R.I.P. Tom Petty

[sportdan30]

A sad day all around.

He was a legend. Loved his music.

[Diablo25]

Wow. I hadn’t heard this. RIP.

[pk500]

An absolute American music legend. Ranks with Springsteen as the greatest American rocker.

Think about Petty's catalog. It's staggering, stuffed with hits and great songs. I don't know anyone who doesn't like at least one Petty song. I like just about all of them.

RIP, rocker.

[RobVarak]

An absolute American music legend. Ranks with Springsteen as the greatest American rocker.

Think about Petty's catalog. It's staggering, stuffed with hits and great songs. I don't know anyone who doesn't like at least one Petty song. I like just about all of them.

RIP, rocker.

By coincidence, I had a long bar conversation on Friday about the Springsteen/Petty comparison. They're both titans, but argued that Petty was underappreciated by the rock cognoscenti. I love Bruce, but all of his songs are dipped in the well of angst at his heart. Even his more joyful songs have a wistful undercurrent. Petty was able to get completely out of the way of his protagonists in a way Bruce never seems to, and he was able to do it in songs that were catchier, more pithy and more accessible.

The Heartbreakers complimented this perfectly. Every one of them was a virtuoso, but they were as comfortable and moving playing the bar band basics as they were when they pushed the envelope. Similarly, Petty was able to take a complex idea and distill it into a 3-minute pop song in a way that was never cheap.

He deserves all the accolades he'll get in coming days and then some.

[Teal]

Okay, is he dead or not? I'm reading that the rush to proclaim his death was at best premature.

[Rodster]

One of my favorite Petty classics: "Don't Come Around Here No More". Great MTV video to that song as well. He was also a part of the mega 80's group The Traveling Wilbury's.

RIP: Tom Petty

[pk500]

Okay, is he dead or not? I'm reading that the rush to proclaim his death was at best premature.

Petty's death was confirmed by his manager tonight.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41475013

[Teal]

Okay. Damnit. Thanks, Paul. That one hits close to home.

[grtwhtsk]

His Greatest Hits CD is still one of my favorites. IMO, not a bad song on it.

A legend for sure. R.I.P.

[AcemanPR]

One of the finest ever! RIP Tom, you'll be greatly missed!

[pk500]

Petty's death got me to thinking he is most definitely one of the four faces on the American Mount Rushmore of rock, joining Springsteen and Dylan.

But I can't decide on the fourth ... Cobain, perhaps, for his legacy and music? But Nirvana's "era" was so short. I would have to insert Hendrix now simply for his influence despite a similarly short era.

We may look back in 25 years and put Grohl up there as the fourth sturdy pillar of American rock and roll. Who knows? But I think Petty, Dylan and Springsteen are pretty damn secure in the first three spots.

[Spooky]

Petty's death got me to thinking he is most definitely one of the four faces on the American Mount Rushmore of rock, joining Springsteen and Dylan.

But I can't decide on the fourth ... Cobain, perhaps, for his legacy and music? But Nirvana's "era" was so short. I would have to insert Hendrix now simply for his influence despite a similarly short era.

We may look back in 25 years and put Grohl up there as the fourth sturdy pillar of American rock and roll. Who knows? But I think Petty, Dylan and Springsteen are pretty damn secure in the first three spots.

Gene Simmons.










(I keed, I keed)

[10spro]

‘Damn the Torpedoes’ was one of my favourite albums. Underappreciated in my books, songs like Free Fallin, I won’t back down...will always be classics.

RIP Tom Petty.

[Danimal]

Gene Simmons.

Hey dude, that Kiss movie was fantastic when they all had super powers.

[pk500]

I'm listening to Petty non-stop today in my office. Did the guy write a bad song? So many classics. So sturdy. So tuneful.

My Petty marathon also reminds me how damn good Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench were with the Heartbreakers. Seamless fit to Petty. They finished Petty's musical sentences on lead and keys, respectively.

[MERACE]

Some very eloquent posts above about the great American rock musician Tom Petty.

I have almost every Tom Petty album he made over the many years. My kids, and even my grandkids love Tom Petty's music. My whole family and I attended the Hypnotic Eye tour 3 years ago and we all had a blast!

The sad thing about Tom's untimely death is that he was still producing great music today. I'm sure there will be at least another album of his unreleased music coming out in the near future.

I'll always remember Tom Petty's music as being the soundtrack of my life.


-MERACE

[MizzouRah]

"Free Falling" was the first song I heard on the radio when I graduated Marine Corps boot camp. RIP Tom Petty, you will be missed.

Will have to play his music all week.