Tom Petty on the moment Benmont Tench outplayed the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty never claimed to be one of the greatest musicians in the world. Rock and roll was not built for the virtuosos of classical music, but even for the heartland, Petty knew that the rest of the Heartbreakers were a cut above anyone else he had performed with. Before the group was even an idea, though, he knew he was dealing with magic when he heard Benmont Tench behind the piano.
When Petty started, though, he wasn’t looking to have too many keyboards on his records. He certainly could overdub in the studio if he wanted to, but when looking at his biggest inspirations like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, none of them necessarily had a designated keyboardist among their ranks or anything.
Once Petty started gigging up and down Gainsville, Florida, with his first band, Mudcrutch, though, he was slowly assembling the group that would become the Heartbreakers. Mike Campbell had already earned his spot as his right-hand man after accidentally auditioning to play a flawless version of Johnny B Goode, but Tench was a tougher person to reach.
While Tench loved rock and roll and would play in different acts during the summer, he was still going to college to become a lawyer. Petty only knew of him in passing, but when he had the chance to jam with him, this wasn’t just another fly-by-night keyboardist. This was Booker T and Little Richard rolled into one.
Recalling that first gig, Petty said that Tench put every other member of the group to shame, recalling in Runnin’ Down a Dream, “I said ‘what’s going on with you’. He said, ‘Well I’m going to school.’ I was like, ‘Shit man, what are you doing tomorrow?’. He came up onstage without any rehearsal, and he outplayed all of us for five hours.”
Even though this was the incubation stage of the Heartbreakers, Petty knew that he couldn’t let Tench go when Mudcrutch’s record deal fell through. After securing Campbell as his sideman, the frontman eventually made a pitch to have Tench join his band with some other Gainsville natives, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch.
Beyond just the internal chemistry, there’s always been a unique blend on every one of Petty’s records that comes from Tench’s keyboards. The chime of the guitars gives every song a distinct Byrds flavour, but the way that Tench’s lines come in on tracks like ‘Here Comes My Girl’ or coat the later records gives each of Petty’s compositions a little bit more magic.
It’s also no surprise why Tench has received calls to jam with some of the best in the industry as well, whether that’s making token appearances on Green Day albums behind the keyboards or eventually working with Petty to produce some of Johnny Cash’s finest solo work on his American series of albums. Tom Petty might have been determined to become a star by any means necessary, but the reason why the full name is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is down to what Tench gave in the studio and onstage.
