I wrote it after my wife at the time told me about going to a party at house and there being all this cocaine around, and I think that kicked off the opening line of the song. but she’s going to listen to her heart, it’s going to tell her what to do.”
Key line: “You think you’re going to take her away with your money and your cocaine. It’s one of my favorites, and we’ll probably play it Monday.” ‘Listen To Her Heart’įrom the exuberance of the music to the details of the lyrics, this 1978 tune felt like a companion piece to “American Girl.” Here was someone else at a crossroads, but this time the ending was more obviously positive. In my mind, the girl was looking for the strength to move on-and she found it. I was watching the 9/11 concert in New York and the Goo Goo Dolls played ‘American Girl.’ I could see the crowd cheering in this really patriotic context. It has also been interpreted as a statement about the country. “A lot of people think the girl in the song commits suicide, but it’s not about suicide. The words just came tumbling out very quickly-and it was the start of writing about people who are longing for something else in life, something better than they have. It was right next to the freeway and the cars sometimes sounded like waves from the ocean, which is why there’s the line about the waves crashing on the beach. Petty: “I wrote that in a little apartment I had in Encino. She couldn’t help thinking that there was a little more to life, somewhere else.” Key line: “Well, she was an American girl, raised on promises. Served up with guitar-driven textures so wonderfully Byrds-ian that Byrds leader Roger McGuinn quickly recorded the song, this 1976 number introduced Petty’s key theme of struggle in pursuit of dreams. Petty, who also has two grown daughters from his first marriage, finds it hard to come up with a list of his own favorite compositions, but he agreed to comment on 10 of my Petty favorites. His next collection is due by the fall and he will continue to tour periodically with the Heartbreakers. Unlike most Hall of Fame inductees over the years, Petty is still a Top 10 album sales contender and a top arena draw. He came into rock in the mid-’70s, a time when the pop airwaves were devoted to disco or bland pop-rock, and he subsequently went through some highly publicized battles with record companies to maintain his personal and creative independence.
It’s easy to see why so many of Petty’s songs, including “Refugee” and “I Won’t Back Down,” are anthems about struggling to pursue your dreams.
Howie Epstein, who replaced Blair in the early ‘80s, will also participate. Joining the Florida native on stage will be the original Heartbreakers lineup of Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Stan Lynch on drums and Ron Blair on bass. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. It’s very touching to be voted into the Hall of Fame because it’s an award given by your peers, and it’s a nice feeling to think you’re going to be remembered.” It has also pulled me through some other dark times. My life was very turbulent as a child and a little scary, and music made everything seem right. From that point, music became my religion, my nourishment. “A lot of people really struggle to find out what they want to do in life, but I knew as soon as I saw Elvis Presley, when I was 11. “I feel like a lucky man,” Petty, 51, said this week at his home in Malibu, where he lives with his second wife, Dana, and her 9-year-old son from her first marriage. Other inductees this year include Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Gene Pitney, the Ramones and Talking Heads. Jakob Dylan will induct them in a ceremony whose taped highlights will be broadcast at 9 p.m. Window.ga=window.On Monday in New York City, Petty and the Heartbreakers will join those and other early heroes as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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