The music legend and friend Tom Petty admitted was “full of shit”
It’s not uncommon for musicians to lie about stories that have happened to them or for them to embellish details in order to make something sound more exciting. Jim Morrison famously lied about his dead parents, who were still alive and kicking, and Lou Reed spun so many yarns that he wasn’t even sure of his own backstory. Whether they were trying to make themselves seem more interesting or simply bored is up for debate, but nevertheless, they’ve still told porky pies about their lives.
You would think it’s enough excitement to be a successful recording artist who gets to tour the world regularly, but for some, adding those extra little details to keep fans and journalists on their toes is clearly what keeps them ticking. It’s far from just the likes of Morrison and Reed, who have decided to tell tall tales about their lives, though, and someone else who was known for regularly spouting wild statements for a kick was folk rock icon David Crosby.
While he had quite the mouth on him and was known for sharing his views on other musicians, some might say that, if anything, he was being brutally honest in his opinions on others. Having regularly slandered his former bandmates Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young in the years after their split, it’s remarkable that they managed to put up with his grubbiness for so many years.
Those who were close to him knew that he had a tendency to run his mouth off, and whether or not he was a regular liar, there were, of course, people in his network who could see through his web of lies. One person who may not have worked with him in quite as close a capacity as Stills, Nash or Young but was still a good friend and occasional collaborator with Crosby was none other than Tom Petty, and he knew just how much his pal was capable of spinning a story out of proportion.
Whether they were working together or simply kicking back in each other’s company, the two were great friends right up until Petty’s untimely passing in 2017, but in a 2003 interview, Petty was asked to comment on some information that Crosby had shared with a journalist. Petty was quick to lay down the law and sniffed out Crosby’s fabrication of a story immediately, telling the journalist under no uncertain terms that Crosby was not telling the truth.
When discussing the last time Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played at the United Center together, Crosby supposedly claimed that the highest ticket price was $226 plus Ticketmaster fees, but Petty was having none of this. “I absolutely heard about that interview,” he exclaimed. “David’s a dear, dear friend of mine, but he’s full of shit there. I love him, but I told him, ‘You’re full of shit and you know it!’”
Crosby was probably well aware of how he had lied about this being the case, but being called out by Petty didn’t affect his relationship with the Heartbreakers frontman. “I shouldn’t say that because he is a friend,” Petty continued, “but let’s just say that I differ on that. I think that it’s not necessary.”
