Raw wounds: the “furious” tirade Del Shannon gave Tom Petty
Having the role of a rock and roll bandleader is never an easy task. Aside from singing and usually writing most of the material, you have to make sure that every member is on their A-game at all times while also making sure that your head is still small enough to get on that stage without looking like a diva. It’s never easy to manage, but the job of a bandleader ended up getting Tom Petty in trouble with one of his idols, Del Shannon.
Considering Shannon’s reputation as one of the founding fathers of American rock and roll, it’s no wonder why Petty would be so drawn to him. The heartland rocker was practically a man out of time when he was growing up in the 1970s, still playing the same kind of rock and roll that lit a fire in a generation before him by copying acts like The Byrds and The Beatles.
Shannon’s unique flavour of rock and roll is also a lot darker than what Elvis Presley was doing a few years before. While it eventually becomes a fun pop-rock song, the verses of ‘Runaway’ are a lot more depressing than one would expect out of a 1950s rock track, featuring a descending guitar figure that feels like Shannon trying to paint a picture of a love gone bad.
While Shannon was on the comeback trail during the 1980s, Petty was already riding high off of Damn the Torpedoes when bassist Ron Blair elected to leave the group. Not wanting to be told that his part was wrong for the thousandth time, Blair left the band for a career in swimwear, which meant Petty had to find someone fast before going into the studio for Long After Dark.
When producing a record for Shannon, Petty was just working on another session and asking about bass players when in walked Howie Epstein. Outside of keeping a solid low-end to the record, Epstein’s greatest strength was his voice, which provided the kind of soaring high harmony that Petty had always wanted in the group.
After talking to him after the session, Petty asked Epstein if he’d be interested in joining the group, which was a dream come true for the bassist. Everything seemed to work out perfectly, but Shannon left Petty an enraged phone call after he found out what had happened.
In Runnin’ Down a Dream, Petty remembered getting the call from the rock legend right after he came home from working on a session, saying, “I’m in a difficult spot because I’m producing this artist’s record, and I’m not supposed to steal their bass player. I get home, and Del Shannon’s on the phone, and he’s furious. He said, ‘Don’t take Howie. He’s the guy I count on. He runs my band. How could you take Howie? You’re my friend. You can have anybody you want. Don’t take Howie.’ I said, ‘Del, I love you… I’m taking Howie.’”
Even though Blair eventually returned to the fold after Epstein’s death, both of them served Petty’s band perfectly… just in different ways. Since Blair was known as the silent type who played higher notes on his bass on tracks like ‘American Girl’, Epstein was more interested in looking at the whole picture. When the group started working on albums like Into the Great Wide Open, Epstein’s voice was almost as prominent in the mix as Petty’s, making for a weird duetting style that sounded like Petty got an entire chorus behind him.
It wasn’t all a wash with Shannon, though. Petty would even get the chance to cover ‘Runaway’ with The Traveling Wilburys later down the line and namecheck his rock hero in the song ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’. While Shannon wouldn’t see the legacy of his music for much longer, not many legends can say they had a hand in two legendary careers.
