One of the many joys of being a fan of the late and very great Tom Petty is exploring the covers he performed and recorded over the years.
Petty, like so many of his generation of artists - Bruce Springsteen being a most obvious other - was not only a child of the '60s British Invasion but one who took great joy in celebrating and returning to that music throughout his career. It helped that the Heartbreakers - like the E Street Band - comprised a bunch of similarly aged and inclined individuals for whom "the band" was like some mystical fraternal order greater than any individual; the classic material that they’d all cut their teeth on was a touchstone that ensured the band continued as a celebration of shared musical experience. The old songs also helped the band stay in sight of its original ideals, and ensured that no matter where they roamed musically they had a home to come back to.
A couple of times throughout their career the band obviously found a contemporary artist that excited them – and that they assumedly felt ‘fit’ them – and they covered them too. See the Nick Lowe, Clash and Lucinda Williams covers below.
While no announcements have been made since Tom's passing regarding what the individual Heartbreakers will do now, one hopes that with their leader gone they will all find some sort of solace in the music which meant so much to them.
Let's check out 12 great covers from the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' archives!
- Don't Bring Me Down
Newcastle's The Animals, with Eric Burden up front, were the toughest of the British Invasion bands; true working class rockers in a pop music world, with a deep blues authenticity. It was perhaps ironic that one of their most forthright hits was actually written by the Brill Building team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, but that's the joyous enigma that this music is. This was an early live favourite for the Heartbreakers, and it appeared on their first live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! In 1985. There is at least one studio version in the can from the early days too.
- Needles & Pins
Co-written by none other than a young Sonny Bono - pre-Sonny & Cher fame - this track is best known as a Searchers' smash hit from 1964. The Searchers’ glorious recording helped develop the 12-string jangly guitar sound that crossed back over the Atlantic to inspire the Byrds, and which was an inspiration for so many early Tom Petty classics, including "The Waiting" and "Listen To Her Heart". The song was also recorded by both Smokie and the Ramones in '77-'78, at a time when '60s pop was having a huge influence on the music of the day. Another Pack Up the Plantation: Live! highlight, with Stevie in tow.
- I Fought the Law
Of course, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' influences weren't exclusively filtered through the British; one American band who briefly stood again the tide of the Invasion in the mid-'60s was the Bobby Fuller Four, who came to LA after starting out in El Paso Texas. "I Fought The Law" was originally recorded by post-Buddy Holly Crickets, but Bobby Fuller made it his own, and created one of the most exciting records of the era. Tom Petty no doubt identified with the lyrics too. The song was a staple in the Heartbreakers set in the late ‘70s and a live version was included on the UK 12” single of “Listen To Her Heart” in 1978.
- So You Wanna Be a Rock'n'Roll Star?
Stylistically, with their mix of folk, rock and occasional country flavours, the Byrds were the most obvious antecedents to the Heartbreakers. Of course, Tom would go onto work with Byrds’ mainman Roger McGuinn, and most recently he produced the great new album by Byrds’ bassplayer Chris Hillman which came out last month. “So You Wanna Be A Rock’n’Roll Star?” lyrically is a song that would resonate with any young musician, but of course TP and friends lived the dream. Another highlight of Pack Up the Plantation: Live!
- Feel A Whole Lot Better
One of the highlights from Tom’s first solo album Full Moon Fever was originally one of the highlights of the Byrds’ first album Mr Tambourine Man, and a brilliant song written by the great lost Byrd, Gene Clark.
- Green Onions
Soul music had a huge presence down South when Tom was growing up, and no doubt a lot of young musicians in the ‘60s cut their teeth on – and learnt the magic ingredient of “feel” from - this simple but perfect instrumental by the most simple and perfect instrumental group of all-time, Booker T & the MG’s. One imagines Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench learned a fair bit from Steve Cropper and Booker T too. This appears on the superb career-spanning 4CD set The Live Anthology which came out in 2009.
- Psychotic Reaction
One of the proliferation of American “garage” bands who popped up in the wake of the British Invasion in the mid-‘60s, San Jose’s Count Five had more success than most, and their one-shot smash “Psychotic Reaction” remains an iconic track of the era. Of course, it sounds it owes a fair bit to the Yardbirds, and Tom & the Heartbreakers were also known to do a great rave-up version of the Yardbirds’ cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man”. “Psychotic Reaction” appears on the Playback boxset; “I’m A Man” on The Live Anthology.
- I Want You Back Again
The Zombie were one of the most enigmatic and musical British bands of the ‘60s, and they went from Ray Charles covers to the Brian Wilson-inspired beauty of Odessey and Oracle in a few short years. “I Want You Back Again” was a fine and jazzy mid-career non-hit, and Tom and the boys showed exemplary taste in picking it. Another one from The Live Anthology.
- Oh Well
The all-time classic from Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, this one shows that the Heartbreakers had a great way with the blues – dig the guitar tones - and hearing Tom sing those opening lines “I can’t help about the shape I’m in / I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty and my legs are thin” brings a smile to the dial every time. Also on The Live Anthology.
- Cracking Up
To a point, Tom and Nick Lowe lived parallel careers on either side of the Atlantic. Both started in local bands in the ‘60s and started getting more serious in the early ‘70s. Nick had much more success with Brinsley Schwarz than Tom did with Mudcrutch at this point though. Then, in 1976, both rode the early “new wave” to international acclaim. The wry “Cracking Up” was the first single from Nick’s second album Labour of Lust, which also included his signature tune “Cruel To Be Kind”, which hit around the same time that Tom hit with “Refugee”. Tom & the HB’s version originally appeared on the B-side of the “Make It Better” single in 1985 and is available on Playback.
- Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
The Clash’s greatest pop hit revealed their ‘60s R&B influences, and Tom definitely saw kindred spirits there. The song fits him to a tee, and, dare we say it, he sings it a lot better than Mick Jones. Enjoy this live recording from 1987 – to the best of our knowledge Tom has never officially released a version of it...
- Change The Locks
Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is pegged as country, but really, her music is a similar blend of ‘60s British and Southern influences to Tom’s with just a slight shift of emphasis. Tom or the record company got the title wrong (it’s “Changed The Locks”) was an early champion and covered this unique track on his 1996 soundtrack album to the film She’s The One. He was championing Lu right to the end; he got her to open those three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in September that would prove to be Tom’s last.
We’ll leave it there but there’s plenty more to explore – covers of everyone from Conway Twitty and Hank Williams to the Dave Clark Five and Them to the Grateful Dead and Buffalo Springfield and even the odd ‘60s James Bond movie theme. Tom Petty was not just a great singer/songwriter/performer but a great fan; the man had great taste and wanted the world to forever remember the music that meant so much to him.
Thanks for everything Tom.
-Dave Laing
