RIP Tom Petty

**50PoundHead** · 10-03-2017, 09:17 AM

Saw him about half a dozen times live back in the late-1970s/early-1980s. Always put on a great show. Here's my fave from his oeuvre.

**CyYoung31** · 10-03-2017, 09:20 AM

Is he officially dead yet? Last I saw he was in critical condition.

**CyYoung31** · 10-03-2017, 09:26 AM

Just saw it confirmed. Damn. Way too soon. He still had plenty of music left to write.

One of my all-time favorites. He was never among the true elite as far as songwriters and rock stars go, but he never failed to produce a quality ear worm. And he put on a hell of a live show.

**50PoundHead** · 10-03-2017, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by CyYoung31

Just saw it confirmed. Damn. Way too soon. He still had plenty of music left to write.

One of my all-time favorites. He was never among the true elite as far as songwriters and rock stars go, but he never failed to produce a quality ear worm. And he put on a hell of a live show.

Same here. There's always been a lot of apples-and-oranges comparisons between him and the other artists of his day. He was just a straight-ahead rock-and-roller who wrote solid songs that bridged the AM/FM divide that still existed when he hit the scene. He wasn't a social commentator who wrote lofty anthems and I think his reputation among some (and it's not a whole lot of folks) suffered because of that. Along with the Heartbreakers (especially Campbell and Tench), he created a hook factory that kept on a-going.

**jpx7** · 10-03-2017, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by 50PoundHead

Same here. There's always been a lot of apples-and-oranges comparisons between him and the other artists of his day. He was just a straight-ahead rock-and-roller who wrote solid songs that bridged the AM/FM divide that still existed when he hit the scene. He wasn't a social commentator who wrote lofty anthems and I think his reputation among some (and it's not a whole lot of folks) suffered because of that. Along with the Heartbreakers (especially Campbell and Tench), he created a hook factory that kept on a-going.

Saw him in 2006 at Bonnaroo, with The Heartbreakers, but I admit to paying more attention to the psychedelics I was taking than the show itself—both because of the time of my life, and the fact that I'm one of those "not a whole lot of folks" who's unfairly discounted his work on account of his not being Bob Dylan or Neil Young. I took a look last night at his number of hits and was shocked how high they stacked.