Skip to main content

Tom Petty is Somewhere in Heaven

Tom Petty's music touched every facet of my life. From discovering rock n' roll and through my formative years, to college and becoming an adult, meeting Julie, moving to CA and the birth of my kids. Petty was always there. Even more than Springsteen, Petty was always there. I can name any Petty song and pinpoint the moment in my life when it first transformed me.

This summer, I finally read Warren Zanes' warts and all biography of Tom Petty. It's fantastic, and Petty, who was interviewed and gave his blessing to the book, is brutally honest about the harrowing details of his life. This was a man who endured and persevered. He was far from perfect, but he did hia best. 

If you have an opportunity, pick it up. It's the perfect companion to Peter Bogdanovich's epic documentary, "Runnin Down a Dream."

I may not have loved the most recent Heartbreakers albums, but that was okay. The Mudcrutch records contained the ramshackle looseness that I loved about so much of his music. That's what being a Petty fan is about: You love most of the art, but aren't afraid to voice your opinion because, let's face it, Petty was pretty opinionated himself.

Today has been a shock. With Vegas and now Petty, I'm a little numb. I just came home from Tucson where I spent the weekend with my parents. I feel blessed because I can still call them tonight and tell them I love them. 

It's strange: When I heard the news about Petty, I didn't rush to listen to his tunes. That's what we do when an artist dies, right? We spend hours digging through their catalogue, paying honor to them. Well, that was pretty much every week for me, so turning on "The Waiting" or "No Second Thoughts" or "It'll All Work Out" or "Dogs on the Run" or "Crawling Back to You" or "Mary Jane's Last Dance" or "Keeping Me Alive" or "Room at the Top" or "Free Fallin" is no different today than it was a couple of days ago. 

Except that it is. 

Tom Petty is somewhere in heaven right now, singing harmony with Howie Epstein, trading licks with George Harrison, and being reunited with his beloved mother, Kitty.

"Over mountains I floated away 
Across an ocean I dreamed her name 
I followed an angel down through the gates 
I can only thank God it was not too late"

RIP Mr. Petty




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records...
42 comments
Read more

100 and Counting: Introducing The Epic Playlist

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of ...
1 comment
Read more

A Short Tribute to Jacob on his 23rd Birthday

Jacob turns 23 today.  As I write this, he's in the other room watching Deadpool and Wolverine laughing his ass off. I love that he's held on to his affection for comic books and video games into adulthood and how he's able to quote a movie after seeing it only once.  What I love more is that he remains a caring and empathetic human being, despite the hardships he's faced in life, that he continues to be funny and creative, that he's passionate about the issues that are important to him, in particular LGBTQ rights, and that he's supportive of his friends, his sister, and all of his cousins. Is he perfect? I don't give a shit. He's my son and I'm so damn proud of him. He's a fighter and he inspires me almost every day. I started blogging 21 years ago, as I began training for a marathon to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you dig around in the "Thunderbolt" archives, you'll find updates on his health, the many Basem...
1 comment
Read more