I’ll never forget the first time I saw Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers because I was sitting in Cleveland Music Hall waiting to see one of my favorite new British bands: Be Bop Deluxe. The lights dimmed, the theatre filled with marijuana smoke, and the big red velvet curtain began to raise as a voice announced: “Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm Cleveland welcome to… Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers!”
Whaaaaaat?
Thank you Belkin Brothers (the promoters who brought all the rock n’ roll shows to Cleveland back in my youth) for once again surprising us with an opening act no one had ever heard of or had the patience to sit through. We had all come for the futuristic guitar wizardry and sci-fi lyrical vision of Bill Nelson (see Red Noise in my previous post) and Be Bop Deluxe — not some guy named Tom Petty who had long blonde hair and sang with a nasally outlaw twang. Three thousand arms were crossed in disgruntled annoyance, and everyone sat back in their plush, cigarette burn-pocked seats for what was sure to be 45 minutes of opening act hell.
Whaaaaaat?
Thank you Belkin Brothers (the promoters who brought all the rock n’ roll shows to Cleveland back in my youth) for once again surprising us with an opening act no one had ever heard of or had the patience to sit through. We had all come for the futuristic guitar wizardry and sci-fi lyrical vision of Bill Nelson (see Red Noise in my previous post) and Be Bop Deluxe — not some guy named Tom Petty who had long blonde hair and sang with a nasally outlaw twang. Three thousand arms were crossed in disgruntled annoyance, and everyone sat back in their plush, cigarette burn-pocked seats for what was sure to be 45 minutes of opening act hell.
An hour later the smoke cleared and the last chiming guitar notes rang out. Petty and his band strode to the front of the stage triumphantly to bask in the thunderous applause from the unsuspecting audience they had won over with only one album’s worth of material. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, they returned for an encore, apologizing that they didn’t have any more songs rehearsed. So they played “Route 66” and “American Girl” a second time. I’m also pretty sure it was the last time Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ever opened for anybody in Cleveland again.
After that surprise appearance I gobbled up Tom Petty albums as fast as he released them from 1976 to 1982: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, You’re Gonna Get It, Damn the Torpedos, Hard Promises and Long After Dark all found a home in my record collection. Ditto for his first solo album, Full Moon Fever, in 1989. And then… I lost interest — which is not to say that I lost appreciation for what Tom was doing. It just means his music all started to sound the same to me and I was ready to move on. I checked back in when he got together with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison to record as The Traveling Wilbury’s, but I never really got back on track with the Heartbreakers even though reviews were always positive and performances highly lauded.
After that surprise appearance I gobbled up Tom Petty albums as fast as he released them from 1976 to 1982: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, You’re Gonna Get It, Damn the Torpedos, Hard Promises and Long After Dark all found a home in my record collection. Ditto for his first solo album, Full Moon Fever, in 1989. And then… I lost interest — which is not to say that I lost appreciation for what Tom was doing. It just means his music all started to sound the same to me and I was ready to move on. I checked back in when he got together with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison to record as The Traveling Wilbury’s, but I never really got back on track with the Heartbreakers even though reviews were always positive and performances highly lauded.
Then, in 2005 Tom started broadcasting a show on Sirius XM called “Buried Treasure” where he played favorite cuts from his personal music collection; rich in eclectic rhythm and blues, soul, funk, British Invasion, rock and glam. After a few episodes it was clear that I still had so much more to learn about music and Tom had so much to teach me. Thanks to his “Buried Treasure” show I have a greater appreciation for performers like Ann Peebles, Bob Dylan, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker, Link Wray, Mose Allison, Johnny Winter, Wilson Pickett, Chuck Berry, The Yardbirds and Little Richard to name a few. Tom’s knowledge and appreciation is deep, and his love for the music is contagious. “Buried Treasure” is the perfect traveling companion on long distance trips — ask anyone who’s been on the road with me lately.
I was shocked and saddened to hear the news that Tom Petty passed away last night at the age of 66. His music mattered to a lot of people and he will be missed—along with that iconic smirk that always assured me anything that’s rock n’ roll is fine. (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)