TOM WAITS - Chocolate Jesus @ Letterman

[@dudorotomy]

Total genius. We need him.

[@robertkees6048]

I've probably been thru 36 Tom Waits fazes since I first discovered his three eighties albums at a College party in 1988. Once he swims in your blood it's never the same again.

[@theguylikesmovies]

The pool never closes.

[@shakin-it-boss]

After my first divorce, it was wild turkey and franks wild years every night. I swear he was talking to me.

[@robertkees6048]

@@shakin-it-boss He was talking to you, that's what makes him so special, we all feel like he's speaking directly to us cause he is. I liken listening to his songs like they're old friends come to visit. Maybe someday we'll be graced with new Tom Waits music, I figure it'll happen, fingers crossed on that.

[@chancethadood]

happy easter everyone

[@brotherchunkymusic950]

Tom Waits is a genius and Letterman was the only host that could interview him properly.

[@matrisgallus6189]

Mule variations was my introduction to Tom Waits. I was in rehab and my dad sent me the CD and it started a whole new addiction. A tom waits addiction.

[@dinkmartini3236]

Clearly his best although Frank's Wild Years is nipping its heels.

[@JudithBlackie]

An immaculate confection !!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@ecyranot]

Tom always comes prepared with a story or a conversation piece. I think Dave appreciated that.

[@ferouihamza]

you can tell Letterman really enjoyed hanging out with tom

[@davidhaynes3126]

Got to see this show at the Sony centre in Toronto. He was cool. Didn’t disappoint us.

[@craigharmerus2228]

This is the best copy of the Tom's "Chocolate Jesus" performance on Letterman that i've seen ... and it's a brilliant performance! Watch this!!!

[@nicolakiss]

what a masterpiece of a man.. make it rain version was amazing..

[@Chris-hp8yf]

!!!Beautiful!!!

[@chrishutton-ce3ch]

still love it

[@yves-vv6uf]

A show man,of a unique kind ❤❤❤

[@isetta4083]

This is so surreal, I've been watching the VHS rip for years and seeing this same performance in ""high""" quality feels unreal and whimsical

[@andyrewchase]

Some people get it and some others don’t. I get it and this performance I watch all the time. Gives me chills.

[@Missjunebugfreak]

Truly one of my favorite people in music. Just an absolutely unique artist.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Tom's anecdotes of Biblical purportions are always fascinating and hilarious. A true national treasure--there is nobody else like him.

[@amh7427]

AMEN

[@Legionmint7091]

I stumbled upon Rain Dogs back in 1985 and listened to it on repeat for a week. Then I went out and bought all his previous records. Been a devoted fan ever since.

[@shawnriffhard]

I had no clue; I was just a Keith Richards completist who bought anything Keef was on. I knew within 5-10 seconds of dropping the needle on the vinyl that life was suddenly different. Would pay anything to have that moment again.

[@tristanmike]

I've always been proud of the fact that my father exposed me to all sorts of music. From The Beatles to Frank Zappa to Hank Williams to Men at Work, he listened to almost everything. I say almost because I had never heard of Tom Waits as a musician and thought he was just an actor. It wasn't until my 30's did I discover his music and my life has never been the same. I am baffled that my father, with all the great music he listened to, does not have a single Tom Waits record. I now have them all.

[@chuck1804]

You're never too late to discover Tom Waits. Life enriching music at any age.

[@JustineDodd]

Geez - that is a LOT of albums! And every one is a gem :)

[@wendycrawford1792]

@tristanmike. Hi dear. It’s very cool that your dad introduced you to all kinds of music. I did the same for my daughter. Then she introduced me to some amazing Indie bands. She knows my taste in music and is ready to pass on something she’s discovered. Every time l turn around, I’m discovering musicians/bands old and new. It’s never ending! You can’t possibly pick up on every artist….. there are millions. I’m still learning even though I’m familiar with a hell of a lot of singers/ bands. So there you have it. I’ll leave you with two amazing geniuses- one, my daughter saw in Montreal where she lives. His name is Jacob Collier. There’s no one like him. I guarantee you’ll be blown away. The other genius is Marcin ( and like Collier, very young). He can play the guitar like no one I’ve ever seen. These are my gifts to you. Sorry if you already know about them. ❤️

[@williamfry6087]

I am mesmerized, thank you Jesus - chocolate Jesus.

[@cpndSimyule]

he's a pure wizard

[@yves-vv6uf]

He is certainly a beautiful gift for all of us 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️☮️☮️☮️❤️❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏👏😎😎😎

[@crosseyedandpainless2714]

When my younger sister saw the cover for Real Gone she exclaimed, 'Ew!' I still love that album.

[@CarlBeer-cd6ec]

Class

[@sTeVe-vl3nh]

As he showed the photo i felt small of thinking this man could tell crap. 1 out of millions

[@MelancholyProductions]

Genius artist

[@chrishutton-ce3ch]

genius performance artist so creative love it

[@MrZipdang]

The showmanship! Magical, truly!

[@chrisshill5044]

I think that would be a great album title. Throwing confetti and dancing backwards

[@Ayoayoayoayoayoayoa]

Or fall out a window with it in your hair

[@come1588]

night Legend🎉🎉🎉

[@theresaaguero865]

Step right up

[@TheMrHakujin]

“They sharpen their knives on my mistakes.” Testify!

[@charliewhite7596]

Saw Tom waits in concert and have followed him since the early 70s

[@dinkmartini3236]

Name another entertainer that is their own genre.

[@mollyrose2896]

Prince

[@eas1216]

Pure brilliance.

[@causti9744]

Thank you for the hq upload, absolutely insane in comparison to the VHS rip i saw before.

[@elsiebert2273]

All of the above and the banjo player is brilliant!

[@vtheb1299]

Thank you for uploading and please correct the title of the video. Make It Rain has gotten me through the worst parts of my life. It deserves to be there.

[@Buran288gto]

What a gift. Thanks.

[@zovalentine7305]

❤ Tom Waits ❤

[@funksoulbrother3620]

I thought it couldn't get any better then at 14:40 Tom pops up with Judah Bauer and Russell Simins from JSBX. Yup that's the stuff

[@jeremiahhankins3372]

I will ALWAYS be a #Raindog howlin in the wind, struttin my stuff, and lookin for that downtown train.

[@douglasjackson8571]

Tried to scroll thru All the comments Again. Zerelda Lee was Horse Name during 1980s.

[@christertonnberg8411]

the king

[@mjmcnult]

I am in the church of Tom Waits.

[@shaneward4250]

Amen

[@ChristopherPHammond]

The "Imaculate confection" comment doesn't raise a titter??

[@keithdoeskungfu]

He's a comedian for sure 😂

[@dmlevitt]

genius

[@bibabuba8223]

... sharpen their knives on my mistakes .. . .. damn

[@lawrencedamatin5120]

The charles bukowski of music

[@barronrugge]

What's my neighbor doin, I've got a right to know!

[@toonswap8511]

Great banter and chemistry between these two. I just saw Tom on Jimmy Fallon and it was so cringey.

[@buffalee]

G E N I U S

[@banba317]

@ 2:51 the guy TUNES the banjo... Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.... WTF for?

[@brianjones6500]

I think some beliefs are more fun if you stumble into them. I blame the door hinge; and the horses ability to work around something not chewable.

[@pardus5045]

Make it rain

[@dmlevitt]

my her0

[@scottprice8994]

Tom Waits and Joe Cocker could be brothers. Ha ha

[@Ralphydub]

Maybe in a sitcom being backed by Universal on Mars

[@gazignoli4070]

Он научил санбоя петь через ведро

[@DavidPerry-do6xt]

Did he ever meet J Prine?

[@brianjones6500]

Proper cologne is made from a room full of boys playing and the shoes stink worse than what anybody could imagine. Think...now please if you don't want to barf in public. Think 5 teenage boys and all shoes are off in a room that is sealed off. As a responsible parent I would check in to talk about hunger and if the situation down below required a full or a half pyrex pan of lasagna.

[@raddastronaut]

Tom that chemical that’s getting them going is the lead in the paint! Jk. I hope not.

[@termsofusepolice]

Waits is as close as you can get to a blackface minstrel show without the shoe polish.

[@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec]

wtf? He never uses black face. Black face minstrel shows didn’t invent this kind of multi-facet drama based entertainment either; it’s centuries old.’

[@termsofusepolice]

@@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec I was referring to Tom's fake, 80 year old black man voice.

[@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec]

@@termsofusepolice I assume you are referring to his singing cause I know a lot of white people that talk like him. His speaking voice is what happens after a thousand cigarettes. If you defines waits as a minstrel show because he was influenced by blk singers, are you similarly defining The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Animals as minstrel shows? They were all influenced by black singers. The difference between a minstrel show and a singer is a minstrel show copies the likeness of a blk person and mocks it/disrespects. A singer isn’t necessarily copying the likeness of a blk person, only merely a VOICE or a SOUND, and the singer happens to be blk, which is secondary and not a consideration. The minstrel shows copies the qualities of a blk person to convey their likeness. A singer like waits copies a blk person to convey a sound, a vocal style. It has nothing to do with racism or condescending, mocking.

[@Jamesp1972]

This would now be called cultural appropriation

[@arthurriley5856]

Vocal Blackface at it's finest

[@Fritz303]

You're wrong. Go listen to his earlier works. Don't forget the soundtrack to One From the Heart with Crystal Gayle. His voice is genuine.

[@GregorBarclay]

@@Fritz303well…. Genuine-ish. He smoked like a chimney on purpose to ruin it.

[@FluxDiablo]

Its funny you think this is how black people generically sound?

[@FluxDiablo]

He obviously takes influence from black music, especially to the likes of Screaming Jay Hawkins. But to call it blackface, is crazy. No one said that about Jim Morrisons blues

[@zaperfan]

Tom is just pure genius