Tom Petty: Difference between revisions
Undid revision 104892680 by 81.11.184.47 (talk) |
Sillyquiet (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
|Notable_instruments = [[Rickenbacker]] 660-12<br>[[Rickenbacker]] 360-12 |
|Notable_instruments = [[Rickenbacker]] 660-12<br>[[Rickenbacker]] 360-12 |
||
}} |
}} |
||
a kim is asian |
|||
'''Thomas "Tom" Earl Petty''' (born [[October 20]], [[1950]]) is a popular [[United States|American]] [[musician]], known for his [[album]]-oriented, [[classicist]] [[rock'n'roll]]. He has also produced numerous hit singles, such as "[[American Girl (song)|American Girl]]", "[[Free Fallin']]", "[[Into the Great Wide Open (song)|Into the Great Wide Open]]" and "[[Mary Jane's Last Dance]]", most of which remain heavily played on mainstream radio. Despite this success, Petty is also a vocal critic of the modern [[recording industry]] and the disintegration of independent radio stations (i.e. ''[[The Last DJ]]''). |
'''Thomas "Tom" Earl Petty''' (born [[October 20]], [[1950]]) is a popular [[United States|American]] [[musician]], known for his [[album]]-oriented, [[classicist]] [[rock'n'roll]]. He has also produced numerous hit singles, such as "[[American Girl (song)|American Girl]]", "[[Free Fallin']]", "[[Into the Great Wide Open (song)|Into the Great Wide Open]]" and "[[Mary Jane's Last Dance]]", most of which remain heavily played on mainstream radio. Despite this success, Petty is also a vocal critic of the modern [[recording industry]] and the disintegration of independent radio stations (i.e. ''[[The Last DJ]]''). |
||
Revision as of 01:55, 2 February 2007
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Thomas "Tom" Earl Petty (born October 20, 1950) is a popular American musician, known for his album-oriented, classicist rock'n'roll. He has also produced numerous hit singles, such as "American Girl", "Free Fallin'", "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", most of which remain heavily played on mainstream radio. Despite this success, Petty is also a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disintegration of independent radio stations (i.e. The Last DJ).
Petty has been supported by his band, The Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as is the case with his most recent effort, 2006's Highway Companion, on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, it should be noted that members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. In addition, Petty has had the same manager, Tony Dimitriades, for the last 30 years, since 1976.
Early life
Tom Petty, known in his early years as "Tommy", was born in Gainesville, Florida and grew up in northeast Gainesville. As a teen-ager he often practiced at home with friends and sometimes even in the family fallout shelter located in his back yard. Petty graduated from Gainesville High School in 1968. Petty did not have any musical aspirations until Elvis Presley came to Ocala, Florida, 25 miles south of Petty's hometown, to work on a film, "Follow That Dream". Petty went down to watch him and was inspired.
Career
After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics and Mudcrutch (the latter with ace drummer Randall Marsh and future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers when the band broke onto the national music scene with their 1976 debut album. Still, it took America a full year to catch up to the album. "Breakdown" was re-released to radio and became a Top 40 hit in 1977. This was after word filtered back to the States that the band was creating a firestorm in the UK.
Their 1978 second album You're Gonna Get It! proved the debut album's intensity was no fluke. Marking the band's first gold album, it featured the singles "Listen To Her Heart" and "I Need To Know". Shortly after its release, the band was dragged into a legal dispute, when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records.
Petty refused to simply be transferred to another record label without his consent. He held fast to his principles for nine long months, which eventually led to him filing for bankruptcy.
After the dispute was settled, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released their third album Damn the Torpedoes (1979) which rapidly became triple-platinum. It includes "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee", their U.S. breakthrough singles.
Petty was appealing to a wide range of musical tastes, as New Wave, Punk and Rock and Roll fans alike were taking notice.
Though he was already extremely successful, Petty ran into record company trouble again when he and the Heartbreakers prepared to release Hard Promises (1981), the follow-up album to Damn the Torpedoes. MCA wanted to release the record at the list price of $9.98, which was considered a high price for a record album at the time. Petty refused to comply to their wishes, threatening to change the album title to "The 8.98 Album." He actually withheld the album from the label.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' next album, Hard Promises became a Top Ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." Tom also recorded his first duet "Insider," with Stevie Nicks.
On their fifth album Long After Dark (1982) bass player Ron Blair was replaced by Howie Epstein, giving The Heartbreakers their line-up until 1994. However, Petty had problems coping with the stress of success and decided to slow things down.
On their comeback album, Southern Accents (1985), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers picked up where they had left off. The recording was not without problems — Petty became frustrated during the mixing process and broke his left hand after punching through a wall. The album includes the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The video for the single, featuring Tom dressed as the Mad Hatter, mocking and chasing Alice from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, then cutting and eating her as if she were a cake. This caused some controversy after it was criticized by feminist groups.
A successful concert tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! (1986). The band's live capabilities were put to the test when Bob Dylan invited Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to join him on his True Confessions tour in addition to select dates with the Grateful Dead through the U.S., Australia, Japan (1986) and Europe (1987).
Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), a studio album made to sound like a live recording, using a technique they borrowed from Bob Dylan. It includes "Jammin' Me", which Petty wrote with Dylan.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1989 tour featured college rock band The Replacements opening every show. Petty eventually borrowed Paul Westerberg's line "rebel without a clue" from "I'll Be You" for the title track of the Into the Great Wide Open album.
Petty also appeared in several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's Show (1987 - 1990), playing himself as one of Garry Shandling's neighbors. This show appeared on the then-fledgling Fox network.
Going solo
In 1989, Petty released the album Full Moon Fever. Though nominally a solo project, other Heartbreakers and well-known musicians participated in the album's production. Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. It was in the Billboard Top Ten chart for over 34 weeks and earned triple-platinum status, along the way spawning such hits as "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down A Dream", the video of which was based on several episodes of the classic comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. It can be seen in the video for "I Won't Back Down" that backing singers include Lynne and George Harrison. Ringo Starr appears in the video on drums; however, they were actually performed by Phil Jones.
Prior to Full Moon Fever, Lynne and Petty worked together in the all-star band, The Traveling Wilburys, which also counted Bob Dylan, Harrison and Roy Orbison as members. The Traveling Wilburys started as a joke in order to record a B-side for a George Harrison single, but the song "Handle With Care" was such a success that the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988). However, Roy Orbison's sudden death cast a shadow on the success of The Traveling Wilburys and shortly afterwards, Del Shannon, whom the remaining Wilburys had in mind as a replacement, committed suicide. A second Wilburys album, called Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (a nod of recognition to bootleggers who had produced a Vol. 2, featuring some Vol. 1 songs) (1990), followed but couldn't quite live up to expectations.
Petty rejoined with the Heartbreakers for his next album, Into the Great Wide Open in 1991. It was produced by Lynne and included the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open", the latter featuring Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar and Faye Dunaway in the video.
Move to Warner Bros. Records
In 1994, Petty released his second solo album, Wildflowers, which included hit singles "You Don't Know How It Feels", "You Wreck Me", "It's Good to Be King", "A Higher Place" and "Honey Bee". The album was produced by acclaimed producer Rick Rubin. A year later, a six CD box-set was released, entitled Playback. Approximately half of the tracks were previously available on albums, while the rest were B-sides, demos and live tracks. Two notable tracks are a solo version of Tom's 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and the song "Waiting For Tonight," which features vocals from The Bangles. The latter song also appeared on the two CD anthology released in 2000.
In 1996, Petty "reunited" with the Heartbreakers and released a soundtrack to the movie She's the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from "She's the One"). Three singles were released from this album; these were "Walls (Circus)" (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), "Climb that Hill" and a song written by Lucinda Williams, "Change the Locks". The album also included a cover of a song by Beck, "Asshole".
In 1999, Petty and the Heartbreakers released their final album with producer Rick Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now". The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts. A Tom Petty Anthology was released in 2000, compiled by film director Cameron Crowe.
In 2002, Petty and the Heartbreakers released The Last DJ. Many of the tracks are stinging attacks on the music industry, criticizing the greediness inherent within it, as well as the tendency of record companies to water down popular rock acts and release throwaway pop music made by scantily-clad young girls. The album reached number 9 in the U.S. charts.
On July 25, 2006 Petty released a new solo album titled Highway Companion. It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard charts, becoming Petty's highest chart positioning in the SoundScan era.
Accomplishments
Petty has been honored with 16 Grammy Award nominations since 1981. In that year he received his first nomination for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in the category of Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal. Petty earned a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal for his work with the Traveling Wilburys. In 1994 he received another two Grammy Awards: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (for "You Don't Know How It Feels") and Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical). Wildflowers also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.
Other Wildflowers achievements included Best Male Video Award for "You Don't Know How It Feels" at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers won the same award in 1994 with the video "Mary Jane's Last Dance". At the 1994 ceremony, Petty was also presented with the Video Vanguard Award, citing his longtime contributions to the field. In accepting the award though, while expressing his appreciation to MTV for the award, Petty denied his work was any more important than anyone else's, saying that all artistic expression was equally valid and implicitly validating the work of up-and-coming and aspiring musicians.
As a songwriter, Tom Petty was acknowledged in May 1996 with the prestigious Golden Note Award from ASCAP. In April 1996, Petty received UCLA's George And Ira Gershwin Award For Lifetime Musical Achievement. In 2002 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Other works and recognition
In 1985, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers participated in the world-spanning charity rock concert Live Aid. They also played at the 2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert.
In 1994, a tribute album of alternative bands covering Petty songs was released called You Got Lucky.
In 1996, Johnny Cash released Unchained recorded with the accompaniment of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which won a Grammy for Best Country Album.
Petty appeared in the 1997 movie, The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner. This was his 3rd appearance on the silver screen, having had a small part in the 1987 movie Made In Heaven and a cameo as himself in the 1978 film FM.
In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd., an honor that acknowledges both their musical achievements and their humanitarian involvement with such organizations as Greenpeace, the National Veteran's Foundation, USA Harvest, Rock And Wrap It Up, AmFAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research), and his anti-nuclear activism.
In 2002 he appeared on The Simpsons in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation". In it, he spoofed himself as a "tutor" to Homer Simpson on the art of lyric writing, composing a brief song about a sexy girl walking down the street concerned with budget problems in public schools.
In October 2004 "Runnin' Down A Dream" appeared on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional classic rock station K-DST.
Petty currently has a recurring role as Lucky in King of the Hill.
In 2005, Tom Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on which he shares selections from his personal record collection. On December 6, 2005, he received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements. Later in the month, Petty agreed to sign on with XM Radio for a second season of his show "Buried Treasure."
Thirty years on
In February 2006 Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
Some have claimed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers single "Dani California", released in May 2006, is very similar to Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance single. [1]. While the songs do sound alike, it is unknown whether "Dani California" was an intentional copy. The two songs are compared here [1]. In addition, in 1992 The Jayhawks released a song called "Waiting For The Sun". A year later Petty released "Mary Jane's Last Dance" which sounds very similar to The Jayhawks song. However it is important to note that "Mary Jane's Last Dance" was in fact composed in 1989 during sessions for "Full Moon Fever" with different lyrics but the familiar chord structure in place. At the time, Petty was calling the song "Indiana Girl" and footage of the session can be seen in various documentaries on the band.
Petty tells Rolling Stone, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took American Girl (for their song Last Nite), and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you'.
"If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe (I'd sue). But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous law suits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."
In 2006, the ABC U.S. television network hired Petty to do the music for its NBA Playoffs coverage.
On September 22, 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the City of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up. Tom Petty quipped when questioned about the key he received from Gainesville's Mayor, "It's a lot nicer than the one we got in Chicago.". [2]
From July 2006 until 2007 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio will feature an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much of the content was donated by Petty himself from a visit to his home by some of the Rock Hall curatatorial staff.
Personal life
His first marriage lasted 22 years, to his Gainesville High School sweetheart, Jane Benyo. He spent most of those years working, on the road or in the studio. He has two daughters by that marriage. Since 2001 he has been married to Dana York, a long-time partner.
The Heartbreakers
| 1975-1982 |
|
|---|---|
| 1982-1991 | |
| 1991-1994 | |
| 1994-2002 | |
| 2002-present |
Current members:
Former members:
| Howie Epstein † | bass guitar, vocals |
| Stan Lynch | drums, percussion, vocals |
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. | UK | Zusätzliche Informationen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | 55 | 24 | debut album |
| 1978 | You're Gonna Get It! | 23 | 34 | - |
| 1979 | Damn the Torpedoes | 2 | - | - |
| 1981 | Hard Promises | 5 | 32 | - |
| 1982 | Long After Dark | 9 | - | - |
| 1985 | Southern Accents | 7 | 23 | - |
| 1986 | Pack Up the Plantation: Live! | 22 | - | live album |
| 1987 | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) | 20 | - | - |
| 1989 | Full Moon Fever | 3 | 8 | first solo album |
| 1991 | Into the Great Wide Open | 13 | 3 | - |
| 1993 | Greatest Hits | 5 | 10 | hits compilation album |
| 1994 | Wildflowers | 8 | 36 | second solo album |
| 1995 | Playback | - | - | 6-disc box set |
| 1996 | Songs and Music from "She's the One" | 15 | 37 | film soundtrack |
| 1999 | Echo | 10 | - | - Sales US ? |
| 2000 | Anthology: Through The Years | 132 | 14 | compilation album |
| 2002 | The Last DJ | 9 | - | - Sales US ? |
| 2003 | Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ | - | - | live album |
| 2006 | Highway Companion | 4 | 56 | third solo album Sales US ? |
Tom Petty with The Traveling Wilburys
- Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (October 25 1988) (#3 U.S., #16 UK)
- Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (October 19 1988) (#11 U.S., #14 UK)
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 |
U.S. MSR* |
UK singles |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Breakdown" | 40 | - | - | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1977 | "Anything That's Rock N' Roll" | - | - | 36 | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1977 | "American Girl" | - | - | 40 | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1978 | "I Need To Know" | 41 | - | - | You're Gonna Get It! |
| 1978 | "Listen To Her Heart" | 59 | - | - | You're Gonna Get It! |
| 1979 | "Don't Do Me Like That" | 10 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1979 | "Refugee" | 15 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1980 | "Here Comes My Girl" | 59 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1981 | "The Waiting" | 19 | 1 | - | Hard Promises |
| 1981 | "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (with Stevie Nicks) | 3 | 2 | 50 | Bella Donna (Stevie Nicks album) |
| 1981 | "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)" | 79 | 5 | - | Hard Promises |
| 1982 | "You Got Lucky" | 20 | 1 | - | Long After Dark |
| 1983 | "Change of Heart" | 21 | 10 | - | Long After Dark |
| 1985 | "Don't Come Around Here No More" | 13 | 2 | 50 | Southern Accents |
| 1985 | "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" | 54 | 12 | - | Southern Accents |
| 1985 | "Rebels" | 74 | 5 | - | Southern Accents |
| 1986 | "Needles and Pins" (with Stevie Nicks) | 37 | 17 | - | Pack Up The Plantation: Live! |
| 1987 | "Think About Me" | - | 36 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "Runaway Trains" | - | 6 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "Jammin' Me" | 18 | 1 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "All Mixed Up" | - | 19 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1989 | "Runnin' Down a Dream" | 23 | 1 | 55 | Full Moon Fever |
| 1989 | "Love Is a Long Road" | - | 7 | - | Full Moon Fever |
| 1989 | "I Won't Back Down" | 12 | 1 | 28 | Full Moon Fever |
| 1989 | "Feel a Whole Lot Better" | - | 18 | - | Full Moon Fever |
| 1989 | "Free Fallin'" | 7 | 1 | 64 | Full Moon Fever |
| 1990 | "Yer So Bad" | - | 5 | - | Full Moon Fever |
| 1990 | "A Face in the Crowd" | 46 | 5 | 93 | Full Moon Fever |
| 1991 | "Out In The Cold" | - | 1 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1991 | "Learning to Fly" | 28 | 1 | 46 | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1991 | "Into The Great Wide Open" | 92 | 4 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "Too Good To Be True" | - | - | 34 | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "Makin Some Noise" | - | 30 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "King's Highway" | - | 4 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1993 | "Mary Jane's Last Dance" | 14 | 1 | 52 | Greatest Hits |
| 1994 | "You Don't Know How It Feels" | 13 | 1 | - | Wildflowers |
| 1994 | "Something in the Air" | - | 19 | 53 | Greatest Hits |
| 1995 | "You Wreck Me" | - | 2 | - | Wildflowers |
| 1995 | "It's Good To Be King" | 68 | 6 | - | Wildflowers |
| 1995 | "Cabin Down Below" | - | 29 | - | Wildflowers |
| 1995 | "A Higher Place" | - | 12 | - | Wildflowers |
| 1996 | "Walls (Circus)" | 69 | 6 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1996 | "Waiting For Tonight" | - | 6 | - | Anthology: Through the Years (Disc 2)" |
| 1996 | "Climb That Hill" | - | 6 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1997 | "Change The Locks" | - | 20 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1999 | "Room At The Top" | - | 19 | - | Echo |
| 1999 | "Free Girl Now" | - | 5 | - | Echo |
| 2002 | "The Last DJ" | - | 22 | - | The Last DJ |
| 2005 | "Square One" | - | - | - | Elizabethtown |
| 2006 | "Saving Grace" | 100 | 26 | - | Highway Companion |
| 2006 | "Flirting with Time" | - | - | - | Highway Companion |
Quotes
A comprehensive list of Tom Petty's most notable lyrics can be found in Wikiquote: Tom Petty.
- "Nirvana to me was the most significant thing since the Beatles."
- "I'll endeavor to deserve it and may I remind you that this ain't the end. I can still kick some ass." - Billboard Century Award acceptance speech.
See also
External links
- Official Site
- Mudcrutch Farm - Fan Community
- Gone Gator
- Tom Petty at IMDb
Related articles and media
- Video rehearsals - 2006 Video performance of "Saving Grace" from the Highway Companion Album.
- Freshair Interview - July 27, 2006
- Rolling Stone - Review of Highway Companion