Tom Petty Curiosities
Tom Petty Curiosities
Tom Petty died last October 2nd and we wanted to share with you guys the things of his life that caught our attention and the attention of all music fans worldwide. What separates Tom’s life from all the other artists? Let’s find out below what are the coolest curiosities of him:
Tom Petty Curiosities
Difficult relationship with his parent
Petty had a difficult relationship with his father, who was often physically and verbally abusive. But Petty found refuge in music, idolizing the likes of Elvis Presley and the Beatles and learning to play guitar.
With his mother, on the other hand, he had a good relationship.
This is not a new thing we notice in a musician life. In fact, it is very common that artists go through tough stages in their early years in life. This is a catalyst for their creativity.
Tom Petty Curiosities
The guitar was not his first instrument
By high school, Petty’s passion for music was all-consuming. He began playing bass with a local group called the Epics, and at the age of 17, he dropped out of school to perform with a new band that would become known as Mudcrutch, named after the farm where two of its members lived. Petty quickly emerged as the frontman and primary songwriter of the group, which soon developed a devoted local following.
I think that playing more than one instrument opens your mind. Either if it is to understand your bandmates in a jamming session or in music production.
His first band didn’t make it, but he did!
In 1974 Petty, who married his girlfriend, Jane Benyo, before moving to Los Angeles with Mudcrutch (his band) in the hopes of reaching a wider audience. Mudcrutch signed to Shelter Records, but when their lone single went largely unnoticed, the group disbanded. However, the label recognized Petty’s talent and offered him a solo contract. Within a few years, their confidence in him would be duly rewarded.
Sometimes life closes one dor just to open a bigger one. If you pursue your dream in a passionate way, you do anything in order to achieve it, and you believe in it. The dream will come true sooner or later. Keep on!
What about the Heartbreakers?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was his second try to succeed with a band. The band had many Mudcrutch former bandmates and their self-titled debut established the blueprint for success that would follow on much of their subsequent work, combining a hard-edged, rock-and-roll foundation with the pop sensibilities of ’60s groups such as the Beatles and the Byrds, and featuring Petty’s distinctive voice and gift for succinct storytelling.
Tom Petty Curiosities
He had big balls!
Petty stood his ground when MCA planned to raise the price of their follow-up for the label from the then-standard $8.98 to $9.98, threatening to either withhold the recordings or title it Eight Ninety-Eight in protest. The label ultimately relented, and Hard Promises was released in 1981. It reached No. 5 on the charts and went platinum, with its lead track, “The Waiting,” giving the group its first No. 1 single.
That shows what a character Tomy was!
Break that wall!
Looking to take their music in a new direction, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers began work on their new album with producers Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics), Robbie Robertson (of The Band) and Jimmy Iovine, who had co-produced Damn the Torpedoes with Petty. The sessions also included a wide array of additional musicians and backup singers as the band experimented with different sounds. However, handling such a large group of personalities proved both time-consuming and frustrating, and at one point the tensions grew so great that Petty punched a wall in the studio, breaking his left hand.
Working with a group might get frustrating sometimes. That is why I’m impressed when I see bands that have been together for over 30 years and they still release new material. In marriage, couples use sex to get over fights… So when it comes to bands is the music the magic pill?
He had a successful solo career but he loved to work as a team
Despite having a successful solo career, Petty did not turn his back on his bandmates. In 1991, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers put out the platinum-selling Into the Great Wide Open, which featured a popular single of the same name accompanied by a music video starring Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway, as well as the Top 40 offering “Learning to Fly.”
If I had a successful band, I think I would be very tempted to start a solo career as an artist at some point. The fact that Tom did both things, it identifies me with him in some way.
Bye, bye heroin. Hello Hall Of Fame
Kicking off the new millennium, Petty got his personal life in order, kicking his heroin addiction and marrying Dana York, whom he had met a decade earlier. In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their 11th album, The Last DJ. And later that year Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Rest in Peace Tom
In September 2017, Petty and the Heartbreakers wrapped up a leg of their 40th-anniversary tour with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl. A week later, Petty suffered a cardiac arrest at his Malibu home and was rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. He died on October 2, 2017, at the age of 66.
We’ll always remember Tom to be truly passionate about his work in music. To have a commitment to leave a mark on the world with his notes. And he did it indeed.
RIP Tom Petty
The Source used for this post was Biography
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