Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Check out Jackson Browne covering a Tom Petty classic.
Jackson Browne recently covered Tom Petty’s classic song “The Waiting.” Browne, who last year had COVID-19, shows that he still has his great voice.
Browne recorded “The Waiting” as part of a webcast on October 23, 2020 to celebrate Tom Petty’s 70th birthday. Check it out.
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George Harrison passed away in 2001 before his induction at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. So, his former Traveling Wilburys colleagues Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne led an all-star group, including Steve Winwood and Prince, for a rousing performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Come listen for Tom Petty’s haunting vocals, but stay for Prince’s amazing guitar solo at the end. Seriously, do not stop before Prince takes over.
The rest of the Beatles initially were not very impressed with “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” when Harrison first played it for them in 1968. But the song became one of their classics, with Eric Clapton playing on the original Beatle version.
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Our video for the day is the performance of Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages” at The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. The concert — held at on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden — celebrated Dylan’s 30 years of recording. And this performance featured Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
It is an amazing collection of legends onstage doing on of Dylan’s great early songs. “My Back Pages” originally appeared on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan.
What is amazing about this performance is how at the time of the concert, the singers were already legends and they seemed old at the time. But looking at it now, they all seem so young. Or maybe part of that is because I am so much older now.
Check out the video, which begins with Roger McGuinn singing the song, which he had previous recorded with The Byrds and released in 1967. Then, the others follow until Dylan takes the lead himself. In the meantime, one may watch Dylan’s face to make any guesses about what he is thinking as the others sing his song.
There are various interpretations of “My Back Pages,” although most read it as Dylan’s rejection of his younger idealism. But like many of his songs, listeners may find their own meaning and a little of their own life in the song. And, more than two decades ago, we found a little more connection to the song through many of the rock legends of our youth.
What is your favorite version of “My Back Pages”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Recently it was revealed that Sam Smith had agreed to pay royalties from his mega-hit “Stay With Me” to Tom Petty because of the similarity between Smith’s song and Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down.” The deal also involved giving credit to Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame), who contributed to Petty’s song.
Prior to the announcement, a number of folks had noticed the similarity between the two songs. Below is on the the mash-ups from YouTube.
Meanwhile, Slate argues that the reason Petty’s representatives have heard similarities between Petty’s songs and other hits at least three times is because Petty’s music uses basic rock and roll progressions. And, they explain, it is hard to avoid the basics. As for Petty, he released a statement saying he has no hard feelings against Sam Smith and understands how these things happen.
What do you think? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
We looked back at another Tom Petty song recently, so let us revisit another old Petty classic with a new lead singer. In Amsterdam recently, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage to sing “The Waiting.” Petty focuses on his guitar playing to let Vedder sing the 1981 song. Check it out.
The performance is from 24 June 2012 at Music Hall.
Who would you like to hear sing with Tom Petty? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
