That he most certainly was. You know that without this guy and without that guy, there would be no you.. And he would just talk me down., At MusiCares, Cage the Elephant delivered a potent unplugged twist on Pettys 1993 hit Mary Janes Last Dance, a deceptively jaunty folk-blues about holding on to a fleeting passion. There were shrieks of horror. Petty fell into his own hard-drug use in the Nineties as he coped with a difficult divorce and a rough spell musically, commercially, emotionally with the Heartbreakers. There was a lot of miscommunication and a lot of immature shit going down. All rights reserved. And our bass player Crawdaddy [Lance Morrison] said, You should play that song together in the show. I never knew how it got there, but it sure wasnt left over from the night before. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, Dylan said of Petty, and Ill never forget him.. Bob used to say, These guys communicate without talking. He liked that., Petty had a great bullshit detector he didnt suffer fools, just like my dad, says Dhani Harrison. He was just a lovely guy who loved rock & roll and came up the hard way.. I started to hear a whole new kind of thing coming out., Petty was flattered when Hillman asked if he could record his own version of Wildflowers title track for Bidin My Time. George put it on his jukebox, Dhani says, and just had it on repeat., Earlier this year, Dhani stopped by Pettys house to play him some new music: Dhanis first solo album, IN///PARALLEL. Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. At the end of the process, as was their agreement, Zanes sent Petty the book, and then flew out to California to hear his judgment in person. Longtime Petty manager Tony Dimitriades fired Lynch on the phone shortly after the show, and the drummer didnt say a word to Petty until the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Lynch joined his former bandmates during their induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Thus, the rocker said he has tons of regrets regarding his time with the band. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. That put me off when I wrote it, Petty said of the song in a 2009 Rolling Stone interview, one of many conversations I had with him over the past decade for the magazine and his SiriusXM channel, Tom Petty Radio. It works really well with him. He described us as not his main gig. And then, with awful suddenness and scant days after a triumphant home stand in his adoptive Los Angeles for a 40th anniversary concert, he was gone. I certainly dont have a chip on my shoulder, he told me in 2014. Six days later, on the evening of October 1st, Petty suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Lynch moved to Los Angeles, and hooked up again with fellow Floridian Ron Blair, during a recording session set up by Benmont Tench in 1976. It is a song of pure love agape, Hillman says, using the ancient Greek word. Follow me. That was the rehearsal. Stan Lynch, the bands longtime drummer, who eventually quit in 1994, is unsurprisingly the most critical of Petty. Lynchs portion of the tour was slated to kick off April 23 in Boulder, Colorado, so he had plenty of time to prepare. They preferred the punkier numbers, like Even the Losers and Refugee, to the Byrds-ier T.P. I think I have some Tom nuances in my voice. We apologized to each other for being assholes and young and stupid, says Campbell. . And of course, it wasnt good, no good at all, because not long after they confirmed he was lost. There was nothing there but truth. But, he admitted, that was my mindset: I will survive. That was 30 years ago. When we got back together for the Bridge School Benefit it was just misery. And he had a good heart. The guitarist recalls a point several tours ago when he was having some real personal problems. We had the amps up loud, Petty told me with a delighted chuckle. We never even tried one of my songs., When the tour ended, Zanes left the band and went back to New England, drifted around, and ended up in New Orleans, where he became a bike mechanic. I like to think that Pettys demise, which will draw a perhaps never-to-be-reopened shade across part of my consciousness,will only serve to enhance his stature. I said, Tom, the audience is rockin. It was a short walk, 20 steps, from his front door to his studio, Dimitriades says. They were cool with it right away. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Blair and original drummer Stan Lynch, both from Gainesville released their self-titled debut album in November 1976, then hit the road in earnest. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google, Visit Billboard Pro for music business news, Why David Crosby Hopes His New Doc Will Serve As AnApology, Norman Seeff Shares Stories Behind Iconic Photos of the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac &More. And yet when band mates fell by the wayside, as happened to the evocatively swampy but roguish drummer Stan Lynch and the late bassist/harmonizer Howie Epstein (who died by overdose in2003), theywere not remote figures in the rear view, but psychic landmarks, sometime friends whose loss Petty would discuss with empathy and obvious regrets. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Lynch started to work with various Florida bands, among them Styrophoam Soule and Road Turkey, and when he was 15 he met Ron Blair, who was six years older than Lynch. I get a good chapter out of this. He was a real cat. When Petty sang a song by Jimmie Rodgers, Merle Haggard or the Searchers, Tench insists, he wasnt a dilettante, trying something on. They werent officially named the Heartbreakers until they came together in Los Angeles in 1976. As you may recall, the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty sadly passed away on October 2, 2017, at the age of 66. Cage singer Matt Shultz contends that like David Bowie, Petty conquered the popular belief that creativity dies with age, especially in rock & roll. Hell, I didn't steal it. Im not really there emotionally, he says. Much of the show was given to generous spins through the intricate balladry and pointed reflection on Pettys acclaimed solo outings, 1989s Full Moon Fever and 1994s Wildflowers, with profound glow and muscle from the Heartbreakers. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. It was getting close to showtime. The coolest thing about this is that I get to put a bookend on a really, really long book of life, he says. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakershad been off the road for nearly a year when the 1994 Bridge School Benefit came around. "Tom told me, 'Look man, you can call anybody anything you wantbut you can't lay a hand on anyone in this band.' Tim McGraw recorded "Back When", a song Lynch wrote with Stephony Smith and Jeff Stevens, for his album Live Like You Were Dying. Heres the definitive guide to Tom Pettys best songs. Original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recently joined an interview with Rolling Stone. Dhani the son of Pettys close friend, the late Beatle George Harrison notes that when his father died in 2001, someone said, Ive never seen so many grown men cry. The same thing can be applied to this., Tributes swiftly followed the news of Pettys passing. Another intense moment in the show is Southern Accents. Midway through the tour, Campbell changed the lyrics from Theres a dream I keep having where my mama comes to me/And kneels over by the window and says a prayer for me to Theres a dream I keep having where my brother comes to me Its a change of just one word, but its had a profound impact on the crowd. His last gig with the Heartbreakers was on October 2, 1994, at the Bridge School Benefit Concert in Mountain View, California. We connected instantly, like wed known each other already, the guitarist says. While Petty and George Harrison were kind of stone-y, mellow dudes, they had that toughness. Everybody was so happy, especially Tom full of glory and hope. The guitarist was particularly pleased when Petty threw Breakdown a nugget from the first album, only played twice before on the tour into the closing-night set with striking high harmonies by backing vocalists Charley and Hattie Webb. Tom was a great classicist, Springsteen says, and the Heartbreakers were a real guitar band. The Real Reason Behind Tom Petty Firing Stan Lynch. They would go to the Formula One races together., George really felt at ease with Tom, Dhani says, because it was like having another you next to you. The crowd will go crazy. ", Lynch was always involved in fights at school so his friends reasoned that the high-strung youth might be able to rip the aggression with drums. Lynch was informed by Tony Dimitriades through a call. I have a proposition for you, said Campbell, who was on the verge of kicking off his first-ever solo tour, but was going to be without regular drummer Matt Laug for a period in the spring and summer when he had commitments in Europe with Italian superstar Vasco Rossi. And there was always great coffee. 2023 Cond Nast. Theres a reason why he was in the Wilburys with Bob, Roy and a Beatle. "[I'd] gotten looser, more pliable over the years," he commented. There was also this thing that set us apart from the other musicians in town this drive to write our own songs.. His hits have defined rock radio since the Seventies, and he never stopped writing great music. The drummer realized after some point that he didnt want to be in the band anymore due to the personal and musical differences he had with Tom Petty. Its become a very special moment and the crowd picked up on the love between us.. ', I dont give a shit what were playing, adds Lynch. He and I had incredibly good communication onstage; he could read the movement of my shoulder. He soon found himself in the middle of some conversations that the band was having through himconversations they had never had with themselves. But Toms attitude and personality gave it a modern edge., Tench believes that as a writer, Petty walked in this strange penumbra between the shadow and the light. Free Fallin, Pettys Top 10 single from Full Moon Fever, has a catchy chorus, Tench says. / Youtube. But I havent seen him again since then.. That was another experience for me, says Lynch. By Andy Greene. Stan and I had some personal conflicts with family here and there, he says. It was magical, it was spiritual, Campbell affirms. The documents claim Adria wanted the box set collection to be titled, "Tom Petty" and not "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers." We want to hear it. Id drive up; gate opens. If I look up and see Mike Campbells butt in front of my drum kit, its kind of like Im home., Opening night in Boulder was heavy on material from the two Dirty Knobs albums, but they also dipped into the Heartbreakers catalog with songs like Refugee, Runnin Down a Dream, Southern Accents, and You Wreck Me. As the days went by, they started sprinkling in additional oldies like Listen to Her Heart, When the Time Comes, and Casa Dega., Im still learning to be a singer, says Campbell. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. I learn from them.. So not really the best environment for me, personally.. Ringo Starr on 'Good Friend' Tom Petty's Death: 'It Was a Shock'. [citation needed] Foley played the main blond haired Alice in Wonderland character in the video. Every one of them came to me. My parents didn't have money. Thats how, in a very roundabout way, Warren Zanes, a deputy professor at New York University, came to write Petty: The Biography, a new book about one of rocks most enigmatic figures, and his band, the Heartbreakers. He asked me to call some people, Dimitriades says, and see if they would come on the road and perform it with him. And he sang as well. The one-two punch of The Wild One, Forever and Anything Thats Rock and Roll seemed to rise from a thoroughly singular new talent, blowing away rock musics post-punk irresolution to point a towards a sound both classic and original. They also broke out the blues and covers: Smokestack Lightning, Kansas City, Fleetwood Macs Black Magic Woman. The band sounds amazing, Petty exulted. Petty then eventually felt that it wouldnt be a good idea for Lynch to perform on his next solo album, Wildflowers, so he hired session musician Steve Ferrone instead. ', Editors picks Petty died Oct. 2 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. He famously fractured his left hand when he punched a wall during a contentious mixing session for Southern Accents. There sat the fantastic coffee. A series of writing projects followed, which lead to Petty asking Zanes to write the biography. I think Stan didn't like Iovine (not sure any of the band except for maybe Petty appreciated him), but he was OK at that point because TP supported Lynch's playing style. There was a depth of soul coming through. The two men spoke briefly after the September 25th show at the Bowl, raving about it. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, In some small ways, the experience mirrored a very difficult time in Lynchs career with the Heartbreakers when Petty cut 1989s Full Moon Fever as a solo album and asked the band to learn the songs and tour it with him. Diner featuring the 'world's rudest service' grumpily pops up . Obviously, they liked something we did. But they loved the same stuff ukuleles, motor racing. And so I have regrets, but they dont hold me back. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recalled working with Stevie Nicks in a July 2021 interview. According to Colin Larkin, Gainesville is Lynch's place of birth. I knew that there was the capacity within that group to push boundaries, he says. We got together and played at that and talked and were friendly, Petty said in 2007. It wasnt the best period in my life, Petty confessed in 2006. ', One night, they started warming up backstage by singing Stories We Could Tell, an obscure John Sebastianpenned song that Petty and the Heartbreakers often played in their early days. We got beyond it. He could go anywhere I wanted to go. I wouldnt want to let anyone down, says Lynch. I wont get into all that, but we were young and stupid and full of too much testosterone. Finally, Dylan walked off, forcing Petty to coax him back on as the Heartbreakers kept playing. Their father, Earl, was Jerry Lee Lewis if he didnt play the piano. You remember dozens of moments, including an interview for Billboardwhen he was 64 and you were sitting with him in a glassed-in studio booth while distracting activity swirled all around, and he took a beat and he could take a beat as well as any showman who has walked the stage with a six-string slung around his neck and smiled one of his complicated and almost furtive smiles and said, Were professionals, right?. I didnt want to find out anything that would compromise the mans dignity, Zanes said. "We got somethin', we both know, we don't talk too much about it Ain't no real big secret, all the same, somehow we get around it Listen, it don't really matter to me, baby I dont know what it would mean to them since they have a lot more miles than I do, but it would be a joy for me., Campbell says hes not ready for something like that. Were not going to do any more long tours like this, but we have a lot of stuff were gonna do, because this is the best the band has ever been., When he walked past me, Campbell continues, I put my arm out, I pulled him close to me and said, Im so proud of you. Michael and Tom were able to get through anything because they were the yin and yang of it. Petty was in some ways not the easiest person to get along with. It's hard to even imagine that album without Stan. Are you up for it?, Lynchs first instinct was to decline the offer. Stan Lynch, the band's longtime drummer, who eventually quit in 1994, is unsurprisingly the most critical of Petty. Location: Katy, TX. Lynchs run ends after a June 26 show in Aspen, Colorado. It's what people like to think of as "swing". Im really proud of the legacy. Id watch him coming down from the stage. One and she said yes immediately was Norah Jones., Its so hard to believe its even happened, Dhani Harrison says of Pettys death. Petty spent much of his stardom in ready, grateful service to his rock & roll elders. August 12, 2014. Tons of them. He was a powerhouse onstage. Petty later got a solo deal with Shelter but turned to Campbell and Tench again to form a band with Pettys name up front, playing his songs. But a lot of that has calmed down. "I remember he accused me of stealing an amp from him. Zanes also coaxed Stan Lynch, the ex-drummer of Petty's longtime backing band, The Heartbreakers . Id need you to play a leg of the tour. Id gone from Madison Square Garden to being a bike mechanic. He was working on a bike when he first heard Runnin Down a Dream, from Pettys 1989 album Full Moon Fever. And I thought, There he goes. Benmont called Tom Petty, also from Gainesville, to ask for some help with some vocals. At the end, he looked at me, gave me this big, beaming smile, and said, Guess you found your target demographic., He was so proud, like a dad, Dhani says. By 1974, the future core of the Heartbreakers Petty, Campbell and Tench, another Gainesville native had played on Mudcrutchs debut single, Depot Street. Released the next year, it was a commercial bust on Shelter Records that eventually broke up that group. If you listen to the old records, Stan and I are pushing, were locked, and lot of times were driving the songs. Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. On that last night at the Bowl, in his adopted hometown, the Florida-born Petty covered every mile of his journey with determined, jubilant force: his creative odyssey as a songwriter; the commercial success that continually followed him; the record-business trials that came along with it; his eternal garage-band bond with the Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboard player Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair, multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston and drummer Steve Ferrone. What people dont know is that Lynch and Pettys conflict started way back at the time of their legendary singles. Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch on Their Surprise Heartbreakers Reunion. And with that, there can be the ultimate cost.