Thanks for posting this wonderful gem of Tom Waits history! He has been my favorite solo artist since roughly the late 90s. Do you happen to have any idea when Tom would have played his very first solo live show ever anywhere? I've heard different dates, including sometime in 1969. I know he played in The Systems back in the mid-late 60s but that was mainly covers I believe. Either way he is very much a 60s artist (with a lot of 40s/50s sensibilities) who really took off in the 70s.
@@RockessentialTimyes that is true. He started working as a doorman and then started singing shortly after or before that (Winter of 69/70) at the Heritage. The earliest paid show I've seen documented for Tom at the Heritage confirmed by the tickets was Nov 70. Anyways, whenever he started, his skill as a songwriter, singer and performer was apparent from the very beginning. I hope that he decides to do 1 more tour, as I would love to see him play live.
I met Tom in 1999 at a gas station in Sebastopol CA, where he was living at the time. Drove an understated VW, had his signature hat on, coat and jeans. I said hi and he waived and nodded. Was exactly the type of reaction I knew he'd give. Very private individual. Sebastopol is uber liberal, quiet, tucked in the eastern edge of the northern California coastal ranges in the redwood empire. Just the kind of place you'd picture someone of Toms character would live. Love his music, been listening to it for decades, it was a sign for me to realize I moved to the right town, after my divorce. Great story! Thanks!
That is such a cool story! I actually had a similar meeting with him back in the day at Duke's coffee shop. I nodded and he nodded back. I was barely aware of who he was at the time but looking back it was worth a thousand words.
I remember when I heard Ole 55 for the first time and particularly these “Well my time went so quickly I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55 As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy God knows, I was feeling alive And now the sun's coming up I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer Lord, let me tell you that the feeling's getting stronger”
Wow. I am a huge Tom Waits fan, and I was smiling and laughing the entire time I was watching this. It was soo cool to see all these places he referenced in his songs. Thanks for putting this out. Loved it.
At 18 I left home to go live with a friend in a very seedy trailer park on the rough side of town. It was a transformative experience. One day my friend put a copy of Waits’s album rain dogs on the record player and proceeded to play it over and over for the next several days. The first 20 times I heard it I thought it was terrible but then gradually I started to see the incredible beauty in his music so I went on to live many if his albums. Thanks for this little documentary.
That is a great story and so relatable on a lot of levels. I can't tell you how many friends I didn't particularly care for the first few times I met them. The best things in life are a little challenging.
After he moved from Pomona, his family lived in Paradise Hills. His mom got a teaching job in Imperial Beach and they moved to Chula Vista, right by Hilltop High on Robert Ave. The house is still there and can find the address in old San Diego phone books. He actually worked T LaBellas first but they fired him for not keeping up, so he made the trek to Napoleones, which was great because he’d get all the sailors telling sea stories, and seeing some of the seedy bar life when there were a lot more bars than car dealers. I think he had a license at 14-15, and had a high school band. His parents split and his dad taught in LA but also played mariachi gigs in Tijuana and Tom is actually fluent in Spanish. I’m sure father and son went to Agua Caliente to bet on races.
I loved Fellipe's Pizza. Just over the bridge from NC into Chula Vista. I haven't eaten there in probably 40 years or so. Damn I'm getting old. I was probably 13 or 14 last time I ate there. I ate a lot of Hungry Howies pizza in the late 80s when I moved back home to try my hand at being a guitarist in a Metal band. Never got famous, but I had a blast. National City wasn't a great place to be a metal head. We hung out in Chula Vista a lot. Paradise Hills was just a few blocks from where I grew up at my dad's place on Earle Drive. Right up the street from Plaza Blvd.
My name is Martha. A friend made signing for the deaf videos while dancing to songs. She did one for me, to Tom’s song “Martha”, which was also my ex boyfriend’s fave song. It was such an honor. I adore Tom and his music. What a unique, talented human being. He did a love song with Bette Midler. It was so romantic. I forget what it’s called.
Having grown up in L.A in the 70’s as a kid, and the 80’s as a teen/young adult, and being involved in the local scene, I’ve been to many of these places, as a spectator and as part of the band. Lots of memories at the Troubadour, Canters, etc.
Nice one Tim. We saw him in Sydney in the late 70's at a theatre with worn out seats from the 1940's. Tom spent a lot of the night sitting in an old over stuffed lounge chair with a black and white TV under a moth eaten lamp stand. He'd roam over to a piano now and then all the time chain smoking. Just the best performance.
Now that is a cool story! I've never gotten to see him play live, was a broke musician back in those days. I did however live at the Tropicana Motel for a month or so and used to see him in the public phone booth almost every day.
Finding Tom Waits was a wonderful Discovery. He and his music embodied The soul of the fifties and the beats. Everything seemed to come together, Found Chas Bukowski, Rickee Lee and it all reinforced each other. Toms' persona Was enetertaining but was suicidal and I'm glad he shook free. As an artist and musician he left his mark and is much Appreciated. Thanks for filling in some Personal history.
Another place Waits frequented was the SW corner of Sunset Blvd. at Broadway, the edge of Chinatown. There was a Chinese restaurant where he parked his car in front of to sleep-off a drunk. It closed & remained vacant in the 90s. It is now a multi-apartment or condo with a CVS drug store.
I actually lived in that neighborhood as a kid in the late 60s. Played with the kids that lived at the end of the cul-de-sac there on Kentucky. It looked just like it does now. Doesn't fit the image of TW at all..still great job as always..!! By the way.The street you filmed in Whiitier on the cul de sac was Mikinda.. Lol......!!!!
The bleakness of suburbia often led to the enhanced creativity motivation. Just like Afghani carpet weavers live in a barren landscape of rock and dirt, it inspires visions of otherness.
Tom is the son of teachers, makes sense why he became such a great songwriter and read voraciously, but of course gravitated towards Kerouac, Buk, Burroughs and Selby.
Great piece on one of my all-time favorites! I lived in East Hollywood in the latter part of his tenure their, so it was nice to tour the very changed neighborhood we shared. Thanks for this👍😎
My favorite part of the shoot was the former Sewers of Paris club on Cosmos St. It later became a rock club I'd go to once in awhile, I think it was called the gas light or gas lamp. Very dark and mysterious. Waits would have loved it!
Fernwood Tonight was my introduction to Tom Waits, I was a big fan of the show. I really enjoyed his performance on the show, I loved his song, "The Piano Has Been Drinking," and the off-the-wall character he portrayed. Later, from time to time I'd hear one of his songs or see him in a bit part in a movie like, The Outsiders and Paradise Alley, he was on the Late Show with David Letterman many times and I came to appreciate him more as a singer/songwriter and actor. I really enjoyed this video; I learned some new things about Tom I didn't know, his childhood homelife and the fact that Rickie Lee Jones was once his girlfriend.
Fernwood was my introduction to his music too! I'd seen Tom around when I'd go to Duke's at the Tropicana but I had never heard him until Fernwood. I'd see Rickie Lee around town here and there. Besides being talented she was a pretty alluring young lady.
I began listening to Wait's music in 1973, when I was beginning college, and I was 20 years old. I didn't like it and I didn't get it. But I kept coming back to it, as I wanted to like it. It took a few years, and then one day it hit me, and I have been hooked, ever since.
I wondered when you’d get to canter’s. Having grown up, gone to high school, and worked in that area I also am very familiar with that part of the Fairfax area - the free press book store, the newspaper nest, Aron’s records etc. More than once I saw Tom walking up/down Fairfax with a guitar playing, singing, smoking and shaking his head. A real treat for someone who knew and appreciated who he was.
Hey great peace on Tom. I worked at Platterpuss Records on Hollywood Blvd back in 70's early 80's and Mr. Waits and his old black Cadillac were regulars. He was quite an interesting character. He put out some great tunes those were the days!
Tim he was kind of reclusive but when he did talk it was in that voice that smoked to many cigarettes. He was just up and coming struggling and broke. He did say he lived at Tropicana but he always looked like he lived in his car as it was full of stuff. He was always wearing the same clothes rather disheveled and mostly hung over but as I remember he was cool. My mom was good friends with his step mom Eda Waits although she was divorced from his dad. His dad was Frank Waits that taught at Belmont High in Hollywood. It was always a treat to see him pull up in the big black Cadillac and I will never forget that voice almost a growl!
I remember when the Tom Waits Library was in its infancy, I was living in Chula Vista and started to do some digging at the local library. I had thought he went to high school in National City but came up with nothing. Then I started looking at the yearbooks and I think the last one I looked at were Hilltop High, and I lived a block from there!! I was going “no way, he lived around here?” Sure enough, opened the 1968 yearbook,and there he was!! Also found a short poem he wrote in the school paper. So I sent a few things to the TW Library and got some bootleg burned CDs and a credit as a thanks (Dan W), but like knowing biographers have used it to help with their research. Thanks for doing a video of the locations. I wound up seeing him twice, one was at VH1 storytellers, and brought along photocopies of his high school yearbook (not sure if he kept that stuff) that I passed along to his assistant, as well as a CD booklet and Sharpie. I wasn’t expecting to get it autograph, but sure enough, she kindly came back to me apologizing that there were too many guests he was meeting with but he PERSONALIZED my CD booklet and wrote a little message on there to me. I still need to get that one framed.
I think it was a pretty well kept secret that Tom grew up in San Diego. I didn't know it until I started researching for the vid and I gotta say, it made for a fantastic excuse to go down there for a couple days. Loved you story, thanks for sharing!
Tom waits has a unique way with words..singing is just something he does with the air he says..such a brilliant lyricist like no other..huge fan of him and kathleen..
Eagles Desperado LP was a pseudo old west "concept" LP and certainly wouldn't make sense that Ol' '55 be on it, actually it is on their On The Border LP. 🎸
Hi Tim love this installment .......i love Tom Waits since the late 1970s esp his early years as an L.A. singer songwriter. Thanks once again for the travelog
Wow, I really appreciate this. Always been a big Waits guy and following his staggering footsteps around Southern California was always something I thought would be fascinating. Big fan of RLJ as well. It's funny. I was a teacher for 12 years but found it absolutely torturous. Now I drive a bus and have many times wondered about The Single Fin in Mission Beach because the 8 route goes right by it. Looked intriguing, like somebody's house turned into a restaurant. Never thought it might be one of Tom's old haunts. Looks a lot smaller from the outside. I grew up in Chula Vista too but never went to Mission Beach except to cruise. We'd always go to Tug's or Mom's in Pacific Beach. We'd sometimes go to The Cannibal Club at the Catamaran but no further south on Mission. If I'd only known.
I thought the Single Fin was a decent enough place but it was as gentrified and as polar opposite from when Tom worked there as it is possible to be. I guess all the places left pretty much are. There is just something so wonderfully seedy about rock and roll that it can only be truly experienced in those dark places.
Tom Waits is ONE of ONE. A truly unique artist, and someone who deserves his accolades, even though he probably couldn't care less about it. Being an L.A. native, I know most of those places, but had no idea that they were once Waits' hangout/business/muses. Great video
hi Tim 👋 thanks so much for sharing this & your adventures , it's great to see your videos again ,👍 Cheers from your friend in Southeastern Ontario Canada ✌️🇺🇸🎸🇨🇦✌️
I was a grade younger than Tom and remember seeing him many times walk by my best friends house on his way home from Hilltop High in Chula Vista. Little did I know what would come of him. He lived in a modest house a couple of blocks from the high school. Although I did not know him he seemed like a cool guy. My best friend was the late Mark Rauzon who I think may have known him being that he lived a few houses away. If only I had a crystal ball back then!
You know this vid's been out for a year now and I have heard from folks who knew him professionally but you're the first that was aware of him before he became known. I know you didn't know him but do you remember if he have a look or attitude about him that set him apart? I'm a big fan and I'm just curious.
Amazing video!! I love the way you maneuver your way through any setting as you expertly narrate your story. Love the raw honesty and poetry of Mr. Waits. Your content is quality not quantity and that's why I look forward to your videos.💖💯
Wow....I love Tom - when I discovered him I was instantly hooked....the first song that I ever heard was Poncho's Lament and after that I was an instant appreciator....thanks for the great video.
Great vid! Saw him at a Bridge Benefit concert probably a decade ago. Unfortunately many in the audience had no idea who he was, the crowd was disappointing but he wasn’t.
I envy you. I never got a chance to see him play and if he ever tours again I will be there in a hot second. Like a fine wine his music seems to get better with age. Maybe I just had to grow into it....
It's starting to dawn on me how appropriate Rock Essentials is as a title for this channel. I'm starting to feel like what you're doing isn't just awesome and fun and funny and interesting and insightful, it's _essential._ When you drop a video, a lot of folks now _hop on it,_ like they're afraid it might disappear if they don't watch it fast enough. No one is doing what you are doing for the West Coast scene and the artists that occupied it and made it what it was, like you are. Kinda _essential._
That is really eloquent and I'm truly gratified that the vids have made an impact. I guess all I can really say is thank you for watching them. So thank you!
♥️ Your Tours Are Like A Great Book that you don't want to end. I often go back to past episodes. You are so literary in your narrative and are a great word smith. Thank You for all these! You bring Enlightenment and Joy. 🙌🙌🌅🌅
Huge Tom Waits fan here - looking forward to this! Another well researched and presented historical biopic. Love the locations (esp early childhood), quotes and anecdotes. Thank you again.
Great post as usual. However, The Eagles' cover of "Ol' 55" was on "On The Border" not "Desperado". It has long been my favorite "Eagles" song. Yet, Tom Waits' original is better. I loved it when Bette Midler performed "Martha" on "Saturday Night Live". Keep up the great work!
I'm 4 years younger than Waits. He was born in 1949 and I was born in 1953. In his lyrics and writings always seemed to make me think he was much older than myself. Seeing him with long hair, in that photo you posted was a shocker.
Great video. I love Tom and know his stories and songs pretty well. All those places like Canters and Troubadour are familiar. The burrito place too is one I’ve been to but never realized it’s holiness. Tom lived a fairly black and white style existence in the Technicolor 70’s. Old cars, old clothes and old haunts. It rubbed off on his tunes and thank the gods he saw beyond Laurel Canyon. Like Bukowski, he found the beautiful in the most mundane details. It’s a pleasure to witness and there was never a better name than the Sewers of Paris. Why that went away with gentrification I’ll never understand.
It had to be pretty special for sure. It wasn't an especially large studio they recorded it at and I've always wondered how they went about getting the audience. Was it random or was it all friends and such? Anyways, I agree that it's one of the best albums ever.
I have loved Tom Waits for a long time. He lived in San Diego? Wow! I have also loved Charles Bukowski! My friends and I used to hang out at Norm's! This was my neighborhood when I was young! Thanks for this!
I too was surprised to find out he lived in San Diego but I was really shocked that he was originally from Whittier. My daughter lives there now just up the street from where Tom grew up!
Great job. Only it moves pretty briskly. Lot of info. And will it mention The Tropicana? Check. Silver Lake? Check. I was a little late to the party, being more of the Jackson Browne type listener. (But only because I hadn't been exposed to Tom's work.) Little did I know the treats that lay in wait for me. Thanks for this. 😎😻
Wow, I didn't know you were into him. I been listening to him a lot and every time Knox hears him he imitates him. Its pretty hysterical. Gonna hang out with Marc D of Dwarves on Monday. Haven't seen him for years.
@@RockessentialTim I actually met him on Jan 2, 1979 (I know your bday) at a famous jazz bar in Greenwich Village called Bradley's. I can't explain here how that happened. I enjoyed the video. The production (music/editing) was great
I got the drums for the music from Phil like over 20 years ago and finally got to use them. Phil is putting a record out as we speak. Talked with him last week.
Very informative content as always, Tim. I enjoy seeing and hearing about the old recording studios (Record Plant, Wally Heider's, Gold Star, I.D. Sound, etc.) and I especially enjoyed your Maynard G. Krebs reference. That fits Tom Waits like a glove. Well done and keep it up -- your efforts are much appreciated by all of us who grew up during the 1960s / 1970s.
Thanks, Jon. I'd love to go exploring with my camera inside some of these studios but they are very well guarded and don't like people like me coming in there. I don't get it but there is still an air of exclusivity around most of the remaining ones.
Thanks for posting this wonderful gem of Tom Waits history! He has been my favorite solo artist since roughly the late 90s.
Do you happen to have any idea when Tom would have played his very first solo live show ever anywhere? I've heard different dates, including sometime in 1969.
I know he played in The Systems back in the mid-late 60s but that was mainly covers I believe. Either way he is very much a 60s artist (with a lot of 40s/50s sensibilities) who really took off in the 70s.
I don't know when he played his first solo live show but I'm guessing that it was at the San Diego Heritage coffee house where he was the bouncer.
@@RockessentialTimyes that is true. He started working as a doorman and then started singing shortly after or before that (Winter of 69/70) at the Heritage. The earliest paid show I've seen documented for Tom at the Heritage confirmed by the tickets was Nov 70.
Anyways, whenever he started, his skill as a songwriter, singer and performer was apparent from the very beginning. I hope that he decides to do 1 more tour, as I would love to see him play live.
@@gothfather1 Me too. I've never had the good fortune to see him live and would love to!
I met Tom in 1999 at a gas station in Sebastopol CA, where he was living at the time. Drove an understated VW, had his signature hat on, coat and jeans. I said hi and he waived and nodded. Was exactly the type of reaction I knew he'd give. Very private individual. Sebastopol is uber liberal, quiet, tucked in the eastern edge of the northern California coastal ranges in the redwood empire. Just the kind of place you'd picture someone of Toms character would live. Love his music, been listening to it for decades, it was a sign for me to realize I moved to the right town, after my divorce.
Great story! Thanks!
That is such a cool story! I actually had a similar meeting with him back in the day at Duke's coffee shop. I nodded and he nodded back. I was barely aware of who he was at the time but looking back it was worth a thousand words.
Hey all! I've been REALLY looking forward to doing a piece on Tom Waits and I'm stoked to be finally putting it out. I hope you dig it!
I remember when I heard Ole 55 for the first time and particularly these
“Well my time went so quickly
I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy
God knows, I was feeling alive
And now the sun's coming up
I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer
Lord, let me tell you that the feeling's getting stronger”
Great video. Didn’t know much about him. Very curious to learn more now. Extra points for Tim for taking the show on the road to San Diego.
I produced Concerts in College and booked Tom Waits at Santa Clara University in 1977. Great guy. Great show.
@@joshualeifer3335 It was a great excuse to go down there and hang out. Had an awesome time.
Coolest dang thing I’ve seen today 😌
Wow. I am a huge Tom Waits fan, and I was smiling and laughing the entire time I was watching this. It was soo cool to see all these places he referenced in his songs. Thanks for putting this out. Loved it.
I didn't know that you were a fan, Nephew. Nada hates when I blast him but it has to be done from time to time. Its a Parsky requirement.
What Robert said.....
At 18 I left home to go live with a friend in a very seedy trailer park on the rough side of town. It was a transformative experience. One day my friend put a copy of Waits’s album rain dogs on the record player and proceeded to play it over and over for the next several days. The first 20 times I heard it I thought it was terrible but then gradually I started to see the incredible beauty in his music so I went on to live many if his albums. Thanks for this little documentary.
That is a great story and so relatable on a lot of levels. I can't tell you how many friends I didn't particularly care for the first few times I met them. The best things in life are a little challenging.
I never cared much one way or the other about meeting celebrities, but Tom Waits is one guy I'd love to have a chat with.
Wow. I'm from National City. Never would've thought Tom worked on National Blvd. How cool
The pizza was great there!
After he moved from Pomona, his family lived in Paradise Hills. His mom got a teaching job in Imperial Beach and they moved to Chula Vista, right by Hilltop High on Robert Ave. The house is still there and can find the address in old San Diego phone books. He actually worked T LaBellas first but they fired him for not keeping up, so he made the trek to Napoleones, which was great because he’d get all the sailors telling sea stories, and seeing some of the seedy bar life when there were a lot more bars than car dealers. I think he had a license at 14-15, and had a high school band. His parents split and his dad taught in LA but also played mariachi gigs in Tijuana and Tom is actually fluent in Spanish. I’m sure father and son went to Agua Caliente to bet on races.
@@muziktrkr That is fascinating. I would have loved to know this before I shot the video but I'm glad you shared it!
I loved Fellipe's Pizza. Just over the bridge from NC into Chula Vista. I haven't eaten there in probably 40 years or so. Damn I'm getting old. I was probably 13 or 14 last time I ate there. I ate a lot of Hungry Howies pizza in the late 80s when I moved back home to try my hand at being a guitarist in a Metal band. Never got famous, but I had a blast. National City wasn't a great place to be a metal head. We hung out in Chula Vista a lot. Paradise Hills was just a few blocks from where I grew up at my dad's place on Earle Drive. Right up the street from Plaza Blvd.
My name is Martha. A friend made signing for the deaf videos while dancing to songs. She did one for me, to Tom’s song “Martha”, which was also my ex boyfriend’s fave song. It was such an honor. I adore Tom and his music. What a unique, talented human being. He did a love song with Bette Midler. It was so romantic. I forget what it’s called.
Martha, that is a wonderful story!
Happy Birthday Tom! I was born at a very young age...
Having grown up in L.A in the 70’s as a kid, and the 80’s as a teen/young adult, and being involved in the local scene, I’ve been to many of these places, as a spectator and as part of the band. Lots of memories at the Troubadour, Canters, etc.
This ties so many things together beautifully. Thank you. and thank you for putting the direct link to Big Brothers/Sisters LA for donations. Will do.
BBBSLA is very dear to my heart. Thank you so much!
Tim your channel is a requirement of any music lover in the know.
Right on, thanks Garry!
Nice one Tim. We saw him in Sydney in the late 70's at a theatre with worn out seats from the 1940's. Tom spent a lot of the night sitting in an old over stuffed lounge chair with a black and white TV under a moth eaten lamp stand. He'd roam over to a piano now and then all the time chain smoking. Just the best performance.
Now that is a cool story! I've never gotten to see him play live, was a broke musician back in those days. I did however live at the Tropicana Motel for a month or so and used to see him in the public phone booth almost every day.
Finding Tom Waits was a wonderful
Discovery. He and his music embodied
The soul of the fifties and the beats.
Everything seemed to come together,
Found Chas Bukowski, Rickee Lee and it all reinforced each other. Toms' persona
Was enetertaining but was suicidal and I'm glad he shook free. As an artist and musician he left his mark and is much
Appreciated. Thanks for filling in some
Personal history.
T
H
A
N
K
S
!
But he wasn't a copy. He was the real deal.
Another place Waits frequented was the SW corner of Sunset Blvd. at Broadway, the edge of Chinatown. There was a Chinese restaurant where he parked his car in front of to sleep-off a drunk. It closed & remained vacant in the 90s. It is now a multi-apartment or condo with a CVS drug store.
TW played the part of Renfield in Bram Stoker's Dracula movie w/ Gary Oldman.
The narrator has a similar voice as Rick Beato!
Anyway, great video and best wishes to all decent Americans from Prague, Czech republic! 🇨🇿🍻🇺🇸
Tom has always been surrounded by brilliant musicians as well
Totally! I don't think anyone without pretty great chops would be able to keep up with him.
I actually lived in that neighborhood as a kid in the late 60s. Played with the kids that lived at the end of the cul-de-sac there on Kentucky. It looked just like it does now. Doesn't fit the image of TW at all..still great job as always..!!
By the way.The street you filmed in Whiitier on the cul de sac was Mikinda..
Lol......!!!!
The bleakness of suburbia often led to the enhanced creativity motivation. Just like Afghani carpet weavers live in a barren landscape of rock and dirt, it inspires visions of otherness.
Tom is the son of teachers, makes sense why he became such a great songwriter and read voraciously, but of course gravitated towards Kerouac, Buk, Burroughs and Selby.
Fantastic insight into Tom Waits, really enjoyed that, many thanks for what you do .
Thanks my man. Loved doing this one!
Great video Tim ! I really enjoyed info about Tom he's one of my Favorites.
He's one of my faves also. The vid was a total blast to do.
Great piece on one of my all-time favorites! I lived in East Hollywood in the latter part of his tenure their, so it was nice to tour the very changed neighborhood we shared. Thanks for this👍😎
My favorite part of the shoot was the former Sewers of Paris club on Cosmos St. It later became a rock club I'd go to once in awhile, I think it was called the gas light or gas lamp. Very dark and mysterious. Waits would have loved it!
Fernwood Tonight was my introduction to Tom Waits, I was a big fan of the show. I really enjoyed his performance on the show, I loved his song, "The Piano Has Been Drinking," and the off-the-wall character he portrayed. Later, from time to time I'd hear one of his songs or see him in a bit part in a movie like, The Outsiders and Paradise Alley, he was on the Late Show with David Letterman many times and I came to appreciate him more as a singer/songwriter and actor. I really enjoyed this video; I learned some new things about Tom I didn't know, his childhood homelife and the fact that Rickie Lee Jones was once his girlfriend.
Fernwood was my introduction to his music too! I'd seen Tom around when I'd go to Duke's at the Tropicana but I had never heard him until Fernwood. I'd see Rickie Lee around town here and there. Besides being talented she was a pretty alluring young lady.
Always enjoyed listening to him while drinking Carling Black Label Beer in Hurley Wisconsin.
Ha! I'd have to go with the Old Style myself.
Saw/Listened to Tom open for Stephen Stills & Manassas @ Tanglewood summer of 74/75???? memorable show.
That is really cool. I just did a vid on Stills and I never knew they had played a show together.
I began listening to Wait's music in 1973, when I was beginning college, and I was 20 years old. I didn't like it and I didn't get it. But I kept coming back to it, as I wanted to like it. It took a few years, and then one day it hit me, and I have been hooked, ever since.
That is an interesting story mainly because its like mine. I was aware of him for years but didn't get totally into it until later.
Really great video! Great job, wonderful!
Thanks for the cool comment!
So nice to find this show…..💕
I wondered when you’d get to canter’s.
Having grown up, gone to high school, and worked in that area I also am very familiar with that part of the Fairfax area - the free press book store, the newspaper nest, Aron’s records etc. More than once I saw Tom walking up/down Fairfax with a guitar playing, singing, smoking and shaking his head. A real treat for someone who knew and appreciated who he was.
I saved the best for last! I used to work right across the street at Damiano's Pizza for a brief time.
Hey great peace on Tom. I worked at Platterpuss Records on Hollywood Blvd back in 70's early 80's and Mr. Waits and his old black Cadillac were regulars. He was quite an interesting character. He put out some great tunes those were the days!
That is too cool. Did he talk much or was he just shopping?
Tim he was kind of reclusive but when he did talk it was in that voice that smoked to many cigarettes. He was just up and coming struggling and broke. He did say he lived at Tropicana but he always looked like he lived in his car as it was full of stuff. He was always wearing the same clothes rather disheveled and mostly hung over but as I remember he was cool. My mom was good friends with his step mom Eda Waits although she was divorced from his dad. His dad was Frank Waits that taught at Belmont High in Hollywood. It was always a treat to see him pull up in the big black Cadillac and I will never forget that voice almost a growl!
I remember when the Tom Waits Library was in its infancy, I was living in Chula Vista and started to do some digging at the local library. I had thought he went to high school in National City but came up with nothing. Then I started looking at the yearbooks and I think the last one I looked at were Hilltop High, and I lived a block from there!! I was going “no way, he lived around here?” Sure enough, opened the 1968 yearbook,and there he was!! Also found a short poem he wrote in the school paper. So I sent a few things to the TW Library and got some bootleg burned CDs and a credit as a thanks (Dan W), but like knowing biographers have used it to help with their research. Thanks for doing a video of the locations. I wound up seeing him twice, one was at VH1 storytellers, and brought along photocopies of his high school yearbook (not sure if he kept that stuff) that I passed along to his assistant, as well as a CD booklet and Sharpie. I wasn’t expecting to get it autograph, but sure enough, she kindly came back to me apologizing that there were too many guests he was meeting with but he PERSONALIZED my CD booklet and wrote a little message on there to me. I still need to get that one framed.
I think it was a pretty well kept secret that Tom grew up in San Diego. I didn't know it until I started researching for the vid and I gotta say, it made for a fantastic excuse to go down there for a couple days. Loved you story, thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed the TW's Cali retrospective and learned many new things about my favorite anti-hero.
How can anyone not love this guy?
Tom waits has a unique way with words..singing is just something he does with the air he says..such a brilliant lyricist like no other..huge fan of him and kathleen..
Eagles Desperado LP was a pseudo old west "concept" LP and certainly wouldn't make sense that Ol' '55 be on it, actually it is on their On The Border LP. 🎸
Hi Tim love this installment .......i love Tom Waits since the late 1970s esp his early years as an L.A. singer songwriter. Thanks once again for the travelog
Right with you on that. I like his later stuff too. He hasn't put anything out for a number of years, I think his acting career took the forefront.
Most definitely, Tom Waits is the coolest. I was so happy to see him live with Les Claypool on stand up bass. It was a key moment in my life!!
That had to be pretty great. Did Les get to go off and take a crazy solo?
@RockessentialTim no, he never did.I was waiting for him to do so but It was very professional of Claypool to play all the parts as is.
@@gregsvlogshow Les is a pretty damn cool guy himself!
@@RockessentialTim true
Wow, I really appreciate this. Always been a big Waits guy and following his staggering footsteps around Southern California was always something I thought would be fascinating. Big fan of RLJ as well.
It's funny. I was a teacher for 12 years but found it absolutely torturous. Now I drive a bus and have many times wondered about The Single Fin in Mission Beach because the 8 route goes right by it. Looked intriguing, like somebody's house turned into a restaurant. Never thought it might be one of Tom's old haunts. Looks a lot smaller from the outside.
I grew up in Chula Vista too but never went to Mission Beach except to cruise. We'd always go to Tug's or Mom's in Pacific Beach. We'd sometimes go to The Cannibal Club at the Catamaran but no further south on Mission. If I'd only known.
I thought the Single Fin was a decent enough place but it was as gentrified and as polar opposite from when Tom worked there as it is possible to be. I guess all the places left pretty much are. There is just something so wonderfully seedy about rock and roll that it can only be truly experienced in those dark places.
Tim hi im jezz from england , love your videos of old music hollywood , keep em coming ❤❤❤
Hey, Jezz! Thanks for the comment and I'm working on a new vid as we speak. Right on...
Hi Tim,
Another great job from you and a nice surprise for me tonight! Thank u!!!❤
Loved doing this one. There's nobody even remotely like him.
@@RockessentialTim well you nailed it! I love LA history, and you’re the best I’ve ever seen do it justice! You got a big fan here in New Hampshire!
Tom Waits is ONE of ONE. A truly unique artist, and someone who deserves his accolades, even though he probably couldn't care less about it. Being an L.A. native, I know most of those places, but had no idea that they were once Waits' hangout/business/muses. Great video
Would've given anything to have been a fly on the wall during one of his sessions...
Tim...REALLY thanks for the ride.
Great job to found all those locations.
Great fan of Hank,Tom,and L.A.
Nice surprise!!! From Paris...
Thanks much. It was an incredibly fun video to make!
Cool video , thanks Tim , We love Tom Waits . Some of his vocals sound like
Louis Armstrong as he's growling Hello Dolly .
Ha! My kid imitates him when I put him on and it comes out sounding like Armstrong.
Great informative video about Tom❤
My fave. Thanks.
Just discovered your Channel and REALLY Dig it! Brilliant Narratives and such Captivating Back Stories🤙
I'm glad you like it and I'm glad you said so. Thanks!
Sure did dig it Tim another great video , I've always loved Tom , especially sword and Mule and he had the good sense to marry an Irish girl.
Right on, Seamus!
hi Tim 👋 thanks so much for sharing this & your adventures , it's great to see your videos again ,👍 Cheers from your friend in Southeastern Ontario Canada ✌️🇺🇸🎸🇨🇦✌️
Thanks Tim ! Great Stuff as Always. Gotta Love Tom ! Step right Up ! Peace, Rudy
Thanks, Rudy. Peace to you my brother!
FINALLY.........excellent video......thank you.....now im trying to remember the play i saw him in one night
I lived at the Tropicana when I first moved to LA in 77. I used to see him there all the time at Duke's. He was in the phone booth a lot!
Tim, you're my go 2 guy!...
Your insight is impressive!
I wish my eyesight was half as impressive!
I was a grade younger than Tom and remember seeing him many times walk by my best friends house on his way home from Hilltop High in Chula Vista. Little did I know what would come of him. He lived in a modest house a couple of blocks from the high school. Although I did not know him he seemed like a cool guy. My best friend was the late Mark Rauzon who I think may have known him being that he lived a few houses away. If only I had a crystal ball back then!
You know this vid's been out for a year now and I have heard from folks who knew him professionally but you're the first that was aware of him before he became known. I know you didn't know him but do you remember if he have a look or attitude about him that set him apart? I'm a big fan and I'm just curious.
Nighthawks at the diner is what got me. Who could imagine there was so much romance in such desolate locations.
Me too! The first time I heard the line about serving coffee too weak to defend itself I was hooked.
A really enjoyable tour of Tom Waits life and times. Thanks Tim.
Thanks much. Believe me, it was totally my pleasure to shoot this one.
Amazing video!! I love the way you maneuver your way through any setting as you expertly narrate your story. Love the raw honesty and poetry of Mr. Waits. Your content is quality not quantity and that's why I look forward to your videos.💖💯
Thanks, I'm glad it resonates. I've always felt there's a lot to be learned from a 2 minute song...
I saw Tom at the Wiltern during the Mule Variations Tour. I live in Whittier and was it was cool to see Uptown at the beginning of the video.🕺😎
I was at my grandson's junior high graduation that day and the Commencement ceremony was at Whittier High. Go Cardinals!
Awesome video! Very well structured with clear care for Tom and heavy research. Excited to check out your other videos!
Thanks much. I particularly loved making this one as Tom is one of my personal faves. Hope you like the others as well!
I cant thank you enough for that video. Very informative. Joined so many dots.
He is such an amazing and interesting guy it made for a really fun and easy vid shoot. Thanks for the comment!
Waited all my life for this video. Thanks God somebody got it done nicely 🤛👏
Excellent Video Tim . Thank you .
Right on, thanks.
I’d rather have a hot lead enema!!! I laughed right off the couch!! Thanks for another pro level video.
Wow....I love Tom - when I discovered him I was instantly hooked....the first song that I ever heard was Poncho's Lament and after that I was an instant appreciator....thanks for the great video.
Really good. Thanks for the link, Carlos!
Great vid! Saw him at a Bridge Benefit concert probably a decade ago. Unfortunately many in the audience had no idea who he was, the crowd was disappointing but he wasn’t.
I envy you. I never got a chance to see him play and if he ever tours again I will be there in a hot second. Like a fine wine his music seems to get better with age. Maybe I just had to grow into it....
It's starting to dawn on me how appropriate Rock Essentials is as a title for this channel. I'm starting to feel like what you're doing isn't just awesome and fun and funny and interesting and insightful, it's _essential._ When you drop a video, a lot of folks now _hop on it,_ like they're afraid it might disappear if they don't watch it fast enough. No one is doing what you are doing for the West Coast scene and the artists that occupied it and made it what it was, like you are. Kinda _essential._
That is really eloquent and I'm truly gratified that the vids have made an impact. I guess all I can really say is thank you for watching them. So thank you!
♥️ Your Tours Are Like A Great Book that you don't want to end. I often go back to past episodes. You are so literary in your narrative and are a great word smith. Thank You for all these! You bring Enlightenment and Joy. 🙌🙌🌅🌅
Just got home from a 2 hour ride back from filming and I'm kinda glad that chapter is over! Thanks for your cool comment, Ed. It is much appreciated!
Thanks for this, truly captured my attention. Brings me back to my yute
Excellent. Great delivery. THANK YOU.
Came across this today. How wonderful. Thank you very much for the work you put into this. Tom remains a lifelong favorite.
Thanks much. Tom is also one of my faves and this vid was very special to make.
First Tom Waits album I ever heard was Nighthawks at the Diner. I've been in love with his music ever since.
Huge Tom Waits fan here - looking forward to this! Another well researched and presented historical biopic. Love the locations (esp early childhood), quotes and anecdotes. Thank you again.
Always good to hear from you. This video was among my 3 faves to make. I just love Tom!
Those places still have a vibe about them. You have a sense of history. Thanks for a great video.
Right on, thanks!
This is fantastic. Thanks for the effort and result.
Right on, thanks!
Wow, thanks so much for doing this. I’ve been a TW fan since the late 70s. I knew very little about him until now.
Phenomenal tour, thank you.
Thanks. I love Tom so it was my total pleasure.
Great post as usual. However, The Eagles' cover of "Ol' 55" was on "On The Border" not "Desperado". It has long been my favorite "Eagles" song. Yet, Tom Waits' original is better. I loved it when Bette Midler performed "Martha" on "Saturday Night Live". Keep up the great work!
whoops.
Loved him in Dracula flick, Gram Parsons
I used to hang in LA and go to Troub with friends in 70s
I'm 4 years younger than Waits. He was born in 1949 and I was born in 1953. In his lyrics and writings always seemed to make me think he was much older than myself. Seeing him with long hair, in that photo you posted was a shocker.
Loved this!!!! Great work!
Right on, thanks!
Hello Tim, I love your stuff - a great Sunday afternoon for me is kicking back and watching some of your videos....thank you.
Best comment of the day. Thank you!
Great video. I love Tom and know his stories and songs pretty well. All those places like Canters and Troubadour are familiar. The burrito place too is one I’ve been to but never realized it’s holiness. Tom lived a fairly black and white style existence in the Technicolor 70’s. Old cars, old clothes and old haunts. It rubbed off on his tunes and thank the gods he saw beyond Laurel Canyon. Like Bukowski, he found the beautiful in the most mundane details. It’s a pleasure to witness and there was never a better name than the Sewers of Paris. Why that went away with gentrification I’ll never understand.
Well said and all too true my friend!
LOVE how you walk into places like a King!! Great work!!
Very interesting … thank you !
Thank you too!
Wonderful travelogue, great fun. Thank you!
well done
One of your best, many thanks
Thanks, Rick!
Great video Tim. I didnt' know a lot the background of Tom Waits. Thanks for your effort. Cheers from Thailand.
Thanks and I didn't know a lot of the background before doing the vid either!
Great episode!
Imagine what it must have been like for the crowd during the Nighthawks at the Diner recording. Probably my favourite album of all time.
It had to be pretty special for sure. It wasn't an especially large studio they recorded it at and I've always wondered how they went about getting the audience. Was it random or was it all friends and such? Anyways, I agree that it's one of the best albums ever.
@@RockessentialTim you should do a video dedicated to this :) find any survivors and get their testimonials
Hmmm...@@deerslayer1234
Great video, enjoyed that a lot. :D
Thanks much. THis particular one was one of my very favorites to film. Tom the man!
Another excellent video, 👏
Thanks my man!
I have loved Tom Waits for a long time. He lived in San Diego? Wow! I have also loved Charles Bukowski! My friends and I used to hang out at Norm's! This was my neighborhood when I was young! Thanks for this!
I too was surprised to find out he lived in San Diego but I was really shocked that he was originally from Whittier. My daughter lives there now just up the street from where Tom grew up!
@@RockessentialTim Wow!
Great job. Only it moves pretty briskly. Lot of info. And will it mention The Tropicana? Check. Silver Lake? Check.
I was a little late to the party, being more of the Jackson Browne type listener. (But only because I hadn't been exposed to Tom's work.)
Little did I know the treats that lay in wait for me. Thanks for this. 😎😻
Walkin’ Spanish down the hall, baby. 😊
this was faaaaantastic. loves it. very well done and to the point. thank you.
Bravo dude
Tanks
Just made my Saturday. ❤
And you just made mine!
Awesome series love it !
Right on, thanks!
YES!!! NOW YOU'RE TALKING! Thanks, Tim! I really like your videos and I'm sure I'm gonna LOVE this one! Greetings from Sweden! LET'S GO!
I hope it lives up to the hype!
Our band played and I sang! Down In The Hole last night. Miss ya man.
Wow, I didn't know you were into him. I been listening to him a lot and every time Knox hears him he imitates him. Its pretty hysterical. Gonna hang out with Marc D of Dwarves on Monday. Haven't seen him for years.
@@RockessentialTim I actually met him on Jan 2, 1979 (I know your bday) at a famous jazz bar in Greenwich Village called Bradley's. I can't explain here how that happened. I enjoyed the video. The production (music/editing) was great
I got the drums for the music from Phil like over 20 years ago and finally got to use them. Phil is putting a record out as we speak. Talked with him last week.
@@RockessentialTim PLEASE send me anything Phil! when you get it.
@@drummersagainstitk I will
Great vid and story - thx!
Right on, thanks.
Thanks man great video. I'm huge fan of Tom.
Thanks. I'm a big fan too so it was an absolute pleasure to make!
Very informative content as always, Tim. I enjoy seeing and hearing about the old recording studios (Record Plant, Wally Heider's, Gold Star, I.D. Sound, etc.) and I especially enjoyed your Maynard G. Krebs reference. That fits Tom Waits like a glove. Well done and keep it up -- your efforts are much appreciated by all of us who grew up during the 1960s / 1970s.
Thanks, Jon. I'd love to go exploring with my camera inside some of these studios but they are very well guarded and don't like people like me coming in there. I don't get it but there is still an air of exclusivity around most of the remaining ones.