The 10 best cover songs by Tom Petty
From the very first song on his debut album, Tom Petty had rock ‘n’ roll running through his veins. Although he might not have been the most aggressive guitar player in the world, Petty always told it like it was and crafted some of the most honest music to arise out of the heartland.
Despite his catalogue of breathtaking songs, a selection of Petty’s best moments came when he interpreted someone else’s work. In the early days, when the Heartbreakers were barely scraping by, he’d regularly throw in traditional rock ‘n’ roll tunes to his set and throughout his career, he took on everything from The Beatles to Chuck Berry.
Petty never wanted to be a one-trick pony. With every cover song he picked, the singer was looking to subvert the expectations of the listener, pulling from the world of country music, bluegrass, and alternative rock to find the sound he was chasing.
Every one of these covers helps explain what makes Petty tick musically, but they also act as a lesson in how to create a unique spin on an old classic. Even though the melody and lyrics might sound familiar on first listen, the DNA of the Heartbreakers runs through them.
The 10 best cover songs by Tom Petty
‘Shout’
Every Heartbreakers show was always about getting the audience moving. As much as Petty’s songs may have been portraits of America, he wasn’t above making some callbacks to the rock ‘n’ roll he was raised on. During his prime, every Heartbreakers show climaxed with ‘Shout’.
While an array of different artists have covered the Isley Brothers’ classic, Petty’s version is extraordinary. The version on Pack Up the Plantation! oozes desperation, almost like he’s trying to wring every bit of energy out of his band as he can. Although there’s a lighthearted demeanour to the song, Petty is angry as he demands the audience to applaud and not rest until they are out of their seats.
The magic might take place on the stage, but Petty doesn’t want to tell a story like any of his other songs. A great rock show should always be a communal experience, and throughout this cover, the audience become an unofficial band member.
‘I Just Want to Make Love To You’
Tom Petty’s upbringing was defined by the British Invasion. Even though he loved Elvis Presley when he grew up in Florida, it was The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show that turned Petty onto the idea of having a band of his own. When he finally started cutting his own tunes, those old songs never left his psyche.
For the retrospective Live Anthology, Petty dusted off this version of ‘I Just Want to Make Love To You’, which is indebted to The Rolling Stones. While the song was known as a blues standard long before Mick Jagger and Keith Richards got their hands on it, Petty turns it into a rave-up, rocking out just like he would if he was playing in a garage in 1965.
Although Petty might be known for his acoustic work, this is the sound of the Heartbreakers in their element, sweating it out onstage and playing as if their lives depend on it. The Stones’ version might have its raucous side, but this is the closest the Heartbreakers ever got to garage rock.
‘Call Me the Breeze’
Every rock band from the southern states of America has been indebted to the blues. Although Little Richard and Chuck Berry started rock ‘n’ roll, the sound of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon made people pay attention to what the area had to offer. While Lynyrd Skynyrd may have taken on ‘Call Me the Breeze’ first, Gainesville’s other golden son also took a crack at it.
While the root of this song is a simple blues jam, the Heartbreakers’ performance at the Fillmore is more laid back, as he talks about rolling down the road. Despite Skynyrd’s signature boogie, Petty channels this track like an old journeyman making his way through life without a care.
Considering his place as a rock ‘n’ roll elder statesman, Petty’s weathered voice feels perfect for this song, and his delivery comes from a genuine place.
‘Shady Grove’
In the early 2000s, Tom Petty had unfinished business to attend to. Outside of his solo work and with the Heartbreakers, he thought his original band, Mudcrutch, never got the respect they deserved. While the band had fellow Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell in the mix, their first release was somewhat of a surprise.
Coming from the country rock scene, ‘Shady Grove’ is their interpretation of an old bluegrass standard, with Petty taking turns singing with guitarist Tom Leadon. Since the song’s roots remain in country music, the guitar lines weave in and out of each other, almost like Campbell is picking a banjo instead of a guitar.
Despite the changeup in style, this sent a message. Mudcrutch may have been a relic lost to the ’70s, but the band still knew how to kick ass and take names even after decades apart.
‘Needles and Pins’
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks’ voices were made for each other. Although Nicks had her own success with Fleetwood Mac, her voice blended with Petty’s perfectly on ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, which led to them collaborating on each other’s records. After their fair share of originals, the duo’s interpretation of a pop classic was nothing short of magical.
Throughout ‘Needles and Pins’, it feels like Petty and Nicks are dancing around one another, egging each other on with each line. Compared to the sombre tone of the lyrics, there’s a sense of innocence when both of them harmonise as if they are using music as therapy for themselves.
Since Nicks was no stranger to using songs as a cathartic exercise, Petty is in a different mood, sounding desperate and lovestruck simultaneously. Nicks may have had her commitments with the Mac, but with this song alone, she earned the right to be called an honorary Heartbreaker.
‘The Stories We Could Tell’
The touring life is never easy to live by every day. Even though it might seem fun to be out on the road playing with your buddies, it tends to get lonely when you see nothing but stretches of road for miles at a time. The road might get rough, but having songs like ‘The Stories We Could Tell’ help everything go down easily.
Capping off Pack Up the Plantation!, this B.J. Thomas original is a short acoustic jam that the band recorded in the background, with Stan Lynch using his knees as the drumbeat. Although Petty’s grizzled voice works fine here, the song’s best part comes from Lynch, whose high harmony steals the show.
Although the song was knocked out while they were on the road, it reads like a love letter to the touring life they’ve embarked on. Touring will never be a stroll in the park, but the wild memories make it all worth it.
‘Asshole’
In Tom Petty’s core discography, his soundtrack for the movie She’s the One is an odd beast. Although the songs were B-sides from his masterpiece Wildflowers, they were too good to be forgotten. The job of a soundtrack is to tell a story, and why come up with your own song when Beck wrote the perfect choice?
Telling the story of a relationship on the rocks, ‘Asshole’ is where the narrator hits his lowest point, sticking to an acoustic guitar and keyboard as Petty talks about his problems with his woman. Even though he might want to give her the world, she will do everything she can to make him feel like dirt.
While the song works perfectly for the movie, Petty was also looking inward on this song, as his next album, Echo, would follow his divorce. Things might have been great on the musical front, but Petty was preparing for his personal life to come crashing down around him.
‘So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star’
If there’s one band we must thank for giving us Tom Petty, it’s The Byrds. Although Petty may have started off with the British Invasion and acts like The Beatles, hearing songs like ‘Eight Miles High’ set him on the track to becoming a rock ‘n’ roller. After reaching the top of the world, he felt comfortable enough to warn the next generation with this Byrds classic.
Although this song sounds like a crash course in becoming a famous musician, Petty’s voice has an air of sarcasm as he sings every line. The rock ‘n’ roll world can get twisted, and Petty is the Mad Hatter talking about all of the horrors that the scene has to offer.
Despite the warped fairy tale, this includes some of the best playing the Heartbreakers laid down in the ’80s, from Mike Campbell’s rapid-fire licks to the horns bringing an added sense of drama to the whole thing.
‘Mystic Eyes’
A thrilling rock show should never be about delivering hits to fans. If they wanted to hear these songs exactly as they were in the studio, they could just as easily load Spotify and hear it that way. Bands have an opportunity for connection when they have an audience in front of them, and Petty never forgot that sentiment when playing ‘Mystic Eyes’.
Although Van Morrison’s original version of the song was moody, there’s an added layer of drama when Petty comes screaming into this song. While the track stays faithful to the original in the beginning, the real magic comes in the breakdown, where Petty breaks the band down to his voice and the drums.
Throughout the rest of the song, Petty has the audience in the palm of his hands as he wishes for just one moment that everything feels alright. There has always been a spiritual side to rock ‘n’ roll, and for these brief moments, it feels like Petty will bring religious salvation to his audience onstage.
‘I Need You’
Much of this list has been about Tom Petty taking elements of other people’s songs and spinning them into something magical. Even though they might not be his stories, Petty inhabits every song he plays and ensures he lives in that musical reality for those few minutes as he did when he interpreted The Beatles.
In the wake of George Harrison’s death, Petty was integral to the ‘Concert for George’, bringing together fellow musicians to pay tribute to Harrison’s music. Though his version of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ featured Prince’s iconic guitar solo, the Heartbreakers’ version of ‘I Need You’ is pure musical emotion from start to finish.
While it remained a lowlight from the Beatles’ album Help, Petty sounds like he’s on the verge of tears on this song, both pleading for his lover to come back and asking his former Travelling Wilbury bandmate not to leave him. There’s no way that any Beatles cover could surpass the original, but this version is about as close as you’ll get.
