I figured Id get a call in a month or two: Tom wants to get together and jam some shit out., Related In 1961, an uncle working on the local set of an Elvis Presley movie, Follow That Dream, arranged for Petty and some family members to watch the filming and meet the star. But Tom would close the show by doing Shout. Its a challenging song to do, once youve heard the Isley Brothers version. Stan did everything he could to get fired, Petty said. Its almost prophecy: You belong in that home by and by. Most of Toms stuff you could describe it as minimalist. Michael and Tom were able to get through anything because they were the yin and yang of it. Petty was in some ways not the easiest person to get along with. The more experience he had, the more it enhanced his ability. That would have been smaller-scale, away from the hits, Campbell says. His perfectionism sometimes ran him and band both ragged, but he never let us see him sweat in public, even during the energetic if happily quirky stage shows, for which he(a great interpreter and helpmate to Bob Dylan and the Byrds)would be reliably garbed in the post-Rolling Thunder gear that would run to stovepipe hats and undertakers long coats. There was also this thing that set us apart from the other musicians in town this drive to write our own songs.. It's hard to even imagine that album without Stan. Both now work as session musicians and have played some live shows. There are things I could have handled better, specifically with Mike. I think I have some Tom nuances in my voice. Stan and I had some personal conflicts with family here and there, he says. Jimmy Iovine is known to have obsessed over the drum sound in Pettys 1979 album Damn the Torpedos, which Iovine produced, and Lynch became the object of his frustration. Tom Petty was always part of the bands DNA. Zanes, now fifty, was telling the tale the other day, while ducking out of the rain for coffee at Benvenuto Caf, in Tribeca. Lynch left the . It came to be understood that there would probably be some herbal refreshments during our encounters, which, perhaps kidding myself here, seemed to augment rather than sidetrack his spoken insightfulness (if not my queries). To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. There sat the fantastic coffee. He put the record on in his studio, put his head in his hands and listened to the whole thing from start to finish, Dhani recalls. And then you feel the gut punch and you break down a little bit. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, Dylan said of Petty, and Ill never forget him.. Dhani the son of Pettys close friend, the late Beatle George Harrison notes that when his father died in 2001, someone said, Ive never seen so many grown men cry. The same thing can be applied to this., Tributes swiftly followed the news of Pettys passing. Stevie Nicks on the Last Time She Saw Tom Petty If you listen to the old records, Stan and I are pushing, were locked, and lot of times were driving the songs. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. I have a proposition for you, said Campbell, who was on the verge of kicking off his first-ever solo tour, but was going to be without regular drummer Matt Laug for a period in the spring and summer when he had commitments in Europe with Italian superstar Vasco Rossi. Despite that, his name was still being dragged when fans walked in, and Stan Lynch never forgave Petty for that. The original four Breakers are all upright as far as I know, he says. Good songs stay written. We apologized to each other for being assholes and young and stupid, says Campbell. I was on my fuckin knees, staring at the sky. It's what people like to think of as "swing". We connected instantly, like wed known each other already, the guitarist says. Every one of them came to me. Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch on Their Surprise Heartbreakers Reunion, Gordon Lightfoot: 10 Essential Songs by the Canadian Folk Icon, Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk-Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84, Watch Billy Joel Play Los Angelenos For First Time in 42 Years, Stagecoach 2023: Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, and Nostalgia Dominate Countrys California Fest, Ed Sheeran Plays Van Morrison Song as Proof He Didn't Steal From Marvin Gaye in Copyright Trial, New Jeans, Rina Sawayama, Saweetie Among Gold House A100 Honorees, Newsmax Accuses Murdochs of Designing a New-World-Order Globalist Kill List Against Tucker Carlson, DeSantis' Disney Board Will Countersue the Mouse, 'Redfall' is a Decent Looter Shooter With an Identity Crisis. It just locked right up.. Not only did this prickly anthem propel the band into the US Billboard chart and help make them a household name . By the end of the evening, Lynch and the rest walked out as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. It is a song of pure love agape, Hillman says, using the ancient Greek word. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida.Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair.In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. And he sang as well. Also, I could never really close doors on people that were important in my past. Thats a long run to have someone in your life one way or another., Campbell sent over the two recent albums he released with his longtime backing band the Dirty Knobs, 2020s Wreckless Abandon and 2022s External Combustion, and told him to learn the songs. The coolest thing about this is that I get to put a bookend on a really, really long book of life, he says. He soon found himself in the middle of some conversations that the band was having through himconversations they had never had with themselves. Stan Lynch, the band's longtime drummer, who eventually quit in 1994, is unsurprisingly the most critical of Petty. It also fucks with the legacy. Petty didnt wander. / Youtube. I didnt want to find out anything that would compromise the mans dignity, Zanes said. Tom was a great classicist, Springsteen says, and the Heartbreakers were a real guitar band. I dont know how thats going to feel. His parents made him take lessons before they bought him a kit, and he recalls with a laugh, "as soon as I got my first set they took up tennisthey just split, and I don't blame them. Warren became vice-president of educational programs for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It wasnt the best period in my life, Petty confessed in 2006. Another intense moment in the show is Southern Accents. Midway through the tour, Campbell changed the lyrics from Theres a dream I keep having where my mama comes to me/And kneels over by the window and says a prayer for me to Theres a dream I keep having where my brother comes to me Its a change of just one word, but its had a profound impact on the crowd. Petty spent much of his stardom in ready, grateful service to his rock & roll elders. It was a short walk, 20 steps, from his front door to his studio, Dimitriades says. The idea for a new unauthorized Tom Petty biography came from a surprising source: Tom Petty. I learn from them.. Follow me. That was the rehearsal. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. We got together and played at that and talked and were friendly, Petty said in 2007. As the jaunty acoustic guitar in his hands filled the room with a capoed, sonorous chime, he opened his mouth and started to sing. And whatever I was playing in didnt even feel like a band. 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The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time He began playing music as a small child. She was also in the video 'Make It Better (Forget About Me)'. And there was always great coffee. He admitted acting wrong and didnt communicate with his bandmates properly. A totally different sound, yet completely him., Zanes enrolled in Loyola and spent the next twelve years in universities, eventually getting a Ph.D. from Rochester University in Cultural Studies. But, Tench says, I never want this guy to be thought of as OK, weve put him in the file, thats done. Because he resonates. Lets do some more. At the end of the process, as was their agreement, Zanes sent Petty the book, and then flew out to California to hear his judgment in person. I have a really good life, he says. Were not going to do any more long tours like this, but we have a lot of stuff were gonna do, because this is the best the band has ever been., When he walked past me, Campbell continues, I put my arm out, I pulled him close to me and said, Im so proud of you. Mike and Benmont are good, smart people, Petty said in 2014. His only encounter with Petty in the years that followed took place in 2002 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and the only . I was a marginal student. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recalled working with Stevie Nicks in a July 2021 interview. While Petty and George Harrison were kind of stone-y, mellow dudes, they had that toughness. He was pissed, Petty told writer Paul Zollo. As a songwriter, he has co-written with or written for numerous acts, including Matraca Berg, Meredith Brooks, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Jeff Healey Band, James House, June Pointer, Eddie Money, Toto, Tora Tora, Sister Hazel, Ringo Starr and the Mavericks. If I look up and see Mike Campbells butt in front of my drum kit, its kind of like Im home., Opening night in Boulder was heavy on material from the two Dirty Knobs albums, but they also dipped into the Heartbreakers catalog with songs like Refugee, Runnin Down a Dream, Southern Accents, and You Wreck Me. As the days went by, they started sprinkling in additional oldies like Listen to Her Heart, When the Time Comes, and Casa Dega., Im still learning to be a singer, says Campbell. We have the same musical pulse we always had, says Campbell. Petty later got a solo deal with Shelter but turned to Campbell and Tench again to form a band with Pettys name up front, playing his songs. Having Stan [Lynch] play on that is very cool. But we had a quiet moment at the rehearsals. August 12, 2014. Much of the show was given to generous spins through the intricate balladry and pointed reflection on Pettys acclaimed solo outings, 1989s Full Moon Fever and 1994s Wildflowers, with profound glow and muscle from the Heartbreakers. But the times I was designated to tag along on a couple later tours for magazine profiles, he was always welcoming, inclusive, ready with a quip that came from his slightly mysterious but usually winning vein of humor. The documents claim Adria wanted the box set collection to be titled, "Tom Petty" and not "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers." Instruments. However, they subsequently decided to end the litigation and join forces into . It was immediately following this gig that Lynch left the band due to musical and personal differences with Petty. They also broke out the blues and covers: Smokestack Lightning, Kansas City, Fleetwood Macs Black Magic Woman. The band sounds amazing, Petty exulted. And Petty highlighted strong recent work like the heavy-blues rave-up I Should Have Known It, from 2010s Mojo. Six days later, on the evening of October 1st, Petty suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. While they were taking a break Petty looked into the recording studio and thought to himself "this should be my band". Mike is a pivotal player in a previous life of mine. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox, A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. And then, with awful suddenness and scant days after a triumphant home stand in his adoptive Los Angeles for a 40th anniversary concert, he was gone. At one point, he said, Warren, Im going to have to answer questions about this for the rest of my life. And I said, I know.. undefined. By the time Petty and the Heartbreakers closed with their own set, a broad corps of stars and disciples including Williams, Foo Fighters, Don Henley, Regina Spektor, the Bangles and the modern-rock band Cage the Elephant performed Petty songs from across his entire canon. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had been off the road for nearly a year when the 1994 Bridge School Benefit came around. He had a big smile, and he was putting a cough drop in his mouth, says Williams, an old friend who had just finished her opening set. I was ashamed. I havent been a drummer since I was in my thirties. " Even though he was still in the band in 1989, Lynch did not perform on any songs on Petty's solo album Full Moon Fever, even though Campbell, Tench and Epstein did. Petty spent the downtime recording his solo album Wildflowers with producer Rick Rubin and every member of the Heartbreakers besides Stan Lynch, a decision that did not sit well with the drummer. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for . Stan had never heard me sing before, and he was the main harmony singer with Tom. I was just trying to do the best job I could. Still, Petty confirmed with relish a story about a meeting to renegotiate a contract during which he pulled a switchblade knife out of his boot and started cleaning his fingernails. Everybody was so happy, especially Tom full of glory and hope. The guitarist was particularly pleased when Petty threw Breakdown a nugget from the first album, only played twice before on the tour into the closing-night set with striking high harmonies by backing vocalists Charley and Hattie Webb. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time I know your leg has been killing you. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. See latest videos, charts and news. Jim Spellman, WireImage. My parents didn't have money. As you may recall, the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty sadly passed away on October 2, 2017, at the age of 66. Or the ninemonths from hell? As it was once put to me by Mike Campbell, the unerringly crackerjack guitarist who together with master keyboardist Benmont Tench and Tom formed the irreducible center of the Heartbreakers, Tom calls the shots. Petty ran the complex brotherhood that abbreviates as TPATH as a generally benign dictatorship. Tons of them. One and she said yes immediately was Norah Jones., Its so hard to believe its even happened, Dhani Harrison says of Pettys death. Flip and entertaining as he could be, the essential Petty to me was the darker-hued poet of Even the Losers, The Waiting, Deliver Me, and Southern Accents as they spilled out over the next decade. When hes telling the story about how his father beat the shit out of him at age five, its hard not to feel something., I cant pretend to know everything that was going through his mind in telling me these things, Zanes added. I dont believe the good times are all overI dont believe the thrill is all goneReal love is a mans salvationThe weak grow strongThe strong carry on. From Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream spoken by Petty, "Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch on Their Surprise Heartbreakers Reunion", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stan_Lynch&oldid=1152585214, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 03:35. Staying off the Internetdidnt do much good as dear and solicitous friends came in with queries during the purgatorial moments after the news struck, and one wrote, Did he have a bad heart? And the perhaps too glib thought was no, he had a great heart, a monster heart that could sit inside the barbwire words and music of a song like Straight into Darkness, quoted above, and still beat like crazy and make yours beat along with it. When original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch was let go from the group in 1995 or excommunicated, to use his own term he started a new chapter of his life in Florida as a producer-songwriter and rarely looked back. I grabbed him and told him what I needed to tell him. Among his more pointed criticisms concern the song "Stop Draggin' My Heart . I wasn't going to college. The influences were obvious the Byrds, a lot of the Merseybeat stuff, Wolf says of Petty and the Heartbreakers 1977 sets opening for the J. Geils Band. By 1974, the future core of the Heartbreakers Petty, Campbell and Tench, another Gainesville native had played on Mudcrutchs debut single, Depot Street. Released the next year, it was a commercial bust on Shelter Records that eventually broke up that group. It was getting close to showtime. Tom Petty, at age 66, rushed from his Malibu compound to ahospital and it didnt look good. But less is more., Petty returned to the Wildflowers project before his 40th Anniversary marathon was over. But I am through it. Tom Petty died of an accidental overdose on October 2, 2017, only a couple of weeks before his 67th birthday. He famously fractured his left hand when he punched a wall during a contentious mixing session for Southern Accents. I never sought these people out, Petty claimed when I asked him in 2009 about why he got along so well with legends. At times, I think they were looking for some help, like, I need to put a band together. We had this unit. "We all kind of thought Howie would get the job," says original Heartbreakers' drummer Stan Lynch. I wouldnt want to let anyone down, says Lynch. Ad Choices. Longtime Petty manager Tony Dimitriades fired Lynch on the phone shortly after the show, and the drummer didnt say a word to Petty until the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. I dont know how it happened, says his longtime manager Tony Dimitriades. The Wild One, Forever, a mostly acoustic lament celebrating and mourning an impossible but unforgettable young love (it would have a close cousin in Magnolia two years later) was followed by the pounding Chuck Berry stompof Anything Thats Rock and Roll.The entire album was by turns an artistic declaration and a hollering yawp that in sum seemed to insist that only lovers would be left alive in some brave new rock world where the iconic American Girl ruled the turf. Lynch started to work with various Florida bands, among them Styrophoam Soule and Road Turkey, and when he was 15 he met Ron Blair, who was six years older than Lynch. The 50 Worst Decisions in Music History You see a . Walking like Tom Petty walks. Blank Space: What Kind of Genius Is Max Martin? But a lot of that has calmed down. There was a lot of miscommunication and many immature sh*ts going down. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google, Visit Billboard Pro for music business news, Why David Crosby Hopes His New Doc Will Serve As AnApology, Norman Seeff Shares Stories Behind Iconic Photos of the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac &More. As Lynch's ability increased, so did the offers to play with other artists, creating experience that covers a wide variety of musical territory. As a teenager growing up near Gainesville, Lynch determined that he would find a way to make a living with music. Lynch asked him: Am I fired? asked Lynch. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. It has a special vibe when its just the two of you. And so we started closing the show with it. Diner featuring the 'world's rudest service' grumpily pops up . He remembers, as a child, a Christmas in L.A. with the Petty and Harrison families Dhani and Adria playing Nintendo with their rock-god dads. Petty died Oct. 2 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. He died at 8:40 p.m. the next night, after a daylong vigil by his family, friends and bandmates. He never took his eyes off me. They were cool with it right away. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Blair and original drummer Stan Lynch, both from Gainesville released their self-titled debut album in November 1976, then hit the road in earnest. Lynch joined his former bandmates during their induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. I knew that there was the capacity within that group to push boundaries, he says. The tension that followed played a significant role in his ultimate departure from the band. ), Looking back at that intense time all these years later, Lynch says he wishes hed handled the situation a bit differently. After Petty finished off his solo projects, he asked Lynch to return behind the mixing board for The Heartbreakers new album Into the Great Wide Open. Id drive up; gate opens. Editors picks She was having a moment. In December 2016, during a radio interview to announce the 40th Anniversary Tour, he described a recent rehearsal with the Heartbreakers, their first in two years. I have a memory or running into him in the upper reaches of the House of Blues before a Willie Nelson show, and retreating into a shuttered, empty dining room to smoke one. When I heard from Mike, I almost said, Thats probably not a good fit, but I appreciate the offer. "He seemed to have a real good . I've heard talk about taking the best of the 1997 Fillmore . Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. But plans for that somehow evolved into Its the 40th year. Once they left the stage, it became clear that Lynch had to be fired. He and I had incredibly good communication onstage; he could read the movement of my shoulder. I dont know what it would mean to them since they have a lot more miles than I do, but it would be a joy for me., Campbell says hes not ready for something like that. You know that without this guy and without that guy, there would be no you.. Early life. He never wanted to be the bands lead singer. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time He could go anywhere I wanted to go. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. [3] Petty had come out to LA with his band Mudcrutch, which Tench and Campbell were originally a part of, and had a recording contract. Finally, Dylan walked off, forcing Petty to coax him back on as the Heartbreakers kept playing. Answer: Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He described us as not his main gig. Its so bare, without any ambiguity. Joe Jackson, Past, Present, and Fast Forward, Photograph by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty. Theyd kick your ass. Are you up for it?, Lynchs first instinct was to decline the offer. Otherwise, I listened to what I already had.. Lynch contributed to the bands first eight albums, and he served as the bands original drummer for two decades until he decided to leave in 1994. We had the amps up loud, Petty told me with a delighted chuckle. You think of those nearest to him, because you have had your foot in that door and seen his co-workers and lovers and fellow artists inside there. You couldnt quite believe it. They walked back out there and carried on playing., With Pettys death, three of the five Wilburys are gone (Orbison died in 1988), and the Heartbreakers have lost their voice and leader. Their father, Earl, was Jerry Lee Lewis if he didnt play the piano. He could have handled things better, and his mistakes were mainly related to miscommunication and immaturity. Lynch reflecting on his time in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: There were many things that were not said that should have been said. "You belong among the wildflowers / You belong on a boat out at . He may have fallen, leaving us to try to grow strong without him. Since her father's death, Violette has been sharing both her family's pride over the "American Girl" singer's . But those hooks and titles are so memorable.. I didn't really think that they would be my ticket out of the ghetto. Lets do this tour first., In a 2014 conversation with Rolling Stone, Petty recalled the unique genesis of Wildflowers, pointing to a day when his co-producer, Rick Rubin, played him the Beatles demos for their 1968 double LP, The Beatles. It wasnt You dont know my most famous song? That never came into it., Petty was so smart, Campbell says, as well as one of the funniest people Ive ever known. There are things I could have handled better, specifically with Mike. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. His last gig with the Heartbreakers was on October 2, 1994, at the Bridge School Benefit Concert in Mountain View, California. His hooks, his titles when he gets to them, its solid as a rock, Newman says, likening Petty in a remote, odd way to the legendary pop songwriter Burt Bacharach, who winds all over the place. The crowd will go crazy. That was 30 years ago. I do believe, and with the help of his music I will do all I can to live up to this, that Tom Petty really meant it when advised us to carry on. The Del Fuegos were originally an Oberlin band that Dan Zanes, Warrens older brother, started with some college friends; Warren joined after Andover. It was their first face-to-face encounter in 20 years, and they had a chat before playing much music together. Among the acts that Tom Petty took with him on the tour for his 1987 album, Let Me Up (Ive Had Enough), was the Del Fuegos, a Boston-based roots-rock band with ties to the New York hardcore scene. You could never have told him even across repeated contacts of the journalistic sort over the years just how much he meant to you spiritually yes, asdeep in your spirit as any music has ever gone because that might have just led to a mildly embarrassed silence.