Thomas Earl Petty: October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017
"Yeah and it's over before you know it. It all goes by so fast"
The Best Of Everything
It had been nearly a year since I typed blogger.com into my address bar. I had high aspirations for my music blog and was initially motivated to keep it updated and write about music as much as I could. Sadly the world, or my laziness, intervened and I stopped updating. There was no grand cancellation. I just didn't want to anymore. Until this last week, that is.
I was at work last Monday October 2nd 2017 when I happened to open Facebook on my phone. In the last couple of years, as I've aged, I've grown almost accustomed to my heroes passing on to the greater beyond. Its sadly not that shocking anymore to see news articles about these great pioneers dying. In 2017 alone, we've lost Gregg Allman, Chuck Berry, Glenn Campbell, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell and so many more. But this one was different.
If I remember correctly, it must have been 1994 or so when I was flipping through the channels on my family's newly acquired satellite dish. I came along some of the music video channels, and stopped when I saw that CMT was airing something I believe was called "Drivin' Country." This was a show I had seen a couple of times and remembered enjoying. These were videos by what we would call Americana or Alt Country artists now. I remember they even played a Dylan video. But what struck me on this particular viewing, was "You Don't Know How It Feels" by Tom Petty.
I had grown up in a country music household. It wasn't that other music was forbidden, it was just what we listened to. It was what we knew. Rock music was a foreign entity to me for the most part. I knew band names and certain songs, but for the most part I was clueless. So when this shaggy looking fella was singing about "getting to the point and rolling another joint," I was fascinated. The music felt familiar. It had some twang to it, but the words were unlike anything I had ever heard.
I found out soon who the artist and the album was, and it turns out my brother had the CD. So after bumming it from him and making a cassette copy, I stumbled into the world of music outside my comfort zone. Tom Petty became my gateway drug into a world I had never listened to.
The first "rock" CD I ever bought, was Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Greatest Hits. I went on to purchase more of Petty's albums through the years. Echo was always a personal favorite. I heard "Walls" the first time at a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. Soon I was a grown man with his own tastes.
On June 9th 2006, I had the opportunity to see Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers live at what was the Verizon Wireless Music Theater. This was probably the first "mega" concert I had ever been too. I'll never forget that sea of humanity singing along with every song. I'll always remember the deafening applause when Stevie Nicks came out to join him.
I've not stopped listening to Petty's music since that day I first him on CMT. I can't say that for all the music I've listened to in the past. I still listen to the soundtrack for "She's The One." "Southern Accents" is still one of my favorite songs ever. I'll spend the rest of my life humming "Running Down A Dream" to myself. And no wild night sing along will ever be complete without a rousing rendition of "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
I'm thankful for that concert. I'm going to see Robert Earl Keen this December. But I never got to see Johnny Cash. I can't afford to see Springsteen. But I will always have the memory of that night.
I hope that all the millions of fans worldwide will find solace and comfort in those amazing songs and performances.
I know I will.
