Remembering Tom Petty Tom Petty was a master of the perfect three-chord pop song and an icon of American music. This week, Jim and Greg pay tribute to the late Florida rocker. They discuss Petty’s tremendous songwriting gifts and revisit their 2003 interview with him on Sound Opinions. audio player Download Subscribe via iTunes

Remembering Tom Petty Through four decades of success, Tom Petty entertained audiences around the world. Jim and Greg now pay tribute to a man who defined classic rock. Petty died at age 66 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Malibu home. Throughout the show, Jim and Greg play excerpts from an exclusive Sound Opinions interview with Tom Petty from 2003. In the interview, Tom Petty discusses meeting Elvis Presley as a child in Florida and falling in love with rock ‘n’ roll. He also reminisces about hanging out with Bob Dylan and George Harrison, his idols and future bandmates in Traveling Wilburys. Jim and Greg make a case for Petty’s underrated songwriting abilities and share some of their favorite of his songs. Plus, we hear from recent Sound Opinions guest Benmont Tench, founding keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, about hearing American Girl for the very first time.

Featured Songs Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976 Tom Petty, I Won’t Back Down, Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Waiting, Hard Promises, Backstreet, 1981 Elvis Presley, A Big Hunk o’ Love, A Big Hunk o’ Love (single), RCA Victor, 1959 Elvis Presley, Kissin’ Cousins, Kissin’ Cousins, RCA Victor, 1963 The Beatles, All My Loving (Live on The Ed Sullivan Show ), Anthology 1, Apple, 1964 Mudcrutch, Depot Street, Depot Street (single), Shelter, 1975 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Anything That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rockin’ Around (With You), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I Need to Know, You’re Gonna Get It!, Shelter, 1978 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Here Comes My Girl, Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open, MCA, 1991 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me), Hard Promises, Backstreet, 1981 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Breakdown, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Shelter, 1976 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Greatest Hits, MCA, 1993 Tom Petty, Free Fallin’, Full Moon Fever, MCA, 1989 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Don’t Come Around Here No More, Southern Accents, MCA, 1985 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Counting On You, Echo, Warner Bros., 1999 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Last DJ, The Last DJ, Warner Bros., 2002 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Don’t Do Me Like That, Damn the Torpedoes, Backstreet, 1979 Traveling Wilburys, Last Night, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, Wilbury, 1988 Traveling Wilburys, Handle With Care, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, Wilbury, 1988 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Room at the Top, Echo, Warner Bros., 1999 Brenda Holloway, Operator , Operator (single), Tamla, 1965 The Staple Singers, I’ll Take You There, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Stax, 1971 The Staple Singers, I’m Just Another Soldier, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Stax, 1971 Mavis Staples, Only the Lord Knows, You Are Not Alone, ANTI-, 2010 The Staple Singers, Pray On , Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Vee Jay, 1963