The lead track from Damn the Torpedoes, “Refugee” is a near-perfect representation of Petty’s take on the Southern rock that informed his writing as much as the Byrds or Bob Dylan did. A defiant anthem, it occupies the position in his catalog roughly akin to “Born to Run” in Bruce Springsteen’s oeuvre, in terms of its commercial impact on Petty’s career, the business tumult swamping Petty when it was recorded, and the monumental production effort mounted to get the “magic” master take (as documented in Peter Bogdanovich’s four-hour epic, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”). “ Refugee” probably edges out “American Girl” as Petty’s calling card. “Breakdown” was also a live favorite, probably for this reason. Millennials might find the lyrics too much like the “negging” of a pick-up artist, but the listener generally wants to be picked up by Petty. The song also marks Petty’s range it’s slow burner, slinky and swaggering. “ Breakdown” was the first single from the debut album and it just barely cracked the Top 40 in North America. “American Girl” is also the song Catherine Martin sings with gusto in her car before she is abducted by Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs.” Petty has always been with us in this way, on our radios, in our moments of joy and pain. The only other band from the era with this reach would be Cheap Trick. In 1976, as album-oriented rock was entering a period of overproduced, self-indulgent ennui, “American Girl” was a jolt that would sound classic to a mass audience but also channel the back-to-basic ethos of the Punk and New Wave bands coming on the scene. The song is also symbolic of the unusual place Petty would occupy in rock music during the early years of his career. “She was an American girl / Raised on promises” is a fantastic opening line in a catalog that would eventually bulge with great opening lines. “American Girl” immediately recalls and updates the folk-rock of the Byrds, with Petty’s Rickenbacker and vocals both recalling Roger McGuinn (Ron Blair’s melodic bass is also key here). Nevertheless, it became one of his signature songs and recognized as a slice of pop genius. “ American Girl,” from the debut album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, did not chart in its initial release as a single. Accordingly, let us reconsider a dozen of his greatest songs, most of which are old friends. The ubiquity of Petty’s music, however, may tend to lessen our appreciation of his gifts. But it’s never going missing, because Tom Petty has existed since the beginning of time, and will continue to exist until time is extinguished.”Īt that time, Petty was responsible for one out of every 40 rock songs heard on the radio. Why bother? It’s just there, reliable to the point of invisibility. It’s like having an opinion on tap water or concrete. ![]() Tom Petty’s music doesn’t necessarily demand a value judgment. Even now, Petty is still a guy that most people know, even if you don’t actively care about him one way or the other. If you’re a music fan of a certain age, there was a time in your life when he seemed inescapable. He has a dozen or so songs that will be played on classic rock radio for as long as there is classic rock radio. “Tom Petty has been a rock star for almost 40 years. ![]() Tom Petty-singer, songwriter, and leader of the Heartbreakers-has passed away after suffering a full cardiac arrest in his Malibu home Sunday night. Few will capture Petty’s artistic legacy better than Steven Hyden did in 2014:
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