The Playlist: Tom Petty

As a prelude, here is a link to a review I wrote when Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (and Stevie Nicks) performed in Charlotte in 2006.

He is a Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer. A Wilbury. And a cartoon character.

Tom Petty has accomplished much in his 30-plus music career. Collaborations with Stevie Nicks, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. Eighteen Grammy nominations. Numerous lifetime achievement awards. And appearances on both 'The Simpsons' and 'King of the Hill' (which is a little funny if you think about it - he's starting to look like Grandpa Simpson).

Petty, a native of Gainesville, Fla. who was inspired at an early age after meeting Elvis Presley, performed this past Sunday as part of the SuperBowl halftime show. With a new album on the way and a summer concert planned at Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (I'll be there - sixth row), here are my five favorite songs from Tom Petty, both with and without the Heartbreakers.

American Girl (1977)
Album: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else

The biggest hit from the band's self-titled debut album, 'American Girl' has become Petty's signature song. It opened Sunday's SuperBowl halftime set on Sunday and closed the show when the band performed in Charlotte in the summer of 2006. The song has been featured in such TV shows and movies as 'The Sopranos,' 'Scrubs,' and 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High.' It has also been covered by the likes of Def Leppard and Everclear but the best version I've heard to date was the Goo Goo Dolls' performance at The Concert for New York City, at Madison Square Garden, in the wake of Sept. 11.

A performance from 1978



The Goo Goo Dolls' set from The Concert for New York City (you'll have to skip ahead a little bit, it's the last song)



Free Fallin (1989)
Album: Full Moon Fever

It's a long day living in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart

"Free Fallin' is a very good song," Petty said in a 2006 interview with Esquire magazine. "Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it."
And people do like it. Those first few chords are unmistakable. It peaked at the top of the Billboard Album Rock charts in August 1989, where it remained for 33 weeks making it Petty's longest running hit. Guns 'n' Roses' lead singer Axl Rose (and his microphone snake dance) performed the song with Petty during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards and the song was used in 1996's 'Jerry Maguire,' as Tom Cruise searches for a song on the radio he knows the words to.

Music video



The VMA performance with Axl Rose



Jerry Maguire (1996)



I Won't Back Down (1989)
Album: Full Moon Fever

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down

The first single from Petty's debut solo album - during a brief departure from the Heartbreakers - was a Top 20 hit and helped establish 'Full Moon Fever' as a success. The defiant song has since been used in presidential campaigns (George W. Bush briefly used it in 2000 before Petty threatened to sue) and on television ('7th Heaven'). Personally, I think interest in the song and it's meaning were boosted following Petty's performance during the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following Sept. 11.
Of the song being used as a patriotic anthem in recent years, Petty said, "The song has also been adopted by nice people for good things, too. I just write them, I can't control where it ends up."

Music video



The performance from America: A Tribute to Heroes



Learning to Fly (1991)
Album: Into the Great Wide Open

Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I started out for God knows where
But I guess I'll know when I get there

Of all the songs in the Tom Petty discography, I probably relate to this the most. Growing up a military kid, I could never - and still can't - foresee where I'll end up or when I'll get there. I guess that's part of the fun. A metaphor for growing up, the song was used by the Chicago Bulls following their 1991 NBA Championship win and was used (along with our next selection) in 2005's 'Elizabethtown,' directed by Cameron Crowe. Crowe seems to be a Petty fan as he also directed 'Jerry Maguire' (see earlier). From what I've seen, Petty does an acoustic version of the song in concert which is amazing. Definitely track it down if you can.

Music video



An example of said acoustic version from the Sept. 15, 2006 concert in Chicago



Square One (2006)
Album: Elizabethtown Soundtrack / Highway Companion

Square one, my slate is clear
Rest your head on me my dear
It took a world of trouble, it took a world of tears
It took a long time to get back here

Written for the film 'Elizabethtown' (the music was about the only saving grace the film had, I thought), the song was nominated for a Grammy in 2006 for Best Song from a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. It was later released on Petty's most recent album and was one of the highlights from his last tour stop in Charlotte. Who knew he could do a balled? And well?

From the previously included Chicago concert



That's what I got for this week, kids. Check back next Thursday for another Playlist.

Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com.