Tom Petty: What I've Learned


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I don't think I've learned anything that I didn't already know. I just didn't recognize it at first.

When I met Elvis, we didn't really have a conversation. I was introduced by my uncle, and he sort of grunted my way. What stays with me is the whole scene. I had never seen a real mob scene before. I was really young and impressionable. Elvis really did look—he looked sort of not real, as if he were glowing. He was astounding, even spiritual. It was like a procession in church: a line of white Cadillacs and mohair suits and pompadours so black, they were blue.



I remember John Lennon saying, "Sid Vicious died for what? So that we might rock?" You've got to keep that in perspective. At the end of the day, they're just phonograph records.




I like to be an optimist, but I like to be a realist, too.

The war in Iraq is shameful. Whether you're pro or con Bush, you've got to admit: The guy lied. And he continues to do so. I can't understand why he's just not run out on a rail. To send somebody's kids off and have them killed for no good reason—he's going to have his day in hell for that. I wouldn't want that karma.


The great thing about the Wilburys was that none of us had to take the heat by ourselves. I was just a member of the band. Nobody felt like he was above anybody else. We had such a good time.

There used to be this real sense of community integrity in rock. It has really eroded. Everyone seems to be on their own now.

When my record company rejected Full Moon Fever, I was hurt so bad. I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I'd never had anything rejected; I'd never really even had a comment. So when that happened, it was really just a board to the forehead. But then finally I picked myself up. I said, "I'm not buying this, there's nothing wrong, I really like this record." And then I waited awhile, until the top regime at the record company changed. And I came back and I played them the same record, and they were overjoyed. It turned out to be a huge hit.

"Free Fallin'" is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it.

I guess if I were this age and nothing had gone right, it would really be bad. It would be like, "Shit! I'm fifty-five!"

What I've learned about marriage: You need to have each other's back; you have to be a kind of team going through life. That's beautiful—to have that kind of friendship. You're going to need it when you get old.

Rock 'n' roll was one thing, and then they chopped off the roll and called it rock, which became a sort of umbrella term for anything with a guitar in it. Like hair bands. How could we possibly believe that? It's just gotten downright silly, to the point where now it's sort of become like professional wrestling. The fans know it's phony, but they don't care.

I couldn't exist nowadays. I could never have built a career like I've had if I were just starting out now. Radio doesn't take a chance on anything anymore; they've streamlined the playlists to the lowest common denominator. It's really kind of silly that they think people would rather hear "Stairway to Heaven" one more time than a new song.

As you're coming up, you're recognized song for song or album for album. What's changed these days is that the man who approaches me on the street is more or less thanking me for a body of work—the soundtrack to his life, as a lot of them say. And that's a wonderful feeling. It's all an artist can ask.

Originally published in the August 2006 issue

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