“That kind of broken rhythm”: The drumbeat Tom Petty said he stole from The Beatles
It would probably be easier to list the rock and pop songs that were not influenced by The Beatles rather than those that were. During their relatively short time together, the Fab Four left a colossal influence over the landscape of pop and rock, laying the foundations for the future of the genre and pioneering many of the conventions and techniques that are now commonplace within the music industry. Still, there are those who are more easily influenced than others, as Tom Petty is all too aware.
As a teenager in the 1960s, Petty was perfectly positioned to witness the colossal rise of The Beatles from their first steps onto US soil in 1964. In fact, he has repeatedly claimed that seeing the band perform on The Ed Sullivan Show marked the moment that a 13-year-old Petty knew he wanted to be in a band and pursue music. That story was undoubtedly echoed by thousands of other kids in America watching the performance, but Petty certainly made good on his ambitions.
Just over a decade later, Petty formed The Heartbreakers in 1976, a group with which he would achieve an incredible level of commercial success and acclaim. Writing a selection of rock’s most recognisable tunes throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Florida-born songwriter became a household name in his own right. Nonetheless, his all-encompassing adoration of The Beatles was never too far from his mind.
Petty’s music regularly drew upon the inspiration of the Liverpudlian group, but some of these influences were more obvious than others. For instance, the early single ‘Breakdown’, taken from The Heartbreakers’ eponymous debut album, took particular influence from the drumming of Ringo Starr. To the lamen, Starr’s drumming might not be the most obvious aspect of The Beatles’ sound to rip off.
In fact, Starr’s drumming is regularly the punchline to some pretty unimaginative jokes within the music world. He might not have been as skilled, in a technical sense, as somebody like John Bonham, but the drumbeats of The Beatles were unique in their constructions and formed some of the most important, iconic beats of the era. Petty, as a Beatles obsessive, never doubted the quality of Starr’s playing style, incorporating one of his beats into ‘Breakdown’.
Recalling the construction of the song, Petty once shared, “I wrote it on a break from recording at the Shelter Studio in Hollywood. I think we took a break because we had recorded everything we had, and I made up ‘Breakdown.’” Continuing, “I wrote it very quickly. It’s a very short song. I played it to them, and they really dug it, and we made the record.”
The song itself is built around a drumbeat, which Petty readily admitted was lifted from a Beatles track. “I think we got the drumbeat from a Beatles record,” he remembered, “‘All I’ve Got To Do’. We just varied it. That was the idea, to have that kind of broken rhythm on the hi-hat.” That track, originally featured on the 1963 album With The Beatles, is not often regarded as one of Starr’s finest drumming moments, but, like any true fan, Petty could find gems where others rarely look.
Far from plagiarising the drumbeat, Petty simply used Starr’s work as a jumping-off point for ‘Breakdown’, reflecting his lifelong love of The Beatles. For their part, the Fab Four did not seem to mind Petty’s use of their drum sound, especially given how many other blatant rip-offs they have faced over the years. Years later, Petty formed a strong bond with George Harrison, recording together with The Travelling Wilburys, so there was clearly no conflict with regard to the drumbeat of ‘Breakdown’.
