Ol' '55

"Ol' '55" is a song written and recorded by Tom Waits. It is the opening track on Waits' 1973 debut album, Closing Time. The song was covered by the Eagles on their 1974 album On the Border.

Waits has been critical of cover versions of the song, admitting that he was "not that particularly crazy about [the Eagles'] rendition of it ... I thought their version was a little antiseptic."^[1]

Recordings

• 1973 Tom Waits on the album Closing Time
• 1974 The Eagles on the album On the Border
• 1974 Fairport Convention singer Ian Matthews, on the album Some Days You Eat the Bear.
• 1975 Eric Andersen on the album Be True To You.
• 1994 Sarah McLachlan on The Freedom Sessions. This same version also appears on the Boys On The Side soundtrack.
• 1999 Acda en De Munnik made a Dutch rendition of the song on their 1999 bonus album Live in de orangerie (included with Op voorraad).
• 2009 Sass Jordan on the album From Dusk 'Til Dawn.

Live versions

• 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.

References