Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Pettyis an American musician, singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but is also known as a member and co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, and his early band Mudcrutch...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth20 October 1950
CityGainesville, FL
CountryUnited States of America
The first time I tried to write was when I was 14, after I got an electric guitar. I put a song together, and it wasn't that bad! The writing came natural to me.
When I go to see people, I always kind of hope they are going to play some kind of songs I know. So you've got to know your audience. It's kind of something that is a blessing and a curse in a way. You're obligated to play some of that stuff that people know, but I don't think that's all you have to do.
I tend to write on an acoustic guitar or the piano. I have kind of a rule: if I can't sit down and play this and get the song over, I don't take it to the band, because most any good song, you can sit down and deliver it with a piano or a guitar.
We have a set list, but we work up a lot more (songs) than we're gonna do. That way we can throw things in and change it around, especially if we're in a place for two days. It's good to keep yourself interested. The last show we did five songs we never rehearsed and that certainly sparked us up.
I started playing the bass because nobody else would play the bass, and then I got bumped up into singing because no one else really wanted to sing. So I learned how to sing and I wrote the songs, so I tended to get the most attention.
I would never put my songs in a commercial.
You're dealing in magic-it's this intangible thing that has to happen. And to seek it out too much might not be a good idea. Because, you know, it's very shy, too. But once you've got the essence of them, you can work songs and improve them. You see if there's a better word, or a better change.
'Free Fallin'' is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it.
Buy me a drink, sing me a song; take me as I come, cause I can't stay long.
Most things I worry about never happen anyway.
I'm reaching there to try and find a theme. It's just a really nice collection of songs. I think it does have an underlying theme of time and what it does to you.
I'm frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it's not meant for me. Personally, I'm way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect. I'm much too smart to think that jewelry or how cool I am is really going to change much about my personality. If you're dumb enough that it entertains you, have a great time. But I am seeking more than that.
A person could visualize him putting on 20 pounds and being the kind of tight end you watch on Saturdays. By the same token, he?s got the kind of jump shot, agility and ball skills to make somebody a real nice forward.
We were pretty efficient in the first half. Our passing was pretty good against their zone.