Thoughts on Tom Petty

Photo courtesy of Tom Petty's Twitter account

As I am sure many of you are aware by now, Tom Petty though not dead is on life support and has ceased to have any brain activity due to a heart attack he had today (10/2). Seeing as he has a DNR order, he will be passing very soon. That said, it is indeed a sad day for the world of rock n' roll and music as a whole.

Rather than give you details on the incident that you all more than likely already know, I'm going to offer some of my personal thoughts on the man. I'll try not to ramble on too long, but I definitely have a few words to say given that he played an integral part in my upbringing as a musician and music lover in general.

Tom Petty was among the first artists I ever remember hearing as a kid that wasn't soft, poppy oldies. He wasn't Motown. He wasn't Elvis. He wasn't soul. He wasn't any of the countless number of doo-wop groups from the 50's I had jammed down my throat from the radio all the time. This guy was rock n' roll at his core and it emanated throughout everything he did as a musician and person.

He was the kind of guy who would just pick up an electric guitar, plug it in, and crank it to 11 while singing passionate soulful songs that told the story of the reality that was his life. It was raw, earthy, organic, and real. At the same time he somehow managed to meld such music with a style that was radio friendly enough to get him cemented as a staple in the world of classic rock.

I remember him being one of the first artists I ever truly related to. I remember being a 10 year old kid who was bullied, picked on, and tortured all the time by countless people in every area of my life, but songs like I Won't Back Down helped me find the strength and the courage to carry on and realize that I was in fact strong and no one could knock me down if I just stood my ground and didn't budge even a single inch.

Even when I wasn't looking for a song to connect and hold onto in a hard part of my life, I still always had a good time rocking out to other songs of his as well. Runnin' Down a Dream was one of the first songs to ever excite me and make me want to put the pedal to the metal, despite the fact that I was nowhere near being able to drive yet. For some reason though, it always gave me a Scooby Doo vibe as well. Not sure what that was about.

Free Fallin' was one of the first songs I ever learned to play on the guitar once I finally picked up the instrument as a teen. Even though it was a different way than the song was originally written and played, I was still thrilled by the fact that I was able to in some way or another play such an iconic song that I had known and loved for a long time even by that point in my life. In fact, the band I'm in today still plays the song.

I will definitely regret the fact that I never got to see Tom live. From the videos I have seen it looks like he always put on one hell of a good show and seemed like he was always having fun and happy to be there. That's not something you see all that often with many bands and artists. He was definitely a rare breed to say the least.

In closing, this is indeed a sad day for fans of Tom Petty and rock n' roll in general. It pains me that in the past couple of years we have lost so much iconic talent. I am quite concerned with what will happen to music due to the fact that so many of the good artists are dying off in massive quantities. I don't want to live in a world where the only big shows are done by talentless hacks in the pop, rap, and country industries. People need talented folks like Tom Petty who make real, honest music straight from the soul. Stuff that doesn't need a ton of producers and computers in order for it to sound good. That said, I hope that Tom is able to rest in peace and that his family and friends are able to find the peace and comfort they need.