10 amazing songs that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave away
For as many enemies as he made over his career, Tom Petty was usually known to play well with others. There may have been certain members of the music industry who would rather never listen to him again, but it’s hard to come down too hard on the man who gave us ‘Free Fallin’ and ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’. Digging into his back catalogue is already a treasure trove, but other songs he actually let fall by the wayside for artists like Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and more.
Then again, there comes a time when even the biggest artists in the world start to build a back catalogue that’s too much for them. Petty could have logically made a habit of putting out double albums’ worth of material until the day he died, but sometimes it’s better to write everything up and then let someone else hit the home run.
Even if Petty didn’t have a direct hand in starting the song, sometimes an idea from one of his band members triggers a new idea in someone else. It might not have been to Petty’s taste at the time, but it had to sting seeing a song that you never got to work on in the studio suddenly become a classic with someone else’s name on it.
While you can’t bask in the glory as much, Petty was never in it for the glory. He was just a mild-mannered kid who wanted the chance to be a rock star, and he would use every trick in the book if he made sure that it could happen. From fellow American icons to people from across the pond, there are still some pieces of the heartland buried in between the cracks of these songs.
10 songs Tom Petty gave away
10. ‘Never Be You’ – Maria McKee
Towards the end of the 1990s, it looked like Petty’s songs translated fairly well to the silver screen. He may not have wanted to get behind the camera any time soon, but the way he constructed the background music for the movie She’s The One actually made for a compelling listen, even if a lot of it was left over from Wildflowers. Maybe he was just a natural or maybe he had a bit of practice before we really knew about it.
Although ‘Never Be You’ started off as a decent country-tinged tune, Petty’s original idea was to give the song to Roseanne Cash to sing before Maria McKee picked it up for the movie Streets of Fire. McKee may not have been the ideal choice, but she spits out the track with a lot more gusto than you might expect, bringing the same authority that any Cash descendant could.
Cash would eventually make her own version of the tune, but this was never meant to be a Petty classic by any stretch. It’s all relative to the person you’re writing for, and as for Petty, he was just looking to flex his muscles and get away from a song that’s just straight-ahead rock and roll.
9. ‘Blown Away’ – Jeff Lynne
Tom Petty working with Jeff Lynne was the perfect marriage. Both of them may have taken their cues from The Beatles and loved the sounds of classic rock, but once Lynne decided to produce Full Moon Fever, Petty saw a creative resurgence unlike anything he had seen since the 1970s. Since Petty was having so much fun putting his own tracks together, why not repay the favour to his producer?
Given that half of the track listing on Full Moon Fever is credited to Petty and Lynne, ‘Blown Away’ was the only song to squeak onto Lynne’s solo album, Armchair Theatre. While this doesn’t necessarily stack up against what they were working on on ‘Free Fallin’ and ‘I Won’t Back Down’, Lynne may have been the best person to deliver a song like this.
Petty already had a somewhat gruff voice, and hearing a wall of different harmonies on this song is everything you would expect from the man who used to lead a band that had cellos as one of its main instruments. Lynne may have been slowly starting to edge himself into the producer’s chair most of the time, but even if he was more comfortable behind the board, he could make magic in the studio when he wanted to.
8. ‘I’ve Always Got You’ – Robin Zander
There’s no debating that Petty worshipped at the altar of The Beatles. He may have gotten his rock and roll chops from seeing Elvis Presley for the first time, but when he saw the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan Show, he had a firm basis for how his music should sound. So when the rest of the Heartbreakers were working in their downtime, why not give some material to the vocalist for the ‘American Beatles’?
While Cheap Trick never ascended to the same levels as their British idols, Robin Zander’s voice always sounded like a punk rock version of what John Lennon and Paul McCartney would have done. After taking a break from Cheap Trick, though, Zander needed some songs for a solo record and ended up tapping longtime Heartbreaker Mike Campbell to pen ‘I’ve Always Got You’.
Campbell had already developed a backlog of material, and when listening to the few chiming sounds on the record, it feels like a long-forgotten Petty song that Campbell never got Petty to click with. Given that the album also features Benmont Tench on keyboards, this could justifiably be called a mini-supergroup if the record garnered a bit more exposure then.
7. ‘Walk Away’ – Del Shannon
Petty was never afraid to pay tribute to his biggest inspirations. It’s the least he could do for the people who inspired him to make music in the first place, and if someone like Bob Dylan asked him to go on tour, there was no question that he would do it. Del Shannon may have seemed like a lost relic of the 1950s, but Rock On! Saw him get back in touch with his roots thanks to Petty and Mike Campbell.
Petty might get a bad reputation for writing many dad rock songs throughout his career, but this is the best kind of dad rock you could ask for, calling back to songs like ‘Runaway’ from back in the day while also paving the way for something new every time the chorus comes around. Then again, Petty’s involvement in the record has more to do with the personnel than with any one song.
By the time the session ended, Shannon was furious that Petty had gone behind his back and stolen bassist Howie Epstein, who had become the next Heartbreaker following Ron Blair’s resignation from the group. Shannon and Petty patched up their differences by the time of his death, but given he was the producer, it probably wasn’t the best idea to mingle with the backing band a bit more than he should have.
6. ‘King of the Hill’ – Roger McGuinn
The Byrds tend to fall through the cracks of rock history far too often. While Roger McGuinn has been given his flowers for ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ and Davis Crosby ended up doing amazing things afterwards, Petty wouldn’t exist were it not for their singles, almost delivering an Americanised version of what The Beatles did an ocean away. So when McGuinn finally decided to return, Petty was more than happy to go back to the age-old topic of rock and roll: bad business deals.
After reading several books about figures of rock history, McGuinn and Petty put together ‘King of the Hill’ based on what it’s like to be the person at the top of the heap. Even for someone as iconic as McGuinn, Petty was outraged to see his idol taking orders halfway through the session.
For a man as bold as Petty, he really went out on a limb when entering the studio with McGuinn, including getting into a major argument with one of McGuinn’s managers about a song, which Petty thought was bound to be terrible before he even recorded it. As much as Petty felt bad for leaving the session cold, he did have a point, with McGuinn refusing to go for the track because of how mainstream it sounded. Petty can be callous, but that blunt honesty is normally there for a reason.
5. ‘Cheer Down’ – George Harrison
From the first minute of his solo career, George Harrison always did things his own way. He didn’t want to have to face being a Beatle anymore, and as long as he got to play music with his friends, that was more than enough. Once it started to become like a business again, Harrison figured it was time to step off, until Petty helped bring him back from a long overdue break.
While Jeff Lynne gets the credit for producing Harrison’s phenomenal comeback album Cloud Nine, Petty became one of his closest friends, eventually visiting Friar Park and jamming on everything from guitars to ukuleles. ‘Cheer Down’ was the only song that squeaked by onto a Harrison album, being included in the background of the film Lethal Weapon 2 and on his greatest hits album later.
Trying to take the direction of a Beatle might not have been easy, but Petty made working with one of the biggest stars in the world look easy. Given how much ire has been thrown at albums like Gone Troppo and Somewhere in England, it was just nice to hear Harrison return to sounding like he was actually having fun.
4. ‘Got My Mind Made Up’ – Bob Dylan
Petty always considered himself a rocker first and a songwriter second. As much as he could put together the kind of track that would break hearts around the world, Petty was more inclined to crank his guitar up as loud as he could and come up with a riff that sent chills down everyone’s spine when they heard it. ‘Got My Mind Made Up’ already had that ramshackle spirit before the Heartbreakers started, it just had the wrong guy at the front.
After going out on the road with Bob Dylan after his house burned down, Petty showed him the basis of ‘Got My Mind Made Up’, which he began working on during his days with Mudcrutch. No one would dare tell someone like Dylan what to do, but he took a liking to the tune enough to perform it on the album Knocked Out Loaded, albeit with different lyrics thrown into the mix.
Dylan did manage to return the favour as well, eventually working with Petty on the song ‘Jammin’ Me’ for Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough). The album itself might be considered one of the worst that Petty made by his own estimation, but that doesn’t really matter. Most people would give their left arm to work with Dylan, and if he says one of your songs is good, that’s like being touched by a musical deity.
3. ‘You Got It’ – Roy Orbison
For an era that was all about the shiny new attractions, there were a lot of rock and roll resurrections in the 1980s. Michael Jackson and Madonna may have been the biggest superstars in the world, but it’s strange to see everyone from Steve Marriott to The Beach Boys sharing time on the charts with the flavours of the day. Petty was still hot shit at the time, but he was determined to help Jeff Lynne bring Roy Orbison back into the public consciousness.
While many knew Orbison as a borderline one-hit wonder thanks to ‘(Oh) Pretty Woman’, ‘You Got It’ was the song that introduced him to the 1980s with ease. The chords may be a little bit too much like ELO for some people’s taste, but there’s no denying Orbison’s amazing voice when he comes in, practically shaking with emotion at how much he cares for his other half.
If you look at all the personnel on the song, this hints at what was to come just a few years later. You’ve got Petty writing lyrics, Orbison singing the tune, and Lynne adding his signature approach to production? All you need is a token appearance by George Harrison or Bob Dylan, and you would have the unofficial first Traveling Wilburys song.
2. ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ – Stevie Nicks
By the start of the 1980s, Stevie Nicks had started to grow a little tired of Fleetwood Mac. As much as she wanted to express herself whenever she stepped up to the mic, that’s easier said than done when three different songwriters are spread across the band. Nicks wanted nothing more than to join another group, and once she hooked up with producer Jimmy Iovine, she got exactly what she wanted in Petty.
Nicks was already a huge fan of the Heartbreakers before she decided to start her solo career, but once she laid down Bella Donna, Iovine was convinced he hadn’t heard a single. Enter Petty to the rescue, who took the makings of a swampy song he had been working on called ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ and interpolated it as a duet with Nicks.
It could have easily ended up as a killer B-side to a single, but no one could deliver these lines as well as Nicks, especially when she harmonises with Petty on the chorus. In another world, she would have gotten the Petty song ‘Insider’, but Nicks has enough ballads in her discography, and this tune reminded everyone she could rock a bit when she needed to.
1. ‘The Boys of Summer’ – Don Henley
The band has always been called Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for a reason. Even though Petty maintained the idea of the outfit always being part of a unit, there was never anyone who was going to question whether they could write songs that could compete with what their frontman could do. Mike Campbell did have his ideas from time to time, and when he didn’t get a bite out of Petty, he figured that the Eagles would be the next best thing.
After mulling over the idea of turning Southern Accents into a double album, Campbell came up with a minor chord progression that Petty thought sounded a bit too jazzy for his taste. Once Don Henley found himself making his first steps into his solo career, Campbell’s basis was the first thing that jumped out at him, eventually restructuring the tempo and turning it into ‘Boys of Summer’.
Even looking back, Petty admitted that he dropped the ball on that song, blaming it on how most of the group was out of their minds on drugs when putting their own album together. If this is what Campbell had in the tank during that time, we may have been in for one of the best Heartbreakers album of all time if they could have only gotten themselves together.
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