It's a difficult time really, so many of the people that I idolised have died and it cuts everytime. I was a huge Tom Petty fan back in the late '80's but wasn't so keen on his solo output although I did buy everything up to "The Great Wide Open" (including the Travelling Wilbury's albums). My first CD was his eponymous debut CD with the over played but never over listened "American Girl" on. I did see him live once and the first half of the show was dedicated to the newer fans and was his first 2 albums without the Heartbreakers but the second half was for the diehards, far more fun, far more rebellious and far more comfortable for me, a slice of Southern pie done in the way that only Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers could do it. They were different to the other Southern bands, overlooked but easily as good. I did have a resurgence a few months back, re-appreciating how good a band they were, "Dogs on the Run", "Rebels", Jammin Me", "Let Me Up (I've had enough)" and so many other great songs and those songs are from just 2 of his mid 80's albums.
His death was a real shock as he still seemed so young and vital. He always appeared to be so laid back but there was a something of the rebel hidden in his music, something of the South that ran through everything he did, not the racist, bigoted side, more the romantic outlaw side, a western made of music. As with all the musicians I am saying goodbye to, the greatest tribute is their own work and words, here is Tom's tribute to Tom Petty:
American Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2nbHpF7-qk
Rebels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RN7lv9Xn2I
Baby's a Rock n Roller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcF1zru_dGk
This brings me on to the 2 deaths that were overshadowed by the great Tom Petty, the first is Walter Becker and I shudder to think how many people will ask "Who?" When I started playing guitar, one of the first songs that I asked to learn, was "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan and Walter Becker was one of the founding members of Steely Dan, an interesting, original and sometimes difficult band to listen to, they challenged the boundaries of rock and in the process wrote a whole lot of songs that you will know, "Rikki don't lose that number" and "Do it again" to name a couple.
Reelin in the Years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-2QzJzqtK0
Isn't it just a guitar heroes song?
Lastly Dave Hlubeck of Molly Hatchet died. Molly Hatchet were a full on Southern boogie band, I have 4 or 5 of their albums, nothing recent but they were just so Southern, Southern like Lynyrd Skynyrd but more boogie, they paid homage to the Allman Brothers with a superb cover of "Dreams I'll never see" but it was with their own boogie magic that they created the wizardry:
Flirtin with Disaster:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojXYCZMAwVc
Boogie No More:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E6XVHzpAQM
I am struggling with the last 2 years, music is such a large part of my life, to see the soundtrack to my life play out with so many of the people that helped with those memories falling by the wayside, people that wrote a song for me that encapsulated a moment in time and all I have to do is listen to it to remember a moment that has long passed, the people, the colours, the sounds, the places, distant pasts and now they are tinged with more sadness. The songs are my memory and it is probably the best epitaph to anyone, that their life in music has a very real meaning to someone and I, in turn, have passed that on to my children, their memories will be tied in music too, Tom Petty, Steely Dan and Molly Hatchet are already tied in the memories of my youngest daughter.
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