In December of 1978, Tom Waits recorded an episode of Austin City Limits. The now-mainstay music program was in its relative infancy - only its fourth season - and had built a solid fanbase of Americana music enthusiasts. As the ACL website notes:
"...the show came in through the back door, so to speak. Terry Lickona, who became producer in Season 4, was trying to book singer Leon Redbone. Redbone and Waits shared a manager, who promptly requested that Terry book his other client as well. In order to make sure the Redbone show happened, Terry agreed, even though he was nervous that the roots-oriented audience ACL had already built in its previous three seasons might think that Waits’ avant-garde gutter poetry was too radical for the show."
The rest is history. Waits put on a stellar performance mixing songs from his then recently released Blue Valentine, some older material, and debuted "On the Nickle" which wouldn't see a proper release until 1980's Heartattack and Vine. If you've never seen the full televised performance, it's worth seeking out.
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