Ol' '55
"Ol' '55" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Tom Waits | ||||
from the album Closing Time | ||||
Released | 1973 (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 | ||||
|
"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]
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]
Cover versions
- 1974 Eagles on the album On the Border, and a live version on disc 4 of their 2000 compilation Selected Works: 1972-1999. It was also the b-side of the single Best of My Love.
- 1974 Fairport Convention singer Iain Matthews, on the album Some Days You Eat the Bear
- 1975 Eric Andersen on the album Be True To You
- 1980 Richie Havens on the album Connections
- 1994 Sarah McLachlan on The Freedom Sessions
- 1994 Shawn Colvin on Cover Girl (Shawn Colvin album)
- 1999 Acda en De Munnik on the 1999 bonus album Live in de orangerie
- 1999 K's Choice on the enhanced CD Extra Cocoon - All Access
- 2009 Sass Jordan on the album From Dusk 'Til Dawn
- 2010 Gov't Mule covered "Ol' 55" for the first time on July 18, 2010 in Charlotte, NC as an encore performed with Jackie Greene.
- 2011 Maeve O'Boyle on the album Intermission
- 2012 Nick & Simon on the album Sterker (Deluxe/ DVD Wisseloord Sessies)
- 2015 Owen Campbell on the album In the Shadow of the Greats
- 2019 Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer on the album Come On Up to the House - Women Sing Waits
References
- ^ Barton, Matthew (July 18, 2018). "Looking Back at Tom Waits' Asylum Years: 'Closing Time,' 'The Heart of Saturday Night', 'Nighthawks at the Diner,' 'Small Change,' 'Foreign Affairs,' 'Blue Valentine, 'Heart Attack & Vine'". Glide.
- ^ Flint, Tom (2017). "Tom Waits - Ol' 55 (Live 1975)". YouTube. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hoskyns, Barney (2011). Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. Faber & Faber. p. 120. ISBN 978-0571261246.
- ^ Maher, Paul Jr (2011). Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters. Chicago Review Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1569769270.
- ^ AEW Pays Tribute to Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee | AEW Brodie Lee Celebration of Life, 12/30/20. YouTube. All Elite Wrestling. December 30, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ Khan, Tony [@TonyKhan] (December 30, 2020). "Thank you everyone who joined us tonight on #AEWDynamite to celebrate the life of Jon Huber, known to fans as Mr. Brodie Lee. It was a great honor to host his family Amanda, Brodie & Nolan. I bought the rights to Ol' 55 by Tom Waits in perpetuity so that tribute will last forever" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
- v
- t
- e
- Closing Time
- The Heart of Saturday Night
- Nighthawks at the Diner
- Small Change
- Foreign Affairs
- Blue Valentine
- Heartattack and Vine
- Swordfishtrombones
- Rain Dogs
- Franks Wild Years
- Bone Machine
- Mule Variations
- Blood Money
- Alice
- Real Gone
- Bad as Me
- Big Time
- Romeo Bleeding: Live from Austin
- Glitter and Doom Live
- One from the Heart
- Night on Earth
- The Black Rider
- Bounced Checks
- Anthology of Tom Waits
- Asylum Years
- The Early Years, Volume One
- The Early Years, Volume Two
- Beautiful Maladies
- Used Songs 1973–1980
- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- "Ol' '55"
- "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night"
- "Tom Traubert's Blues"
- "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening with Pete King)"
- "Step Right Up"
- "Somewhere"
- "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"
- "Romeo Is Bleeding"
- "Kentucky Avenue"
- "Heartattack and Vine"
- "Jersey Girl"
- "In the Neighborhood
- "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six
- "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
- "Hang Down Your Head"
- "Time"
- "Downtown Train"
- "Hang On St. Christopher"
- "Innocent When You Dream"
- "Way Down in the Hole"
- "Come On Up to the House"
- "Bad as Me"
- "Back in the Crowd"
- The Black Rider
- Woyzeck
- Discography
- Kathleen Brennan
- Greg Cohen
- Bones Howe
- Jim Jarmusch
- Rickie Lee Jones
- Marc Ribot
- Larry Taylor
- Chuck E. Weiss
- Big Time (film)
- Wicked Grin
- Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits
- New Coat of Paint
- Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits
- Tom Waits for No One
![]() | This 1970s single–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e