Swing back to 1974.

Tom Waits, who would go on to become a Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter, releases his second studio album, The Heart of Saturday Night.

On that album appears “San Diego Serenade,” which includes the lyrics, I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long/I never heard the melody until I needed the song. A seriously beautiful song. The next year, he releases it as a single.

Waits goes on to become known for his unique musical style, deep, gravelly voice, and storytelling that portrays downtrodden characters living on the fringes of society.

Buchowski, if he could sing.

Although Waits isn’t covered in the San Diego news very often, he’s probably the most significant musical artist to emerge from San Diego. In 2011, he is elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Born in Pomona, California, Waits’ family moved to National City when he was around 10 years old. He attended Chula Vista’s Hilltop High School, where he played in his first band, The System.

San Diego news reports indicate that in the mid to late 1960s, he was a dishwasher and cook at Napoleone’s Pizza, which is still in business today. This National City landmark inspired his song, “Ghosts of Saturday Night – After Hours at Napoleone’s Pizza Parlor.”

Waits spent a formative part of his early career in San Diego, which included performances at the Heritage Coffeehouse in Mission Beach, an important part of San Diego’s folk music scene during the ‘60s and ‘70s. (He also had a job there as a bouncer.)

In 1974, the same year “San Diego Serenade” was released, Waits performed at the 8th San Diego State Folk Festival, which was held at San Diego State University’s Montezuma Hall.

San Diego, or its influence, can be heard in several of his songs, though he would soon leave the city in 1971 to pursue his musical career in Los Angeles, a career that now spans over five decades and has incorporated elements of blues, rock, jazz, and even vaudeville. If you’ve lived in San Diego long enough, you’re well aware of the “moving to LA to make it big” narrative – think the Stone Temple Pilots.

Despite never achieving mainstream commercial success, he has garnered a devoted cult following and critical acclaim. Waits appeared on David Letterman’s late night talk show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and on The Simpsons in an episode entitled “Homer Goes to Prep School” in which he played himself. San Diego news has covered him as well.

An accomplished composer, poet and sometime actor, Waits has acted in several films directed by Jim Jarmusch, whose sister Ann, incidentally, was a longtime writer with the San Diego Union Tribune. According to Variety, Jarmusch’s first film in six years, Father Mother Sister Brother, will feature Waits along with stars Adam Driver and Cate Blanchett. Look out for that later this year.

In the meantime, enjoy “San Diego Serenade.”

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