![]() It has this power to heal and inspire and to lift you right up." It really is the only true magic I've found in this world. "I think that in many ways I had a pretty tough childhood, and the music actually became a safe haven for me. ![]() "Music was a safe place to be," Petty told the Tribune in 2002. The young Petty was smitten with music after meeting Elvis Presley as a child through the auspices of a relative working on one of Presley's movie sets, and later seeing the Beatles perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He took guitar lessons from a future member of the Eagles, Don Felder, and began playing in a series of bands while working dead-end jobs - everything from washing dishes to digging graves. Born in 1950, Petty had a difficult relationship with his insurance-salesman father, who never understood his son's lack of interest in sports and passion for the arts. That "won't back down" mentality - which later spawned one of his greatest songs - was forged while growing up in Gainesville, Fla. "We see these banners at some of our shows: 'Greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world.' And sometimes I think we're the only one. Petty acknowledged he was something of a purist with a narrow definition of what rock should be - "It's like jazz or folk or blues - take it too far and it isn't any of those things," he once told the Tribune. The band was on the road over the summer to celebrate its 40th anniversary, including a sold-out concert at Wrigley Field in June. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.Īlong the way he and the Heartbreakers rode out the fickle ebb and flow of pop trends to carry the torch for guitar-based rock, inevitably selling out stadiums around the world no matter what kind of music was atop the pop charts at the time. One of his side projects was the Traveling Wilburys, which also included Harrison, Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne. ![]() He was held in high esteem by his peers and even some of the artists who inspired him, notably the Beatles' George Harrison, Bob Dylan and the Byrds' Roger McGuinn. He scored only two top-10 hits, "Don't Do Me Like That" (1979) and "Free Fallin' " (1989), but those accomplishments barely hint at the breadth of his success and influence. He sold more than 80 million albums, many recorded with his excellent band, the Heartbreakers. After debuting in 1976 with an album that included such indelible songs as "Breakdown" and "American Girl," Petty went on to become one of the more revered rockers of his generation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |