All rights reserved. By the time Petty and the Heartbreakers closed with their own set, a broad corps of stars and disciples including Williams, Foo Fighters, Don Henley, Regina Spektor, the Bangles and the modern-rock band Cage the Elephant performed Petty songs from across his entire canon. Tom Leadon, Tom Petty's Mudcrutch Bandmate, Dead at 70. The Heartbreakers were all fingers on the same hand.. His last words to me where, I heard you, man. Despite that, his name was still being dragged when fans . Much of the show was given to generous spins through the intricate balladry and pointed reflection on Pettys acclaimed solo outings, 1989s Full Moon Fever and 1994s Wildflowers, with profound glow and muscle from the Heartbreakers. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. I wont get into all that, but we were young and stupid and full of too much testosterone. The drummer looked back and opened up about his time with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers during a recent appearance. I havent been a drummer since I was in my thirties. And its a new life. I know your leg has been killing you. He plowed through a career thats ineradicable, treasured, ever-present for those who love him. Anything I did was accented on the drums. By Andy Greene. Were just gonna throw a bunch of records up in the air and see where they fall tonight, Petty told the sold-out crowd in his sandy, slow-as-molasses drawl, early in a two-hour streak of legacy that was, in fact, decisively chosen and largely set in stone throughout the tour. She was also in the video 'Make It Better (Forget About Me)'. I had to remind myself that I was full-grown man. The eleven-year-old who first heard Breakdown was always close. I grabbed him and told him what I needed to tell him. Zanes also coaxed Stan Lynch, the ex-drummer of Petty's longtime backing band, The Heartbreakers . Petty was our guy. Lynch talked to Zanes for two days straight about his long years of having to prove that he was the right drummer. Longtime Petty manager Tony Dimitriades fired Lynch on the phone shortly after the show, and the drummer didnt say a word to Petty until the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Stan did everything he could to get fired, Petty said. It was their first face-to-face encounter in 20 years, and they had a chat before playing much music together. A lot of the times Id just be focused on what I was doing, but then Id turn around and be like, My God, its Lynch and hes fuckin smoking it! I'm interested in rock music, literature, cinema, and doing research in Cultural Studies. He didnt like the record. It wasnt the best period in my life, Petty confessed in 2006. Now there's a book in itself.". So it was no small surprise in late 2021 when Lynch picked up his phone one day and heard Campbells voice on the other end. Theres a reason why he was in the Wilburys with Bob, Roy and a Beatle. And in five minutes or so, Tom Petty comes out. Acts Lynch has produced include The Band, the Eagles, Don Henley, Jackopierce, Joe 90, Scotty Moore, and Sister Hazel. He asked me to call some people, Dimitriades says, and see if they would come on the road and perform it with him. We apologized to each other for being assholes and young and stupid, says Campbell. Thirty minutes before he walked onstage, Petty welcomed singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams into his dressing room. The 1993 edition of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers included, left to right: Mike Campbell, Tom Petty, Stan Lynch, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein. I was pleased to see that was still there. On that last night at the Bowl, in his adopted hometown, the Florida-born Petty covered every mile of his journey with determined, jubilant force: his creative odyssey as a songwriter; the commercial success that continually followed him; the record-business trials that came along with it; his eternal garage-band bond with the Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboard player Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair, multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston and drummer Steve Ferrone. There sat the fantastic coffee. I was ashamed. Im not really there emotionally, he says. Original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch surprised himself when he agreed to the reunion with Mike Campbell that began earlier this year. In 1961, an uncle working on the local set of an Elvis Presley movie, Follow That Dream, arranged for Petty and some family members to watch the filming and meet the star. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Its so bare, without any ambiguity. The session also included Jacksonville native Mike Campbell. Any book about the fifty-two-year-old Lynch would surely be an entertaining, fairly hilarious read. And then, with awful suddenness and scant days after a triumphant home stand in his adoptive Los Angeles for a 40th anniversary concert, he was gone. The crowd will go crazy. I do believe, and with the help of his music I will do all I can to live up to this, that Tom Petty really meant it when advised us to carry on. On September 25th, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed the final concert of a three-night run at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It came to be understood that there would probably be some herbal refreshments during our encounters, which, perhaps kidding myself here, seemed to augment rather than sidetrack his spoken insightfulness (if not my queries). Ad Choices. And I think among American rock-and-roll bands, theyre the very best. They are always filled with the promise and hope and life essence of their creator. Staying off the Internetdidnt do much good as dear and solicitous friends came in with queries during the purgatorial moments after the news struck, and one wrote, Did he have a bad heart? And the perhaps too glib thought was no, he had a great heart, a monster heart that could sit inside the barbwire words and music of a song like Straight into Darkness, quoted above, and still beat like crazy and make yours beat along with it. Yonge School in 1973. ', Editors picks Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch on Their Surprise Heartbreakers Reunion. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. His hooks, his titles when he gets to them, its solid as a rock, Newman says, likening Petty in a remote, odd way to the legendary pop songwriter Burt Bacharach, who winds all over the place. Since her father's death, Violette has been sharing both her family's pride over the "American Girl" singer's . Im just so sad, Campbell says now, to think that Im not going to play those songs again., I havent seen this outpouring since my dad passed, says Dhani Harrison, a few days after Pettys death. "We have the same musical pulse we always had," says Campbell of hitting the road with his old Tom Petty bandmate after . Also, I could never really close doors on people that were important in my past. Tom Petty died of an accidental overdose on October 2, 2017, only a couple of weeks before his 67th birthday. Follow me. That was the rehearsal. I learn from them.. At the time that The Heartbreakers went full steam until the late 80s, Petty created a solo record because he needed a change of pace. Petty said at the time that there were various substitute drummers being put in to join them: I will say that when other drummers were brought in, they werent Stan Lynch. He sang harmony. Stan was actually fired because of Iovine during Damn the Torpedoes. Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. And those meetings are really boring. But, he insisted, I wouldnt have hurt anybody., Mounting tensions within the Heartbreakers over Pettys creative grip culminated in Lynchs departure in 1994. Drums, guitar, piano, vocals. I dont believe the good times are all overI dont believe the thrill is all goneReal love is a mans salvationThe weak grow strongThe strong carry on. Petty was found unconscious at his home. Petty was less than three weeks from his 67th birthday. Probably best known for having been the longtime drummer and founding member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Lynch has also toured the world with Bob Dylan, and written and produced songs for Don Henley, the Eagles, the Mavericks and many others. Petty died Oct. 2 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. I didnt want to stay too long. And he sang as well. That would have been smaller-scale, away from the hits, Campbell says. It works really well with him. Having Stan [Lynch] play on that is very cool. A series of writing projects followed, which lead to Petty asking Zanes to write the biography. Even though Ferrone would continue to play drums with the Heartbreakers, the boyhood friendship which brought them together had finally come to an end. We want to hear it. Location: Katy, TX. We have the same musical pulse we always had, says Campbell. In addition to backing Dylan on the road and making two albums with the Traveling Wilburys, Petty produced a 1981 comeback album for the early-Sixties rock & roll singer Del Shannon, Drop Down and Get Me; backed Johnny Cash, with the Heartbreakers, on the country titans 1996 album, Unchained; and appeared as a singer and co-writer on a 1991 album by the Byrds Roger McGuinn. I was always amazed how they did it their own way. And our bass player Crawdaddy [Lance Morrison] said, You should play that song together in the show. Joe Jackson, Past, Present, and Fast Forward, Photograph by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty. Lets do some more. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakershad been off the road for nearly a year when the 1994 Bridge School Benefit came around. He formed the band known as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1976 along with Stan Lynch (drummer), Benmont Tech (keyboardist), Mike Campbell, . I dont know how thats going to feel. However, they subsequently decided to end the litigation and join forces into . The original four Breakers are all upright as far as I know, he says. A totally different sound, yet completely him., Zanes enrolled in Loyola and spent the next twelve years in universities, eventually getting a Ph.D. from Rochester University in Cultural Studies. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time And I thought, Okay well, youre being paid like its main gig. I had a feeling that the dough was the only reason he hadnt walked off yet.. Im really proud of the legacy. Tom was a great classicist, Springsteen says, and the Heartbreakers were a real guitar band. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. ', I dont give a shit what were playing, adds Lynch. I'm Bihter. Stan and I had some personal conflicts with family here and there, he says. Then you look at it now. We connected instantly, like wed known each other already, the guitarist says. One day, Pettys manager, Tony Dimitriades, called Zanes out of the blue and said that Tom had read Dusty in Memphis and wanted to have dinner the next time Warren was in L.A. For Zanes, who had a new baby at home in Cleveland, It was all I could do not to leave right then. When they did meet, Petty said that the Dusty book had inspired a song, and that he wanted Zanes to come to his house to hear it. "[citation needed], "I played guitar and piano, and I always thought I was going to be a guitar player," said Lynch. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recalled working with Stevie Nicks in a July 2021 interview. Highlights from the week in culture, every Saturday. Id never learned anyone elses parts., He started going over the material at his home studio, and he turned to longtime drummer buddies Kenny Aronoff and Gregg Bissonette for advice. We want to hear it. You could never have told him even across repeated contacts of the journalistic sort over the years just how much he meant to you spiritually yes, asdeep in your spirit as any music has ever gone because that might have just led to a mildly embarrassed silence. Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 - February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Lynch reunited with his former bandmates in 2002 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, playing "American Girl" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance". The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, In some small ways, the experience mirrored a very difficult time in Lynchs career with the Heartbreakers when Petty cut 1989s Full Moon Fever as a solo album and asked the band to learn the songs and tour it with him. The other night I looked down during that song and there was a woman in the front just sobbing, says Campbell. Out came Petty, walking his walk, carrying the manuscript. Lynch joined his former bandmates during their induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. I will move on., Tom never settled for anything but the best, on any level, says Campbell, Pettys musical partner since 1970, when he joined the singers early Florida band, Mudcrutch. It hit me how strong the songs were, Petty said, with just a couple of acoustic guitars. The coolest thing about this is that I get to put a bookend on a really, really long book of life, he says. There were shrieks of horror. The Wild One, Forever, a mostly acoustic lament celebrating and mourning an impossible but unforgettable young love (it would have a close cousin in Magnolia two years later) was followed by the pounding Chuck Berry stompof Anything Thats Rock and Roll.The entire album was by turns an artistic declaration and a hollering yawp that in sum seemed to insist that only lovers would be left alive in some brave new rock world where the iconic American Girl ruled the turf. He got the balance he wanted, Campbell says of the 40th Anniversary shows, and the story he wanted to tell., Very few people beyond the Heartbreakers immediate circle knew that Petty was suffering, at each gig, from a hairline fracture in his left hip, which he planned to deal with after the tour. Im not going back out there. "As a kid I had very little opportunity. I had been backstage in various rooms the road managers would open to journos and posers when the band played say, Fillmore East in the 70s or various rococo rock halls in other towns from Chicago to New Orleans. The song went to No. That was another experience for me, says Lynch. He was really good at that, and he knew the songs really well. The Del Fuegos were originally an Oberlin band that Dan Zanes, Warrens older brother, started with some college friends; Warren joined after Andover. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida.Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair.In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. via Petty is a rock star who is also a member of a band that has been together since the mid-seventies, and it is difficult to be one without undermining the other. It was a short walk, 20 steps, from his front door to his studio, Dimitriades says. I would try to write in the same fashion. Its like fucking Disneyland out there. And Tom says to Bob, Youve never been to Disneyland. Bob just started laughing. Stan Lynch joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1974 when Pettys piano player Benmont Tench recruited him. You play this beat [Ferrone mimics the songs distinctive shuffle]. There was an inner force driving him., He was just kicking ass, Tench says of Petty, and we had found another level of playing as a band. They walked back out there and carried on playing., With Pettys death, three of the five Wilburys are gone (Orbison died in 1988), and the Heartbreakers have lost their voice and leader. Michael was able to be the calming factor.. It really wasnt Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers it was Tom Petty in the Heartbreakers, claims Ferrone, an English-born session musician and former member of the Average White Band who played drums on Wildflowers as a sideman prior to becoming a Heartbreaker. His hits have defined rock radio since the Seventies, and he never stopped writing great music. As Lynch's ability increased, so did the offers to play with other artists, creating experience that covers a wide variety of musical territory. The more experience he had, the more it enhanced his ability. All rights reserved. Six days later, on the evening of October 1st, Petty suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. "I remember he accused me of stealing an amp from him. Stan had never heard me sing before, and he was the main harmony singer with Tom. Ive warmed them up for you. He looked at me and goes, I bet you did, with those twinkly eyes and that beautiful face. They hugged; a photo was taken. Lynch was informed by Tony Dimitriades through a call. The band loudly declared their love for Petty at their shows. The original Heartbreakers came back together for the song Mary Janes Last Dance, which became one of their biggest hits. Joe Jacksons Four Decade Tour Brings His Inimitable Quirks toL.A. Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about. I started to hear a whole new kind of thing coming out., Petty was flattered when Hillman asked if he could record his own version of Wildflowers title track for Bidin My Time. It also fucks with the legacy. Stan Lynch joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1974 when Petty's piano player Benmont Tench recruited him. I dont know how it happened, says his longtime manager Tony Dimitriades. Cage singer Matt Shultz contends that like David Bowie, Petty conquered the popular belief that creativity dies with age, especially in rock & roll. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The 50 Worst Decisions in Music History But because he had the record deal already, after the break Petty went back into the studio and started his pitch. Ferrone recalls Pettys response: Tom says, OK, this is what you do. Lynch has this down pat in bushels full. [1], Lynch was born in Cincinnati,[2] Ohio, U.S., and moved to Gainesville, Florida, in the early 1960s. Hell, I didn't steal it. He was a real cat. When Petty sang a song by Jimmie Rodgers, Merle Haggard or the Searchers, Tench insists, he wasnt a dilettante, trying something on. In 1981, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. Hed met my aunt before, Petty recalled. 2 weeks later they brought him back because they couldn't find a better drummer that could play with the Heartbreakers. At the end of the process, as was their agreement, Zanes sent Petty the book, and then flew out to California to hear his judgment in person. I was doing my job but struggling to keep my vibe up. One night, in the middle of a song, Petty came over to Campbell, stood next to me, and he goes, Just remember, up here, nobody can touch us., Springsteen calls it the debt the chance, if it comes, to honor a pivotal teacher and repay that gift of inspiration. One and she said yes immediately was Norah Jones., Its so hard to believe its even happened, Dhani Harrison says of Pettys death. / Youtube. I was just that kind of guy, he said. As a teenager growing up near Gainesville, Lynch determined that he would find a way to make a living with music. He described us as not his main gig. On October 3rd, Springsteen dedicated the first preview performance of his solo Broadway residency to Petty. There are things I could have handled better, specifically with Mike. "When I listen to our first couple of albums, I think that I sound stiff." In Lynchs mind, it was a Heartbreakers song. My parents didn't have money. Editors picks Then, on February 10th, 2017, Petty was honored by MusiCares, the musicians health-care charity, as their Person of the Year at a dinner and tribute show. George put it on his jukebox, Dhani says, and just had it on repeat., Earlier this year, Dhani stopped by Pettys house to play him some new music: Dhanis first solo album, IN///PARALLEL. There are things I could have handled better, specifically with Mike. Tons of them. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Ive known him since I was 15. Thus, the rocker said he has tons of regrets regarding his time with the band. I have regrets. You see a . 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Watch below. Propelled by Stan Lynch's rollicking drumming and the band's now-signature soaring guitars, this high-octane rave was a close-up of Petty's vocal prowess and persona: sweet then sour . I was lucky enough to know him a bit over the decades; it was a kind of (again) professional association with benefits. From his early work with Mudcrutch until his final performance with The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty considered himself more as a fellow band member than as the frontman dispensing commands. He could have handled things better, and his mistakes were mainly related to miscommunication and immaturity. Lynch contributed to albums by the following artists: Lynch left the group in 1994. Diner featuring the 'world's rudest service' grumpily pops up . Its felt really nice to get my friend back., They finally met up a few months ago at Campbells Los Angeles home studio he calls Knobville. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. I never knew how it got there, but it sure wasnt left over from the night before. His parents made him take lessons before they bought him a kit, and he recalls with a laugh, "as soon as I got my first set they took up tennisthey just split, and I don't blame them. Mary Austin Will Auction Off Freddie Mercurys, Yes Release Brand New Spanking Song All, Watch The Trailer For The New Syd Barret Film, Why These 12 Rock Hits Were Hated By Fans, Michael Anthony Shares The Plans To Explore Van Halen, Wild Man Of Rock n Roll Wee Willie Harris Passed. Original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recently joined an interview with Rolling Stone. I never sought these people out, Petty claimed when I asked him in 2009 about why he got along so well with legends. Tensions were thick backstage at the Bridge School Benefit, but the Heartbreakers still delivered an incredibly moving acoustic set featuring You Dont Know How It Feels, I Wont Back Down, Free Fallin' and, appropriately enough, Time To Move On. Heres a gorgeous rendition of Learning To Fly. Nobody knew it at the time, but it was Lynchs final gig with the band. Lynch left the meeting before everyone had a chance to say goodbye after he decided to distance himself and relocate to Florida. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. He was found unconscious at his home in the early morning and was taken to hospital in . There was a depth of soul coming through. The two men spoke briefly after the September 25th show at the Bowl, raving about it. He never wanted to be the band's lead singer. I certainly dont have a chip on my shoulder, he told me in 2014. Its sad that hes gone, Springsteen says of Petty, but it was nice to be alive in his lifetime. And the work remains. "The coolest thing about this is that I get to put a bookend on a really, really long book of life," says Stan Lynch, second from left, of reuniting with Mike Campbell, third from left. Tim McGraw recorded "Back When", a song Lynch wrote with Stephony Smith and Jeff Stevens, for his album Live Like You Were Dying. He had a big smile, and he was putting a cough drop in his mouth, says Williams, an old friend who had just finished her opening set. Mike is a pivotal player in a previous life of mine. Petty, in turn, took the unique nature and benefits of his leadership seriously. 1 in early December 2004. Tom made a lot of great music, Springsteen points out, enough to carry people forward.. "We all kind of thought Howie would get the job," says original Heartbreakers' drummer Stan Lynch. Any movement I made. 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And I couldnt wait for it to end, he said, sipping his coffee. Zanes also coaxed Stan Lynch, the ex-drummer of Petty's longtime backing band, The Heartbreakers, to talk unflinchingly about his falling-out with Petty. It started with the 1976 self-titled debut album. We never even tried one of my songs., When the tour ended, Zanes left the band and went back to New England, drifted around, and ended up in New Orleans, where he became a bike mechanic. Zanes, now fifty, was telling the tale the other day, while ducking out of the rain for coffee at Benvenuto Caf, in Tribeca. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions. If its just one or two of us, thats one thing. Finally, Dylan walked off, forcing Petty to coax him back on as the Heartbreakers kept playing. The influences were obvious the Byrds, a lot of the Merseybeat stuff, Wolf says of Petty and the Heartbreakers 1977 sets opening for the J. Geils Band. Jim Spellman, WireImage. (I also remember Rick Rubin, who was with him on what must have been a work break from recording Wildflowers, giving me a very fishy look when we emerged.). I wasnt a good story. What people dont know is that Lynch and Pettys conflict started way back at the time of their legendary singles. We all have our go-to sources of solace, and inspiration, and our personal troves of top-quality, memory-stirring rock n roll and balladeering. But they loved the same stuff ukuleles, motor racing. undefined. I think I have some Tom nuances in my voice. He never took his eyes off me. Lynch reflecting on his time in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: There were many things that were not said that should have been said. Wilco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Fleet Foxes and the War on Drugs were among the bands that covered Pettys songs onstage. But he was a very good drummer and he was really conscientious, and he worked really hard. 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