearts, visions of ghosts, cheap cigars, penny arcades, and lonely late-night bars. All wrapped up in gorgeous piano playing and sultry jazz-soaked saxophone lines. It sounds like Sinatra at his finest, but it’s just Waits at his most brilliant. Released on the Foreign Affairs LP, the song “Muriel” is to die for. The extraordinary Tom Waits album Foreign Affairs was released in 1977. The album featured the legendary trumpet player Jack Sheldon. Also on the record was Bette Midler singing a duet with Tom Waits on the track “I Never Talk to Strangers.”

# 7 – Ol’ 55

“Ol’55” was released on Tom Waits’ first album, Closing Time. The Eagles covered the song and released it on their On the Border LP. However, the Eagles’ arrangement of the song was in stark contrast to Waits’ original piano-lullaby version. It’s hard to believe that the same artist responsible for “What’s He Building In There?” composed “Ol’55,” But that is what has made fans of Waits music become lifetime fans.

Some love the song, and sadly, some don’t. I always felt it was just one of those great songs that sounded good, driving down the highway on a summer day with the windows open, feeling good. It just had that vibe.

# 6 – Warm Beer and Cold Woman

Well, you don’t have to listen to this one because just the title alone qualifies it as one of Tom Waits best songs. Kidding aside, the great song “Warm Beer and Cold Woman” was released on the legendary Nighthawks at the Dinner LP. It was an album of brand new material recorded in front of a live audience. The song displayed the dry wit and sarcasm that Waits would present to his fans for the rest of his career. Waits’ daily man’s observations of the generalities of life soon became the focus of his lyrical ideas and musings.

# 5 – New Coat of Paint

A nice walking bass line, a blues scale, and some downtown street walking barroom dreams illuminated one of Waits’ most enjoyable pieces. The song “New Coat of Paint,” call call call call, was released on Waits’ The Heart of a Saturday Night LP. New Jersey legend Southside Johnny also recorded the song on his 1984 In the Heat LP.

# 4 – I hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You

Many Tom Waits fans have argued over the years that this was Tom Waits’ best song of the 1970s. It is difficult to argue against the choice. The song was released on Tom Waits’ first record, Closing Time. As beautiful as the song was musically, the ironic twist at the end served as an introduction to Tom Waits’ mastery. One for the books for sure.

I always felt a strong similarity between Tom Waits and Frank Sinatra. Those similarities were based on both singers’ fantastic ability to paint a picture and set the scene, placing you in the shoes of those they were singing about. While Tom Waits was a writer and singer, Frank Sinatra was just a song interpreter; in the end, they succeeded in the same way. They made you believe in every word that they sang.

# 3 –  Invitation to the Blues

It’s hard to imagine anyone else singing this song besides Tom Waits. As brilliant as Waits is as a songwriter, his performances of his material have become just as iconic. Waits sings about the blues in a growl that can never be duplicated. In the song “Invitation to the Blues,” Waits low baritone delivers a haunting, low-down and out portrait of the desperate seeking solace at the corner bus stop in the middle of the night. It was a place often frequented by the characters in Tom Waits’ art throughout his career.

The song was a chilling and authentic representation of the true meaning of the blues. The song “Invitation to the Blues” was released on Tom Waits Small Change LP in 1976. It was Side Two’s opening track.

# 2 – Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis

In the second-to-last spot, we have chosen a song depicting Tom Waits’s persona from the many avenues the man has driven, walked, and slept on throughout his life. First off, how could you not love the title? It perfectly represents the story about a character simply telling a story that is genuinely just a story, if you get what we are saying. Just listen to the song; hopefully, it will all become clear.

# 1 –  Tom Traubert’s Blues (Waltzing Matilda)

The choice for the Number One spot on our Tom Waits Top 10 Songs of the 1970s list was no slam dunk. So many great songs were written and recorded by Tom Waits during his first decade of recording. Tom Waits “Tom Traubert’s Blues” was the opening track on Tom Waits’ third album, entitled Small Change. A beautiful piano, wrapped in luscious, teary-eyed strings and a heartfelt vocal, defines one of Tom Waits’ richest songs. The chorus of “Waltzing Matilda” is taken from a song Bango Paterson wrote in Australia in 1895.

Top 10 Tom Waits Songs 1970s

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