Credit: Far Out / Press
When it comes to providing an insight into his influences, the eclectic depth and breadth of Tom Waits‘ list is guaranteed to include some complete wild cards.
When Waits was asked to pick a list of his all-time favourite songs, he replied, “If you ask me tomorrow, the list would change, of course”. His artistic world is forever growing, making sense of the various twists and turns it has already taken; from starting out as your classic lounge crooner, through his avant-garde 1980s phase, into the gruff and gothic voice he has today, each new decade seemed to bring about a whole new version of Waits.
As Waits also acts, this reinvention goes beyond music, which also means that his sphere of inspiration encapsulates another art form. There’s really no bounds to what could influence his work, whether it’s a great movie performance or even simply the lives and characters that move through a pizza shop.
When he did eventually cough up a list of his top songs, it included a colourful mix of traditional folk songs and classic 1960s rock and roll to jazz, soul and beyond, but out of it all, one artist stood out: Louis Armstrong.
Putting ‘Summertime’ as one of his all-time favourite tracks, Armstrong for Waits is one of those artists every single musician should look towards. “You can’t ignore the influence of someone like Louis Armstrong,” he said on Fresh Air.
It’s not only that Armstrong’s influence stretches wide, with his songs becoming standards that are still covered today, but to Waits, it’s the vastness and variety of his career that fascinates him, stating, “He’s like a river, he’s like a country to be explored”.
In his eyes, much like an intricate terrain, Armstrong was simply a god-given, natural talent. “He came out of the ground just like a potato. He’s completely natural,” he said, which is perhaps a strange metaphor, but it still works when it comes to attempting to explain the majesty of a voice and talent like Armstrong’s, one that has never been replicated nor arguably bettered.
However, there is definitely a similarity between Armstrong’s voice and Waits’ own. Both had a roughness that was uniquely combined with heart and swagger. The beloved Armstrong version of ‘What A Wonderful World’ isn’t too far off sounding like a later stage Waits song, with both artists smoking like a pipe and the impact evident in their vocal deliveries.
From his vocals, to his instrumentation, to his songwriting, Waits bows to Armstrong. “I love those tunes. But this one, this ‘A Good Man Is Hard To Find’, you know, was an attempt to kinda tip my hat somewhat to that,” he said, laying his own 2002 track at his idol’s feet, aiming to make something classic and timeless that draws a line of reference between the two artists’ oddly similar voices.
