‘Southern Accents’: The album that broke Tom Petty’s hand
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers lived on the road throughout most of the late 1970s. After working on Damn the Torpedoes and becoming one of the biggest acts in the world, Petty had the vision to keep things going no matter what, working with producer Jimmy Iovine from strength to strength on albums like Hard Promises. The wheels were bound to fall off eventually, and everything came to a screeching halt when writing the album Southern Accents.
Although the plan was for Petty to write a double album-length pastiche of The American South, that idea was quickly dashed the moment they got to the studio. Having spent a few years off the road, each member had developed a bit of a drug problem and had lost some of their good judgement when putting the songs down on tape. While Petty would eventually get outside songwriters like Dave Stewart to help fine-tune some of the songs, the recording of the song ‘Rebels’ almost cost him his hand.
After mulling over the initial track for hours one day, Petty decided to go into the studio and listen to the demo version of the song and realised that the simple version of the song sounded so much better than the version that he was working on. In a fit of frustration, Petty hit the wall a little too hard and severely damaged his bones and tendons.
As he recalls in the documentary – Runnin Down a Dream, “all of a sudden, I got Mickey Mouse’s hand. I get to the hospital, and it’s so bad that other doctors are being called in like, ‘hey, get a load of this’. I had to be given electro-shock therapy. The electrodes would force my hand to shut because the hand didn’t want to close because it hurt so bad”.
Despite the intense rounds of therapy, there was a real possibility that Petty would have never played the guitar again if he didn’t take to the therapeutic exercises. As he worked up his hand again, Petty would eventually put the guitar back on, finishing the rest of the album off with songs that were salvaged from his original concept.
Later Petty admitted to not having a sense of direction on the album, even mentioning some songs slipping through his fingers. When guitarist Mike Campbell came forward with the chord progression for what would become ‘Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley, Petty originally scrapped it for something else before realising what a big mistake he made when Henley’s classic was heard all over the radio.
Though the final product doesn’t necessarily paint the picture of The American South that Petty had intended, it is one of the best indicators of the Heartbreakers moving into the ‘80s, with songs that borrow just as much from traditional rock and roll as they do from synthesisers. In between the singles, Petty also writes some of his purest songs as well, painting a picture of wild abandon on ‘Dogs on the Run’ and the gentle prayer on the title track.
Petty might not have intended to make an album like this, but he has often said that he is more proud of the album it became after months of hard work.
