Five songs that Tom Petty wrote for other artists

Credit: Press

The band Tom Petty considered “superior to everything”

Sat 16 September 2023 16:45, UK

Tom Petty always prided himself on being a student of classic rock and roll. Throughout his time with The Heartbreakers, Petty was always informed by the giants of rock and roll history, whether it was talking about the genre’s beginnings like Elvis Presley or the new school of players on the scene like Beck. While Petty had many favourites throughout his lifetime, there was no way of beating this one band.

When Petty first got the bug to play rock and roll, he initially couldn’t play one note on any instrument. Liking the sounds of Elvis Presley, Petty was transformed when he heard the rock and roll pioneer play for the first time, seeing him up close during the film of the movie Follow That Dream.

Inspired to put a band together, Petty didn’t think that he had a chance of making it as a solo star until The Beatles came along. When talking about seeing the Fab Four play for the first time, Petty was awestruck at their talent and was convinced that he could form a band, recalling in Runnin’ Down a Dream, “The few minutes that they were on the Ed Sullivan Show, I thought that this was what I’m going to do. This is how you do it”.

When talking about the legacy of fellow British Invasion bands like The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, though, Petty still thought there was no topping what The Beatles did initially. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Petty thought that the group was miles above any of their contemporaries, saying, “The Beatles were superior to everything. This came on the radio and overnight everything was different. If you weren’t there, it’s hard to believe, but everything changed instantly”.

While every other rock band became interested in writing original material thanks to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Petty was also curious about how well their voices blended whenever they sang, explaining, “[In ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand], John and Paul are singing the lead vocals in unison. It almost makes another voice – such a sonic pleasure”.

When putting together his first bands, Petty would pay careful attention to where the vocals were laid as well, utilising various background vocalists with the Heartbreakers like Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac and bassist Howie Epstein. Though Petty would have been more than happy to be a fan of the Fab Four, some of the band members began to make inroads into his life as well.

After working with Bob Dylan on a joint tour with The Heartbreakers, Petty got to sit in on a songwriting session with George Harrison, which morphed into the idea of forming the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. While Petty played bass and sang an occasional lead vocal on a track, he and Harrison would remain close throughout their lives, with Harrison and Ringo Starr appearing as extras in the video for Petty’s hit, ‘I Won’t Back Down’.

Even though Petty may have become friends with his greatest inspiration, he never stopped being a fan of the band, either. Harrison may have been a friend, but he was also responsible for creating the music that turned Petty’s world upside down in the very beginning.