Room At The Top Of The World
Beginning notes; I do not own any of these pictures, I did try and find some information on them but wasn't finding any reputable sources, so if anybody knows anything about them please let me know.
Here is a collection of memories, quotes, and stories from you, the fans. Some fans wished to remain anonymous, and other's had yet gotten back with permission to use their name in the article, so when permission permits the article will be updated with names.
The article includes,a brief introduction to how I conceived the idea of the article at the beginning and a thank you note to close it.
"It's like losing the soundtrack of my life."-Anonymous fan
"Even the Loser's get lucky sometimes"... I was positive for all of these years that 'The Loser' were characters in a song, but it was even then that 'anything seemed real'. Maybe we are the losers. We got lucky that one wonderful time- for Tom Petty was a force of nature that can and never will be repeated.
For some of us we were fortunate enough to be here for the full spanned of his life. For others, like myself, it was learning and obsessing over the blonde haired beam of light through vinyl records passed down from our relatives childhood.
I've written many articles about or featuring Tom Petty on this website as well as my (pre-mature) Beatles site.
He was a rebel, a bad-ass, he was Rock and Roll. When they told him to sit down, he stood up.
What were the odds of a little southern boy from Gainesville Florida to becoming a worldwide treasure in of all categories, Rock and Roll? Almost as slim as the man who did it. But if any was going to do it, Tom was the man to do so.
He had the power, the charisma, the charm. Tom Petty changed the game of record companies, he toured around the world, worked with other favorable musicians, and always, and I mean always had that little side grin on his face.
On the 28 September, Tom Petty's daughter Adria, wife Dana, and Heartbreaker band-mates, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench with help from sound engineer Ryan Ulyate, released An American Treasure. This four disc (available also in a two disc version), sixty- track collection takes listeners on a sentimental journey throughout Tom Petty's musical career. From remastered tracks, unreleased songs, and alternate takes, the collection was long anticipated but left listeners hearts bandaged for a one year remembrance that was only days a way.I sat in the parking lot of one of my jobs in my beat up car, dented on both sides, scratched with white paint on the hood and stamped with a "Positive", music, and eating disorder advocate bumper stickers on the back. An American Treasure was streaming through my phone when I was first received a message, "are you going to write an article?". At the time the question referred to whether or not I was going to write a piece on An American Treasure, but as the following days passed a handful of friends and my dedicated blog followers, asked if I were going to write a remembrance piece. No. I didn't feel the need to write an article one year later, for I didn't know Tom Petty personally and throughout the past few years of writing I've written a plethora of articles and essays on the man that whatever I was going to write in a memorial would simple sound like paraphrasing what I've said before. So for the following, I posted on my personal social media platform;
...After realization and being asked a couple of times this week I decided to write a memorial piece of Tom Petty. But instead of repeating what I have already said before in past articles I’m looking for help from my peers, my peers-peers and so forth. Please share your memories and love in a few sentences - nothing lengthy please- for Petty in tribute.
Message me, comment here, email or text or call.
A fan tribute to be written and published tonight.
"it always felt like he was my guiding light in a way, you know?"-Baylee A.
"Our stories, his stories, simply intermingle into a perfect sensation of experience. Gone, but not forgotten."Carly G. reached out to me over Instagram sharing the following memory;
"Growing up my family and I would go camping all the time during the summer. We would listen to Tom Petty on the way up so every time I hear Petty I think of the car rides. When I heard the news last year it absolutely crushed me. I still listen to Tom Petty all the time and wish he was still here with us".Throughout the replies I received today, many remember similar moments of friend and family car rides fueled by the sounds of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - one fan specifically pointing out the bands first album, which they purchased on CD and played until it broke. Other's remember hearing family gatherings, graduation parties where Petty's raw, iconic voice pinged it's way through the shuffle playlist. Many even tried to learn Heartbreaker songs, start their own band, including Alicia G. who recalls,
"Sad commentary on my age, but...I recall when TP and The Hearbreakers was a "new" band, back in the '70's. How many iconic songs since? I remember how my younger, guitar playing band member cousin Brenden, liked to try and play Tom Petty songs."
Now it might have been the "I was born a rebel..." style that Petty offered, the high energy sweat the dripped off his forehead, that had fans desire to get closer to whatever he was emitting and hopefully pick up that lifestyle One member private messaged me on Facebook recalling a time where he and friends would only spin Heartbreaker albums at parties because "they were what the girls wanted!". One anonymous fans recalls his youth and Petty as,
"I was a rebellious teen when I first heard 'Refugee'. It seemed like my life somehow evolved at same pace of his music. It's like losing the soundtrack of my life."
It is an amazing world we live in that the name "Tom Petty" spans throughout generation to generation. I sit in a class room most of the day, where my classmates might be listening to the latest pop and rap scene, but can all name and sing to chorus of a Petty song. Just last summer at The Heartbreakers 40th Anniversary Tour, amongst the wide range of ages packed into Boston's TD Garden, where I was fortunate enough to attend back-to-back Heartbreaker concerts, sat - or stood on the chairs and in their parents arms, where children of ages four or younger!
A friend of mine, age 20, pitched in for this article with the warning that classic rock'n'roll and blues aren't her style and her Petty knowledge is thin, however she followed this thought by sometimes finding herself listening to him if he comes on a music streaming service.
"...I feel like I grew up knowing his song. For example, I remember hearing 'Free Fallin'' on the radio constantly while growing up, or announcements of his new albums. So, it's weird to me that he passed suddenly."Baylee A. long time music listener, remembers being one of those young children who grew up with music pumped into their brains.
Writing this article showed a slightly wider side of Tom Petty fans see him than how he is often viewed, as the Heartbreaker front-man. A couple of fans had started their statements with remarks of Petty as a father, relating to his passing as a reflection of age and taking in every moment as if it is our last. One fan who goes by J.M said,"Tom has meant so much to me since I was three. My most fondest memories are of me listening to his music and just feeling happy when I do. He helped me get through some of the hardest things in my life and it always felt like he was my guiding light in a way, you know? ... he also inspired me to want to start writing when I was younger and I'm grateful for that. His music is something that will always stay with me no matter what."
"Tom's music has helped me get through so much in my life, I was a real stupid kid. His passing, especially now in my later years, has made me look at my family and value them more because it just goes to show if Tom Petty, a man I looked up to as immortal, could die I could go or they could go, at any age."
"Tom Petty has always been one of the artist that I've liked consistently, whereas other bands and artist have their ups and downs for me. With Petty, however, I've never actively disliked any of his music, and I've always been able to listen to it. I value Tom Petty for his support of artistic freedoms, and I feel that without his views to inspire future musicians, the musical community would be much more corporate controlled and cutthroat than it already is." - B. W, via Text message.Thank You
I want to thank those who reached out to me today with your experiences and stories- I truly hope I did some kind of justice. Thank you to those whose quotes did not make the article, I was pressed for time for getting the article out but truly appreciate and value your comments, as well as allowing me to use your quotes for future writing. Thank you to those who pushed me to write an article today, even though it wasn't one you were looking for and more of just quotes. Of course, above all, Thank you to The Heartbreakers for being the soundtrack of our lives, for the love of your fans, and providing 40 years of love and laughs. Thank you to the Petty family for allowing us to borrow Tom for the nights he was touring and days he spent busy in the studio. To the team and all of those that helped made the music possible, thank you. Thank you, Tom Petty, for being an eternal flame.
Articles you might be interested in;
- The Wild One, Forever - A Brief Biography on the Last DJ
- You Give Me Hope - How Mudcrutch and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Saved My Life
