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The only two people Tom Petty looked up to

Online Niel November 9, 2024

Tom Petty - 1970s - guitarist - singer - songwriter

(Credits: Far Out / Tom Petty)

Friday 8 November 2024 20:00 UK

Tom Petty he’s never been shy about wearing his rock influences on his sleeve. No matter how many times he tried to twist his sound into something different, there would probably always be a few chords that were stolen from Chuck Berry or a harmony line that seemed to be borrowed from Roger McGuinn. The Heartland rocker was a child of rock and roll, but he thought these two artists were the only people worth modeling a career after.

Before embracing music, however, Petty didn’t have a clear vision of where he wanted to go. He knew he liked listening to records, but had a hard time putting a face to what he wanted to do until he heard Elvis Presley play songs like “Heartbreak Hotel” on the radio.

Because compared to every other rock star that came before, Presley looked like a wild animal on the loose. Despite the fact that many parents had a few questions about his vulgar hustle every time he took the stage, Presley was the epitome of what a rock and roll singer should be, whether that meant putting his all into every performance or try to squeeze out all the emotion. from one of his ballads.

While Presley was a legend before Petty met him, the Beatles were a better example of what he saw himself doing. No matter how many hearts he set on fire, Presley was treated like a god by that point, while the Beatles looked like a bunch of friends who got together to play music.

Even though Presley would develop a long-lasting relationship with George Harrison, he had his eye firmly on what John Lennon was doing. Compared to Presley’s rock and roll songs about love, Lennon always had something more in mind whenever he sat down to write a song. Whether he talks politics about the “Revolution” or works through his own mind Ono plastic tape, Lennon became the commercial example of how one could be completely honest with one’s audience.

Petty only came to miss Lennon before he died in 1980, but he still held up the former Beatle and Presley as his only true idols. saying“His death hurt very badly, it still hurts. Every time I see his picture or hear him sing, I’m immediately upset that some bastard might blow him away. In fact, the only two people I ever looked up to, idolized—Lennon and Elvis—are both dead. And I’m not someone who loves idols.”

And it’s not hard to see where Petty got many of his ideas from, either. While Presley’s influence was more prominent whenever he led his band on stage, Lennon’s influence came in Petty’s ability to be honest with his later recordings, whether it documented the peaks Full moon fever or being open enough to let the public in on the background of his divorce Echo.

Because no matter how far Presley and Lennon went in different directions throughout their careers, they are perfect examples of what every rock and roller should aspire to. One may have taught young musicians how to get everyone’s attention, but the other showed them how to keep that attention going forward.