"Ol' '55" | ||||
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Single by Tom Waits | ||||
from the album Closing Time | ||||
Released | 1973 | |||
Recorded | Spring 1972 at Sunset Sound Recorders and United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Length | 3:58 | |||
Label | Asylum | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tom Waits | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Yester | |||
Tom Waits singles chronology | ||||
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"Ol' '55" is a song by American musician Tom Waits. It is the opening track and lead single from Waits' debut studio album, Closing Time , released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. Written by Waits and produced by Jerry Yester, "Ol' '55" was a minor hit. It has been described as more conventional than Waits' later songs. [1] The title, "Ol' '55", refers to the singer's vehicle, A 1955 Buick Roadmaster, "the first real luxury automobile I had ... about as slick as deer guts on a doorknob." [2]
The song has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by the Eagles for their 1974 album On The Border . In a 1975 interview, Waits was critical of the Eagles' cover version of his song, admitting that he was "not that particularly crazy about (their) rendition of it ... I thought their version was a little antiseptic." [3] About one year later, while interviewed for NME, he went as far as stating that "I don’t like the Eagles. They’re about as exciting as watching paint dry. Their albums are good for keeping the dust off your turntable and that’s about all.” [4]
After the Eagles performed the song at the band’s millennium concert in 1999, Glenn Frey told the audience, “Tom didn’t really like our version of Ol’ ’55 when it first came out … and then he got the (royalties) check. Since then, Tom and I, we’re really close.”
The song was used for All Elite Wrestling's Brodie Lee tribute video during his Celebration of Life. [5] AEW President and CEO Tony Khan purchased the rights to the song in perpetuity, saying "so the tribute will last forever". [6]
Thomas Alan Waits is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits "has composed a body of work that's at least comparable to any songwriter's in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtrodden, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that's unlike any other in pop history."
Julie Anne Miller is an American songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded several duet albums.
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter. While she has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home".
Closing Time is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released on March 6, 1973, on Asylum Records. Produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, Closing Time was the first of seven of Waits' major releases by Asylum.
Small Change is the fourth studio album by singer and songwriter Tom Waits, released on September 21, 1976 on Asylum Records. It was recorded in July at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood. It was successful commercially and outsold his previous albums. This resulted in Waits putting together a touring band - The Nocturnal Emissions, which consisted of Frank Vicari on tenor saxophone, FitzGerald Jenkins on bass guitar and Chip White on drums and vibraphone. The Nocturnal Emissions toured Europe and the United States extensively from October 1976 till May 1977.
The Heart of Saturday Night is the second studio album by singer and songwriter Tom Waits, released on October 15, 1974, on Asylum Records. The title song was written as a tribute to Jack Kerouac. The album marks the start of a decade-long collaboration between Waits and Bones Howe, who produced and engineered all Waits' recordings until the artist left Asylum.
Nighthawks at the Diner is the third studio album by singer and songwriter Tom Waits, released on October 21, 1975 on Asylum Records. It was recorded over four sessions in July in the Los Angeles Record Plant studio in front of a small invited audience set up to recreate the atmosphere of a jazz club. The album peaked at 164 on the Billboard 200, the highest place Waits had held at the time, and was certified silver by the BPI in 2010. It has received critical acclaim for its successful mood-setting, capturing of the jazz-club atmosphere and characterization.
"Young at Heart" is a pop standard ballad with music by Johnny Richards and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh.
"Sunny Came Home" is a folk-rock song by American musician Shawn Colvin. It is the opening track on her 1996 concept album, A Few Small Repairs, and was released as a CD and cassette single on June 24, 1997. In the United Kingdom, the song was released in July 1997 but did not chart until a re-release in May 1998.
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards is a limited edition three CD set by Tom Waits, released by the ANTI- label on November 17, 2006 in Europe and on November 21, 2006 in the United States.
Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits is the title of a tribute album to Tom Waits, released in 1995 by Manifesto Records. The songs are performed by various artists.
Anthology of Tom Waits is the first "best of" compilation of Tom Waits recordings, with tracks taken from his albums for Asylum Records.
Jonathan Huber was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020.
The Early Years is a two-part retrospective album series of Tom Waits songs, consisting of recordings made before Waits' debut album, Closing Time. Volume one was released in 1991 and volume two was released in 1993 on Bizarre/Straight. The recordings were made between July and December 1971. Some of the songs on the album appear on the early albums Waits recorded for Asylum Records. In 2010, both volumes of The Early Years were released on vinyl by Manifesto Records.
The discography of Shawn Colvin, an American singer-songwriter and musician, consists of eight studio albums, two live albums and sixteen singles.
Uncovered is the ninth studio album by American singer Shawn Colvin. The work consists of cover songs from other notable musicians.
The AEW TNT Championship is a men's professional wrestling television championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established as a secondary title on March 30, 2020, it is named after the TNT television network, which airs AEW's weekly programs, Collision and Rampage, as well as the promotion's Battle of the Belts quarterly television specials. The inaugural champion was Cody Rhodes. The current champion is Daniel Garcia, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Jack Perry at Full Gear on November 23, 2024.
The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life was a professional wrestling memorial event and television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event took place on December 30, 2020, at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of Dynamite. It paid tribute to AEW wrestler Brodie Lee following his death four days prior.
"(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" is a song by Tom Waits on his 1974 album The Heart of Saturday Night.