Welcome to the second half of the list of things you probably didn’t know about Tom Waits. Tom Waits is an entertaining who has made a career off of being a wonderfully strange surprise, so here we offer you some more strange surprises about the musician.
Number Eight: He Used to Drive an Ice Cream Truck
The sound of the bell made him crazy. He also worked for the Coast Guard, as a doorman and in a pizzeria, among other strange occupations.
Number Seven: Tom Waits Loves Missy Elliot
He has even called her his favorite contemporary artist. She’s an easy musician to love, but this is still pretty unexpected coming from Tom Waits.
Number Six: He Was Nominated for an Oscar
Most people would probably guess that he’s won some Grammy Awards (and they’d be right). But it’s less known that he was nominated for an Academy Award for the soundtrack to the 1980 film One From the Heart.
Number Five: Scarlett Johansson is a Crazy Fan of His
She has described herself as a stalker fan of the musician. Scarlett even released an album comprised of nothing but Tom Waits cover songs.
Number Four: He Sued Frito Lay
And he won over $2 million. The company created a song that ripped of Waits’ “Step Right Up” in a Doritos commercial.
Number Three: He Hates 1960s Music
This is not to say he doesn’t like anything at all from the decade. But he has said that he has avoided the music from this time and would rather listen to music like Bing Crosby.
Number Two: His Favorite Album is Mostly Silence
It is a recording of a Marcel Marceau performance simply titled The Best of Marcel Marceau. Apparently Tom Waits has been known to put it on during parties (and then become upset if anyone attempted to talk while it played).
Number One: He Lived at the Tropicana Motel
The famous motel has housed a whole bunch of rock and roll royalty, from Iggy Pop to Bob Marley. But Tom Waits may have been the only long-term resident – he even moved his piano in without asking. That’s it for our Tom Waits list. Hope you enjoyed your stay!