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Tom Waits Udderly Ticked Off
Don't even think about calling Tom Waits a sellout.
The alt-rock demigod is suing mad at General Motors' European division for allegedly using a sound-alike to mimic his distinctive boozy rasp for spots advertising GM's Opel car line in Scandivania.
Waits, 55, says he was first clued in to the supposed similarities between the ad's vocals and his boho barfly style by European fans, who were wondering whether the contrarian artist had sold out.
"In answer to the many queries I have received: No, I did not do the Opel car commercial currently running on TV in Scandinavia," the singer-songwriter said in a statement. "I have a long-standing policy against my voice or music being used in commercials and I have lawyers over there investigating my options."
For its part, the carmaker rejected any notion it tried to ape Waits.
"We actually are surprised about the fact that Tom Waits considers the music that goes with the current TV commercial 'Lullaby' for a range of Opel cars a potential misuse of his voice and style of singing," the company said in a statement Thursday.
The company said that the marketing campaign's music originated as a piece entitled "Wiegenlied" written by 18th century German composer Johannes Brahms that was adapted by a Frankfurt-based crooner who offered up a "rough voice interpretation."
"We have been assured by our agency partners that Tom Waits has not been approached at any time within this project," Opel added.
The manufacturer said the only American performer who it pitched to do the promotion was Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler,
That explanation isn't likely to fly with Waits.
"If I stole an Opel, Lancia or Audi, put my name on it and resold it, I'd go to jail," said the avant garde musician and actor. "But over there they ask, you say, 'No,' and they hire impersonators. They profit from the association and I lose--time, money, and credibility. What's that about?
"Commercials are an unnatural use of my work," he continued. "It's like having a cow's udder sewn to the side of my face. Painful and humiliating."
Udder or not, Waits probably has his lawyers on speed dial at this point.
In 1992, he took Frito-Lay to court, claiming the potato-chip manufacturer ripped off his voice for a Doritos ad, and was awarded $2.5 million. He also filed similar suits against Audi and Italian carmaker Lancia.
Even his old record label was a target. In the early '90s, Waits sued Third Story Music for breach of contract for selling two of his songs to marketers overseas without his consent.
While his legal crew works out the Opel situation, Waits is doing his part for the kids. He has joined the likes of Radiohead and Björk and donated several tracks to War Child warchildmusic.com), a charity raising money to rehabilitate children in war-torn regions.
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