Hold On - written by Tom Waits - performed by The Unsung Heroes

Tom Waits is an icon in the American singer-songwriting category. He's been producing wide-ranging and very unique recordings since the early 1970s and it still active today. He's also an actor who has appeared in several movies over many decades; often playing roles that align with the offbeat, eccentric, and sometimes gritty characters he sings about in his music. He’s known for his gravelly voice, unique blend of genres, and storytelling that often touches on themes of the down-and-out, the misfits, and the outcasts of society. Waits’ music can range from jazz, blues, and rock to experimental and also extreme avant-garde, with his lyrics often featuring characters caught in tough situations often within the underbelly of urban life. Tom Waits' early albums, such as Closing Time (1973) and The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), leaned more toward a jazzy, piano-driven sound. As time went on, his music evolved into something much darker and more experimental, especially in albums like Rain Dogs (1985) and Bone Machine (1992). Waits’ distinct style is often a blend of rough, emotional vocals, intricate instrumentals, and complex storytelling. "Hold On" is a track from Mule Variations (1999), one of Tom Waits’ most beloved albums. The song is a blend of folk, blues, and rock and contains an anthemic chorus section. While some people sense a message of sadness or despair in this song, Waits has maintained that it is actually meant to be uplifting, with the chorus encouraging the subjects in the song to keep faith and accept the helping hand being offered. Waits has released a few different versions of this song in both audio and video formats and some of them vary somewhat from others in lyrical content and number of verses. Our version copies a video he released and it lacks a verse that shows up in some of his other versions. We chose to cover this version simply because it is a very long song as it stands here and the extra verse makes it significantly longer. Tom Waits really is a gem of American musical and theatrical culture and while not the household name that some of his contemporaries might be, The Unsung Heroes are big fans and will strive to help keep his music relevant and in the public mindset. Regarding this video in particular. This is one of the first multi-camera shoots we ever did in our Blind Mule Barn Studio. It, like all of our videos, is self produced and is simply a time stamp of where we were at technically and musically at that moment. Although we are proud of this project, we hope that our production has improved over the last year or so since this was created, but it has some charm that some of our later stuff might also benefit from should we revisit, to some degree or another, some aspects of this particular approach to recording. Thanks for watching the video and also for reading this description. Please leave a like and/or subscribe to our channel if you enjoy what we're creating. Also leave your comment below and let us know what you think. It really helps us develop the page and also gives us more insight as to what works for our audience. ‪@tomwaits‬ ‪@antirecords‬