"They shoot this drug into you that literally drives the heroin out and your body goes into spasms," he told biographer Warren Zanes. In addition to his business battles, Petty suffered a string of personal hardships, including an arson fire that destroyed his house and all of his possessions, and the breakup of his marriage of 22 years.įor a time, Petty turned to heroin, but a therapist convinced him to go to detox. At a particularly painful time, Petty turned to heroin Everything - morals, truth - is all going out the window in favor of profit."Ĥ. That has made pop music what it is today. That's where you see the advent of programming on the radio, and radio research, all these silly things. "Everywhere we look, we want to make the most money possible," he said in 2002. In 2001, he released The Last DJ, an album that served up a scathing indictment of the record industry. But sometimes there's a communications breakdown and, when that happens, you just have to stand up for yourself.'' "I like to devote my time and energy to being a musician. "I'm not usually as concerned with record company business as you might think," he said in 1980. The album has since been certified triple platinum. That album was 1979's Damn the Torpedoes, which, with singles including "Don't do me Like That" and "Refugee," proved to be the biggest of his career. Soon after, another legal fight forced Petty into bankruptcy and delayed the release of his next album until a deal was reached. According to the New York Times, early in his career he signed away 100 per cent of his publishing rights to his songs for a meagre $10,000 and was forced to fight for a new deal that gave him half the royalties after his fourth album. It's commendable that he'd do something so generous."Īs with many musicians of the era, Petty got stung by the business end of the record business. "The beauty of this is that he wants to reconnect with his old friends, not for money, but the pure joy of revisiting the energy that we started with. "Tom is in a position where he could do anything he wants with anyone he wants," said Campbell. "What a wonderful turn of events this is." "I keep waiting for somebody to tap me on the shoulder and go, 'Uh, Tom, this is a dream and it's time to wake up,'" said guitarist Tom Leadon, who hadn't played with Petty since 1972, in a 2016 interview. In 2008, Mudcrutch reunited for a new album and tour, shocking everyone - especially Petty's early bandmates. Much of Petty's story reads like rock 'n' roll legend, including the fact that he dropped out of high school at 17 to join his first band, the southern rock group Mudcrutch.Īfter moving to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, the band broke up before releasing an album - but guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench would later become members of the Heartbreakers and work with Petty for the better part of five decades. He dropped out of high school to join a band And I'd never thought much about rock 'n' roll until that moment."Ģ. "That's what kicked off my love of music. He was smitten by all of it - the cars, the fans, but mostly Elvis's swagger.Īfter that, he listened obsessively to Elvis records. And he came walking right towards us," remembered Petty, who stayed on set to watch the filming for the rest of the day. At 50 yards, we were stunned by what this guy looked like. It was like nothing I'd ever seen in my life. He seemed to glow and walk above the ground. Hundreds of fans screamed as The King pulled up in a line of white Cadillacs. Petty's uncle, Earl Jernigan, owned a film-developing business and worked on location shoots when they came through town, and his aunt picked up Petty so he could go to the set. His love of rock 'n' roll officially began in the summer of 1961, when he was just 11 years old, and met none other than Elvis Presley, who was shooting a film in nearby Ocala. His father was an insurance salesman who reportedly beat Petty, but music provided an escape.
Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Fla., on Oct. 20, 1950. So, in honour of Tom Petty and his remarkable career, here are eight fascinating facts about the rock icon.
Petty is the musician behind decades of enduring rock hits, from early singles "Refugee" and "Don't Come Around Here no More" to 1980s and '90s staples including "Free Fallin'" and "Learning to Fly," to 2014's acclaimed album Hypnotic Eye.īut despite his many successes, Petty's life was also marked by major challenges that he was forced to overcome, and became defining moments. After suffering a massive cardiac arrest in his Malibu home, Petty died last night in hospital. Rock 'n' roll fans are mourning the loss of one of the genre's most beloved and respected musicians, Tom Petty.
0 kommentar(er)
