Jammin’ Me: Tracing the career of the legendary Tom Petty

As the father of hard-rocker Haley Robinson, no stranger to readers of this column, Dr. Dave Robinson not only boasts an ultra-hip daughter but impeccable taste in music.

“Tom Petty? Where do I start,” mused Dr. Dave. “I was fortunate to have seen Tom live upwards of about 15 times, mostly with my roommate from dental school and my wife.

“Cherished memories from Omaha in 1985, where he brought horns for the first time, to the rain at Fiddler’s Green in 1995, with my wife pregnant with our son, to one of the most intimate shows ever: about 1,400 people at the Joint in Las Vegas in 1999.”

Although yours truly never caught the late, lamented TP and cohorts live, I have maintained an intimate relationship with the man and his music from the moment I heard “Breakdown” as a rather clueless 12-year-old.

"Tom Petty’s albums are great, but Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers live was always an amazing experience,“ Dr. Dave added. ”So just 10 songs? Impossible, but that’s the task at hand.

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"I’m sure if I were asked to do this again, the list would change, but I feel very good about it, as the ’80s very good to Tom.“

10) “Rebels,” from 1985’s “Southern Accents.” In Omaha in 1985, I remember my roommate and I being concerned because we weren’t sure how horns would work, compared to Tom’s previous shows. Wow! Elevated the whole show.

Jon: Because it lacked the immediacy of previous releases, “Southern Accents” is among my least favorite Petty records. The exception, and it’s a sizable one, is the fabulous “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” A collaboration with head Eurythmic Dave Stewart, this sitar-driven neo-psychedelia was unlike anything Petty had ever recorded, with its nod to the Beatles’ day-glo era a welcome respite from the norm.

9) “Free Fallin,’” from 1989’s “Full Moon Fever.” As the story goes, when Tom presented this song for his solo album, record company executives told him it would never be a hit. He went home discouraged and told a friend about that meeting. The friend asked him to play the tape. Once he heard it, the friend immediately said he’d be happy to produce the song. The rest is history. Tom took particular pride in kind of sticking it to the record company for doubting him.

Jon: If that story is true, the friend was Jeff Lynne, kingpin of Electric Light Orchestra, who not only produced the song but co-wrote it. From the instant I heard the layered acoustic guitar chords that open and then drive the song, I knew this was going to be one for the ages. Arguably, one of the greatest tracks of all time, with a bittersweet undercurrent flowing throughout.

8) “Love Is A Long Road,” from Full Moon Fever. Tom always said he wanted to get a song’s ”hook” to the listener quickly. The song begins with the hook: an eight-measure keyboard before you get walloped with the guitar intro immediately after. Hearing and seeing it live just packs such a punch you can’t help but head bang.

Jon: Dave, you’re right: 10 spaces isn’t enough. This is an amazing cut, but for me, it doesn’t quite top “A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me),” a somewhat overlooked track from 1981’s hit-packed “Hard Promises.” Deceptively simple but incredibly deep, this one resonated with me immediately because so many times, I was the “me” Tom was singing about.

7) “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” from 1993’s “Greatest Hits.” Fantastic video, if not a bit creepy, since Tom is dancing with a corpse. The harmonies are fantastic and the opening always sent the crowd into a frenzy. A mellower tune that shows Tom’s diversity, and the lead guitar from Mike Campbell is haunting: thereby giving credence to song.

Jon: One of two new cuts added to the “best of” platter, the other being a cover of Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air.” Both are stellar, but I believe a list without “Into the Great Wide Open,” from the 1991 album of the same name, would be incomplete. Like “Learning to Fly,” also co-written by Jeff Lynne and appearing on that record, “ITGWO” is one of those fabulous story songs that refuses to depart from the psyche, thanks to a timeless melody and incredible lines like, “His leather jacket had chains that would jingle; they both met movie stars, partied and mingled; their A&R man said, ’I don't hear a single.’”

6) “You Wreck Me,” from 1994’s “Wildflowers.” Another typical immediate "hook,“ an opening guitar riff that just sends shivers down my spine. I cannot possibly articulate how good this song was live, and loud! It’s truly the epitome of rock and roll, with incredible lyrics to back the sound.

Jon: Once again, worthy of this list, but I’m running out of slots and I don’t want to be remiss by not including “You Got Lucky.” Another song that deserves a revisit, this minor-key, synth-fueled track from 1982’s underheralded “Long After Dark" is a masterpiece of minimalist eminence whose lyrics serve as a warning to every woman tempted to toss aside the love of a good-hearted man.

6) “American Girl,” from 1976’s self titled debut. Some might not agree, but it is quintessential Tom Petty nonetheless. He would end every concert with this song, always with an extended improv weaving through the middle. That’s what made Tom so special: in the live setting, you got so much more than just the song on the album. This will always hold a special place in my heart as I danced to it with my daughter Haley at her wedding.

Jon: No disagreement here. In fact, I feel safe in saying that although this was never a hit single, it is perhaps the song most associated with Petty and his legacy of good, old-fashioned red, white and blue rock and roll. Fun fact: Petty and the band recorded this on July 4.

7) “Jammin’ Me,” from 1987’s “Let Me Up I’ve Had Enough.” Rock and roll with an edge, and once again, you’re hooked by the first riff. Like the title of the album, you can tell Tom is angry and a little fed up with the goings-on of the world at the time, and he’s telling the listener just that.

Jon: And here I thought I was the only one that venerated this deeper cut. Boasting a contribution from Bob Dylan, this single is one of Petty’s “lost” treasures: a fiery takedown of the-then overexposed Joe Piscopo, Eddie Murphy, El Salvador, California Raisins and “Iranian torture.” Proudly, I still own the picture-sleeve 45 of this classic.

8) “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” from “Full Moon Fever.” This album was just simply packed with quality material and I make no apologies for leaning so heavily on it. A recurring theme throughout this discussion is the immediate impact Tom had in getting the listener’s attention. How can you not be immediately throttled by the opening strum of the guitars in this song, followed by the crashing drums: four measures of driving force over and over until Tom softens our ears with the words, “It was a beautiful day.” Awesome

Jon: Truthfully, there isn’t a weak cut on Petty’s first solo album. If pressed, however, I would have to side with “I Won’t Back Down,” a defiant call-to-arms Petty penned after an arsonist set his home ablaze, with he and his family in it, or the more subdued “Face in the Crowd,” a moody and somber number about the randomness of love.

9) “I Won’t Back Down.” Maybe a little leftover anger from "Let Me Up I’ve Had Enough.“ Great video that includes Ringo on drums and Jeff Lynne on guitar. Just a magical solo album that the Heartbreakers did proud every time. This song was a statement about how Tom wasn’t going to be pushed around by the backdoor stabbing he put up with for years from record executives.

Jon: I’m fudging the rules a bit here, but this spot is a tie between “Don’t Do Me Like That,” one of the standout cuts from the regal “Damn The Torpedoes” platter, and “The Waiting,” the Byrds-like jangle-fest that kicks of “Hard Promises.” Fun fact: After record company executives planned to raise the price of that album in light of Petty’s rising star, the head Heartbreaker threatened to name it "Eight Ninety Eight,“ the traditional cost of a disc at that time.

10) “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” Maybe the best live song I’ve heard from Tom. The 1985 Omaha stage set was set like “Alice In Wonderland,” with a big tree, fantasy and some hidden politics. The song built to a booming crescendo of Mike Campbell’s lead guitar and strobe lights, with stagehands scurrying about in the masks of presidents past and present. Tom is saying to them, “Get the heck out of here!”

Jon: For me, the one that started it all is the one that belongs at top. From the debut disc, “Breakdown” is as sparse as it defiant: a two-or-so-chord mood piece opens with this salvo: “It’s alright if you love me, it’s alright if you don’t; I’m not afraid of you running way; honey, I get the feeling you won’t.” A perfect melding of that sexy keyboard, Petty’s smoky vocals and Mike Campbell’s signature guitar passage.

Chieftain reporter Jon Pompia can be reached by email at jpompia@chieftain.com or at twitter.com/jpompia. Help support local journalism by subscribing to the Chieftain at chieftain.com/subscribenow