MUSIC VIDEO: Tom Petty - I Wont Back Down (1989). (Below this Video is the Solo Acoustic Version by the Late Great Johnny Cash - Interesting to compare the two versions then make an make an honest opinion on which you prefer). This was Pettys first single without The Heartbreakers credited as his backing band. Members of the original band did play on the album. The video featured The Beatles Ringo Starr on drums and George Harrison on guitar and also featured ELO frontman Jeff Lynne on guitar, collectively with Tom Petty known as the Travelling Wilburys. The single, noticeably had the Jeff Lynne E.L.O. / Travelling Wilbury mixed sound to it, was the first single from the Tom Petty Solo Album Full Moon Fever, which was produced and co-written by ELOs Jeff Lynne. Petty and Lynne worked on the album at Mike Campbells house. As guitarist for The Heartbreakers, Mike has written and produced many songs with Petty. He told us what happened when they brought the album to MCA Records: We thought it was really good, we were real excited about it. We played it for the record company and they said, Well, we dont hear any hits on here. We were very despondent about the whole thing and we went back and recorded another track, a Byrds song called Ill Feel A Whole Lot Better, thinking at the time that maybe theyll like this one. In the interim, they changed A&R departments and a whole new group of people were in there. We brought the same record back like 6 months later and they loved it - they said Oh, theres 3 hits on here. We were vindicated on that one. It was the same record. We played the same thing for them and they went for it. I guess its a situation of timing and the right people that wanted to get inspired about it. At the end of the line, if the songs are good and if the public connects with certain songs, that really is the true test, but youve got to get it out there. (Read more in our interview with Mike Campbell.) Before recording Full Moon Fever, an arsonist burned down Pettys house while he was in it. He escaped and spent much of the next few months driving between hotel rooms and a rented house. It was on these drives that he came up with many of the songs for the album, and the fire was a huge influence. Petty felt grateful to be alive, and the whole incident had a calming effect on him. George W. Bush used this in his 2000 Presidential campaign. When Petty found out, he threatened to sue, as he did not support Bush. Bush stopped using the song but won the election anyway. Pettys home state of Florida decided the election when Bush won the state by a very slim margin. Petty performed this for Al Gore at his house an hour after he conceded the election (the second time) to George W. Bush. Petty played this on September 21, 2001 as part of a telethon to benefit the victims of the terrorist attacks on America. Celebrities at the event included Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Cruise. Almost 60 million people watched the special in the US. In response to this being used as a patriotic anthem after September 11th, Petty said: The song has also been adopted by nice people for good things, too. I just write them, I cant control where it ends up. This was one of 4 songs Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played at the halftime show of the Super Bowl in 2008. The others were American Girl, Runnin Down A Dream and Free Fallin. Petty recalled the recording of this song to Mojo magazine January 2010: At the session George Harrison sang and played the guitar. I had a terrible cold that day, and George sent to the store and bought a ginger root, boiled it and had me stick my head in the pot to get the ginger steam to open up my sinuses, and then I ran in and did the take.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 09:31:24 +0000
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