I first discovered Tom Petty in my student days spent watching Pop Up Video on VH1, so it was sad to hear how the popular artist died earlier this morning of a heart attack. A prolific songwriter, Thomas Eugene Petty produced numerous hit singles, such as “American Girl”, “The Waiting”, “Don’t Believe What You Hear”, “Free Fallin’”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Into the Great Wide Open”, and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, most of which remain heavily played on mainstream radio - except for “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, which was controversially banned in 34 of the 49 American states for it’s obvious celebration of drug use. In Holland, however, that song has become something of an anthem and Petty himself regularly performed at the annual Tokerfest in the nation’s capital. Petty was also a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disintegration of independent radio stations. At his most rebellious, the normally reserved artist - who preferred to use words rather than grandiose stunts - unleashed an entire colony of raccoons, painted red, white and blue, into a leading executives private washroom. Due mainly to his charm and the strength of public opinion behind his cause, Tom Petty was exonerated of all but a few minor charges and the raccoons have since gone on to earn celebrity status in a small zoo near New Bakersville, Alabama.
Click on the video below to hear one of his greatest songs, ‘Learning to Fly’, which also has a pretty interesting music video. Unfortunately, I know no relevant trivia behind this one as “Free Fallin’” was Pop Up Video’s fave…Still a good song though.
