Great new comments on Tom Petty from Stevie

[dontlookdown]

Nice things to say about Tom from Stevie -
but please someone - get her to stop the rehab references!
It's grown very tiresome and self-indulgent. Surely something else has been going on her life that she can talk about...

3/20/6 - Summing Up Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

from Billboard.com
Craig Rosen & Debbie Galante Block

To mark the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut, Billboard surveyed some of Petty's contemporaries, some of the band's members and those who have worked closely with the group over the years about their favorite Petty & the Heartbreakers song, Petty's songwriting craft, and what makes the Heartbreakers one of the best American rock bands.

Stevie Nicks - Singer/songwriter, member of Fleetwood Mac and Petty's duet partner on the 1981 single "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

The Songs: "When I thought I was dying in rehab in 1994, 'I Won't Back Down' was my mantra. It lifted me up out of the pain and made me fight thru it. 'Free Fallin' broke my heart about my life and his life and about who we were and that we simply could not change that. 'The Waiting is the Hardest Part' summed up my life. We can't stand waiting -- we rock and roll men and women. If we have to wait... we just don't. Tom Petty's songs are like a great book that you revisit when you need help. His songs make me better.

The Songwriter: "What makes Tom so good at this is that he writes about everything. Love in theory. Love in euphoria. Love in disappointment. Love in how it affects everyone; love after a long time. Divorce and how that affects everyone. New love and old love and how that affects everyone. Then he writes about personal growth and how that ebbs and flows. He writes about the world. He writes about the record business. He writes about monopolies and the nurturing of new artists that has ceased to exist. He has demanded that I start to write again when I thought I could write no more. He has, at times, been my Olympic coach. "You can do it," he says, "You don't need my help." He writes about his girls; girlfriends, daughters and wives. He has always been my great inspiration. He is magical. There is not, and never will be, another like him.

The Performer: "As far as live performance goes, he just knocks you out. On stage, there is no one better."