Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 1949) is a prolific American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit 'n' sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation (novelists like
Jack Kerouac and
William S. Burroughs, and poets like
Allen Ginsberg and
Charles Bukowski). He is often compared to Charles Bukowski, being similar both in content and lifestyle as his literary contemporary, although his views are more egalitarian than Bukowski's.