But in changing those lives, rock and roll also demands a lot of the person undergoing such changes. Glen Campbell, Elvis Presley, Joe Strummer, Carl Perkins, Tom Petty. Rock and roll has the remarkable, beautiful capacity to change people’s lives. But I saw, sitting next to him, that he could be all the things you describe. We talked, for many hours, over a few years. I simply responded to the situation Tom gave me. One always got the feeling that Tom Petty was a hard guy to get a handle on. “Tinted windows on his soul” was my favorite. Reclusive, ambitious, mysterious, meticulous, focused, businessman, coolest guy in the room – your book describes Tom as all of these things. My friend Chuck Prophet recently shared with me Jim Dickinson’s take on the subject: “I wouldn’t wish the job of bandleader on my worst enemy.” But being bandleader is a crap job in many respects. If it was easy to do, we’d have more examples of it to show. He’s got a band with a sound, and he’s got a presence as a frontman and a writer. When you listen to a Tom Petty recording, you know who it is. But Petty also built enough confidence, enough awareness that he had something, a voice and vision, that was all his own. The band recognized it, I think, and most were grateful that it was there. As Mike Campbell says, “No one is as ambitious as Tom Petty.” Without Petty’s drive, things would have slowed. And the answer to your question hinges both on issues of creativity and issues of ambition and leadership. How would the legacy be different if they had stayed a band instead of Tom turning into a frontman? And that’s what he created with the Heartbreakers. He ultimately wanted a hybrid: to be a bandleader but also to be in a band. So, for the first time in his life, Petty became a solo artist-because that’s the direction in which life had kicked him. But he hadn’t lost his faith in Tom Petty. Denny Cordell had lost his faith in Mudcrutch’s ability to become a recording band, which is different from being a live band. But, really, a record contract is nothing more than a lottery ticket: you need it to win, but your chances at winning are slim. It’s a common misconception that securing a record deal means you’ve arrived, that a career is underway. He had a record contract, but that’s not a whole lot to have. He was young, unknown, and hoping for a career. When Tom went from Mudcrutch to being a solo artist in that period before the Heartbreakers formed, it wasn’t by choice. You make a great musical statement: “Trouble is where bands begin.” How did Tom Petty go from Mudcrutch to a solo artist with the Heartbreakers? He switched off the mic just as Petty began to sing about fear and pretending, letting go to hold on, how sometimes you need a stranger to get you through the night. “DJ Jamie James, riding with you, taking you through the long night….” “Heartbreak Kid,” I said, quick, high-pitched and grinning. I’m Chuck Buckle leaving you now, handing it over to. Warm inside right here with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “Cold tonight,” Buckle said, his voice an octave deeper. “11:49 under grey skies and overnight threats of rain.” He leaned over and took a long drag off his Marlboro Gold. Petty, he always gives you space.”Ĭhuck held up one finger for quiet and opened the mic. That crap music they make these days don’t give you no space to think. “Exactly,” he said as the guitars slid into the groove low and tight. Chuck looked sort of like a homeless Mick Fleetwood, if you shot Mick out of a cannon into a liquor store. “Hear that?” Buckle asked, pulling at his mangy beard. Buckle cued up “Breakdown.” A simple kick drum and snare paired with a laid back electric piano slipped out slow and easy over the airwaves. The studio was dim-lit, VU meters and console lights, the TriCity color weather radar glowing from a corner screen. DJ Chuck Buckle was showing me the ropes. I was a teenager, set to take the weekend night shift at the local classic rock radio station. This article originally appeared on The Weeklings.
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