On October 2nd 2017, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty died from an accidental overdose of prescribed pain killers. Much like the 2016 deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Prince, this passing was a major shock and it hurt millions of music fans really bad. Very few knew of Bowie’s cancer, Frey’s intestinal afflictions or Prince’s drug issues. Turns out Tom Petty was in overwhelming pain from a bad hip but despite doctors recommending surgery and delaying a 40th anniversary concert tour he soldiered on.
I saw Petty and his ace band the Heartbreakers in concert three times, one of those shows being when he toured with Bob Dylan. The Gainesville Florida native’s final tour, a 40th anniversary celebration (which was his most successful) finished just days before he died.
Since the first time I heard the jangling Rickenbacker guitars of “Listen to Her Heart” (one of my ALL TIME favorite songs in any genre) on FM radio, I was always up for whatever new works Tom Petty produced. He did it with simplicity but not monotony and decades later his music never sounds dated. Then in 1979 his “Damn the Torpedoes” album brought songs like “Refugee”, “Don’t Do Me Like That”, “Here Comes My Girl” and the hard edged “Even the Losers.” From then until his death, very few rockers (including Springsteen, Seger, Mellencamp and even Elton John) have been more consistent in writing, producing and releasing quality material.
Petty’s work reminds me of country music’s Alan Jackson. Since the late 80’s A.J. quietly put together an impressive list of hit songs and albums that stand up to any of his contemporaries and the younger stars as well. Jackson is not Garth Brooks or George Strait or Blake Shelton but he didn’t have to be or want to be.
Petty had themes in his lyrics. They included the waiting and want for righteous love. There was also the aim to get OUT of bad relationships “Don’t Come Around Here No More” (which also brought us one of the wildest music videos of all time) and defiance in songs like “Change of Heart” and “Won’t Back Down.” Petty’s songs were written from the view of an outsider looking for an angle into satisfaction. Millions of fans can identify with that.
Several years before his death, Tom Petty was interviewed by Anthony Mason for CBS Sunday Morning. After watching that feature back then, I realized he was the coolest rock star of my time. There’s no question about it. He was cool because he didn’t TRY to be cool. No following musical trends of the day, fancy hairstyles, fashions, no onstage preening or funky attitude. Mason noted that he had a reputation for being laid back and Petty disagreed saying he was determined and had a lot of energy, he just didn’t speak unless he had something to say. Not courting the limelight, not being needy for it is something I count as a major factor’ in being cool. That and being steadfast and true to one’s own convictions.
For forty years he compiled his music, and collaborated with others like Stevie Nicks, a hero of his youth Roger McGuinn and of course the Traveling Wilburys made up of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. When the Willburys went to work as a group, Tom was in awe of all who he played with but held his own as a contributor. One day rock legend Carl Perkins stopped by a studio and Petty was wide eyed telling others in hushed excitement, “Hey, it’s Carl bleeping’ Perkins!”
In the Martin Scorsese documentary “George Harrison Living in the Material World”, Tom Petty shared the best stories on George, the Wilburys and Roy Orbison’s death. One of the last on camera chats Petty had was in the “Echo in the Canyon” documentary as the 60’s California music scene was aptly paid tribute to. It was in this film that I learned from Tom that a Rickenbacker guitar is pronounced with the ‘short A’ sound like “Backer”, not ‘Bocker.’ If anyone would know this, it would be him.
TOM PETTY OFFERS UP HIS GEORGE HARRISON UKULELE STORY.
Besides the music, there are other things I liked about Tom Petty, like the personal friendship and on camera fun he had with Garry Shandling on both the “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and the “Larry Sanders Show.” On “Sanders,” seeing him get into a backstage skirmish with actor Greg Kinnear and Country star Clint Black was hilarious.
GETTING SERIOUS AND FUNNY ON “THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW.”
There’s so much more I could write in appreciation of Tom Petty and I’m glad I had that admiration for him many years before he left us. Often times it’s AFTER a star is gone that we say, “Ohh yeah, that guy! Sure, I was a fan but I forgot about how much I liked his work.”
I’m going to close off this remembrance of Tom Petty with two things. A recording made with his band that shows an off the cuff approach to covering a country classic. And enjoy the talk they do after the song.
Then the link to the CBS Sunday Morning feature. After listening and seeing these two, I bet you’ll agree that Tom Petty was the coolest rock star of our time.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG: Some of my admitted “Guilty Pleasures.”