Tom Petty Song Thread

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by raysachs

Pretty sure this one's not in this thread yet. The story, as I understand it, is that TP wrote this song for Stevie Nicks, but then changed his mind and kept it for himself and gave her Stop Draggin' My Heart Around instead. Which if he hadn't, he'd have had to find a different name for the "Hard Promises" album. Maybe he'd have called it "$8.98" which he threatened his record company he was gonna do anyway if they insisted on raising the retail price of it to $9.98. They relented, he named it "Hard Promises" and this song is on it, with the line that contains "hard promises".

-Ray

Very nice, Ray, and I don’t want to hear any more whining about your vocals, this one sounded great

I heard or read the story the same way you did. Also that Stevie wanted to be in the band, but she was dq’d for being a girl and being in a “ corporate “ band that didn’t play real r and r!

Love this song, and you did it rightly.

[started with 1]

Nice one Ray. Tom Petty‘s got such a deep catalog. I don’t know this song but you did it proud.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Very nice, Ray, and I don’t want to hear any more whining about your vocals, this one sounded great

I heard or read the story the same way you did. Also that Stevie wanted to be in the band, but she was dq’d for being a girl and being in a “ corporate “ band that didn’t play real r and r!

Love this song, and you did it rightly.

Thanks Bob, I appreciate it. I think I’ve stopped apologizing for my vocals lately. I’ll never be much of a singer, but I’ve gotten better enough to enjoy it thoroughly and it’s been a while since I’ve run from the room to get away from my voice. When you’re as bad as I used to be, it takes a while to get to a place of not hating your own vocals and being self-conscious about them. I’ll probably never love em, but I’m OK with em now.

Stevie coulda been in my band, even if she was a girl!

-Ray

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by started with 1

Nice one Ray. Tom Petty‘s got such a deep catalog. I don’t know this song but you did it proud.

Thanks Joe. I got more selective with his material in his later albums - there are a lot of songs I don’t know. But those early albums, even up through Wildflowers, I think I know em all. Not to play, but just that I listened to those albums so much that those songs are nearly part of my DNA. I started seeing him on the Torpedoes tour, saw him on Hard Promises, Southern Accents, with Dylan when they were touring with him and being his backing band, etc.

-Ray

[reeve21]

Ok, let’s hear some more

[started with 1]

Picking and singing are great Bob. And Tom Petty was so prolific!

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by started with 1

Picking and singing are great Bob. And Tom Petty was so prolific!

Thanks, Joe! I am literally discovering a great new TP song every day, sometimes more than one. I guess I was living under a rock these past 40 years.

[raysachs]

Nice job Bob. That’s another Petty tune I’d long forgotten and never knew that well to begin with. As much as I loved the guy, he was so prolific that I just missed some of it, particularly from his later era. Not that his stuff wasn’t still great - I was just at a point in my life when I wasn’t listening to as much music as I had for many years prior. I’m gonna have to start playing this one. And another song from the Highway Companion album, “Square One” is one I mostly missed when it came out, but I heard it within the past 4-5 years, fell in love with it, and now it’s one of my favorite Petty songs and one I play a LOT.

The guy was a simply incredible songwriter…

-Ray

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by raysachs

The guy was a simply incredible songwriter…

-Ray

Yes, I was never a huge fan of his “hits”, and even though many are very good songs it is the “deep cuts” that make him a giant to me. I like your version of Square One very much—Highway Companion is an album that deserves more attention!

Thanks Ray!

[WaynePatrick]

Great Thread of lots of talented Petty fans. Here’s my interpretation of You Got Lucky. I have the Baggs Hi-Fi in this J45, I’m just strumming on this video but I like the pickup so far.

Thanks,
WayneP

https://youtu.be/N_YTA5yaGm4?si=PcnZalsIhcuIxF7B

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by WaynePatrick

Great Thread of lots of talented Petty fans. Here’s my interpretation of You Got Lucky. I have the Baggs Hi-Fi in this J45, I’m just strumming on this video but I like the pickup so far.

Thanks,
WayneP

https://youtu.be/N_YTA5yaGm4?si=PcnZalsIhcuIxF7B

Hey Wayne,

Thanks for posting. I checked out your video of You Got Lucky and I liked what I could hear, but even with the volume turned all the way up on my device, and with earbuds in, I could barely hear it. I could hear your voice a little bit, but the guitar was almost inaudible. But I liked what I could hear of it. I was never a huge fan of Petty doing this song, but I recently heard Blackberry Smoke do an all acoustic version of it and fell in love with it that way, and have started playing it myself, in a vein very much like yours. But I'd love to really HEAR your version a bit better! I don't know if it's the levels on your recorder, something about how you uploaded it to YouTube, or something on my end, but it was frustrating not to be able to hear it better...

But now that there are at least a couple versions of this tune up here, maybe I'll add another at some point. I haven't recorded it, but have been thinking about it.

-Ray

[WaynePatrick]

Thanks Ray,
Something went wrong somewhere I’ll have to do a redo😂
WayneP

[leew3]

all good stuff here, well done AGF

[reeve21]

Nice job, Wayne, you put yer stamp on it! Love the harp

Welcome to the thread, let’s have more!

[WaynePatrick]

Thanks Bob,
Not sure why the volume is so low. I’ll do better next time😂
WayneP