It’s a Happy, Heavenly Tom Petty Birthday. He would’ve turned 72 today. In his honor, and for your enjoyment, my six fave Tom Petty tunes.
I actually did this last week for Sammy Hagar’s birthday. So maybe it’s my new thing? Six-packs of songs for rocker’s birthdays. Why a six-pack? Well, because I’m a beer drinker, first and foremost. But also because I’m Adam 12. And two times six is twelve, ya heard? Anyway, if you dig these, let me know and I’ll keep it up. It’s basically just a variation of Vote for the G.O.A.T., where we let you vote for your favorite songs from a bunch of ROCK 92.9 artists, then put together a Top 5. But six is more than five, so let’s roll with that. First, a little bit on each song. Then, the videos.
A Tom Petty Birthday Six-Pack
6) “Here Comes My Girl” – My friend Hardy is a big fan of this one, too. What a hook.
5) “Shady Grove” – Am I cheating here? Absolutely not! Tom Petty wrote “Shady Grove” with his band Mudcrutch. This song holds a special place in my heart because whenever I get together to play guitar with my dad and my brother, we play it. We even sing 3-part harmony!
4) “Learning To Fly” – Love the riff, love the video, love whistling along with the end, especially when I play this one on my show.
3) “Breakdown” – That vocal affectation. It’s perfect. So good, in fact, that Spoon had to cover it because Britt Daniel is basically the only other guy who can pull it off.
2) “Refugee” – I was going to put “You Got Lucky” in this slot, then I remembered the riff from “Refugee” and I was like: Nope. This one’s gotta be on the list.
1) “A Face In The Crowd” – I don’t think there’s an album I listened to more in Junior High than Full Moon Fever. It was a staple on every family vacation we took from 1989 through around 1992. It’s an absolute classic, strong from the first track through the last, and this one’s my favorite. I can’t hear it and not imagine myself gazing out the back window of my dad’s ’82 GMC Jimmy as we drove north on 93 into New Hampshire.
