Nearly 25 years ago, Mule Variations was one of the most anticipated albums of 1999 and went on to win the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Waits was also nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the romantic ballad, Hold On.
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Following 1992’s Grammy winning Bone Machine, Waits ushered in a strange new beast on The Black Rider, with help from legendary Beat William Burroughs, avant-garde theater visionary Robert Wilson, & a nightmarish German folk tale, "Der Freischütz”.
In 1983 Swordfishtrombones spoken word interlude “Frank’s Wild Years” introduced the Waits character/alter ego Frank O’Brien. Waits would revisit and expand on the character over the next few years.