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Posted
On 3/28/2025 at 12:41 PM, stc said:

mike campbell has a new book, started reading it a couple days ago. i've only gotten through his childhood up to meeting tp and forming mudcrutch but it's been interesting. 

I've pimped it before, but for those that haven't read it, it's absolutely fabulous. 

  • Like 1
Posted
5 hours ago, irishtexan said:

Always loved this song. And this video is so perfectly "late 80s Full Moon Fever TP". TP Forever. 

 

The album cuts on that are formative as hell for me.  Apartment Song, Zombie Zoo.  Fuck yeah 

Posted
3 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The album cuts on that are formative as hell for me.  Apartment Song, Zombie Zoo.  Fuck yeah 

Same. Came out my senior of high school and it’s my favorite TP album. It’s all killer no filler.

Posted

i've come to accept that most people despise zombie zoo and definitely consider it filler. i still like it though. 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
I've pimped it before, but for those that haven't read it, it's absolutely fabulous. 
On my kindle right now due to this recommendation. It's a fantastic read. Just finished the chapter where Mike & Marcie almost lost their house to foreclosure because Tom & the team were heavy into the booger sugar & the Southern Accents sessions were going nowhere.

Petty dismissed one of Mike's songs as "too jazzy."

Weeks later Don Henley makes it one of the biggest songs of his or anyone else's careers. Mike gets to keep his house. And Tom broke his hand punching a wall because he let that 'jazzy' song--The Boys of Summer--get away.
  • Like 1
Posted

Wasn't Petty actually pissed at Mike Campbell for taking the song to Henley (after Petty himself had turned it down)?

What a collosal mistake.  Such an iconic riff.  Who knows if Petty could have written those lyrics, and he certainly couldn't match Henley in the vocal department, but man, don't turn that one down.  As big of a Petty fan as I am, and as much as I consider Henley a (really really talented) douchebag, I'm glad it went the way it went.  Still, one can wonder.

Posted
1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Wasn't Petty actually pissed at Mike Campbell for taking the song to Henley (after Petty himself had turned it down)?

What a collosal mistake.  Such an iconic riff.  Who knows if Petty could have written those lyrics, and he certainly couldn't match Henley in the vocal department, but man, don't turn that one down.  As big of a Petty fan as I am, and as much as I consider Henley a (really really talented) douchebag, I'm glad it went the way it went.  Still, one can wonder.

no, that's 100% wrong.  Mike came up with the framework of the song (the drum machine to start, and then the basic riffs), and played it for Tom and Jimmy Iovine.  They both passed, as it didn't fit what TP&H were trying to do at that point.  A couple of weeks later, Iovine called Mike and told him that Henley was looking for songs, and that his might work.  He met with Henley (at opposite ends of a very long table), played him the tape, and Henley was "meh", but said "I'll see what I can do with that". 

The next day, Henley called Mike and said "I've just written the best song of my career". 

Posted

In the book, Mike talks about shortly after recording, he's jogging? with his walkman tuned to KLOS (legendary L.A. AOR station) and they play the song.  Then, they immediately play it again.  At that point, he knew his troubles were over. 

Posted

I read Perry’s book a few months ago. Fascinating read and it apparently correlates well with Campbell’s book, which I haven’t read yet. I was already a big Petty fan but that book took my appreciation for him to the next level 

Posted

I'm not sure how your more detailed telling of the story negates mine.  Petty wasn't pissed about losing the song?  Maybe he kicked himself, but the gist of it was he had first shot and blew it (and knew it).

I'll say it again, but more clearly:  while I love and respect Tom Petty, I'm pretty sure he couldn't have topped Henley's efforts on that one very specific song.  That thing came down from the heavens.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted

BTW, make no mistake, Petty was a bit of an asshole.

For example, that last show at The Greek, it's the end of a long tour, and he doesn't even speak a word to his band after the show. He just leaves.  
Yeah, he was hurting, but it seems like such a chicken-shit thing for the boss not to give the troops a "good job". 

 

Posted

I remember in the book there was some jazzy chord in the song that tom and Jimmy didn’t like. Jimmy called Mike and said Don Henley was looking for some tunes, maybe play him that jazzy one. He did and we know the rest of the story but apparently he changed the jazzy chord to something more straight up. Tom’s comment to Mike when they first talked about the hit was “you changed that chord huh?”.

 

So bad ass. 

  • Like 1
Posted
8 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

I read Perry’s book a few months ago. Fascinating read and it apparently correlates well with Campbell’s book, which I haven’t read yet. I was already a big Petty fan but that book took my appreciation for him to the next level 

If you're referring to the Warren Zanes biography on TP, it is excellent. Campbell's is better, given to the first person accounting of the events.

Another key part about the whole Boys of Summer incident, Campbell had pulled up to TP's house one morning expecting to have their usual recording work session. Tom was loading his guitar and bass into his car. Campbell asked where he was going and Tom kinda sheepishly told him he was off to do a session w/ Dave Stewart. Campbell deftly explains his passive aggressive response to Tom sneaking off behind the rest of the band's back to record with someone else. Tom kept EXTREMELY tight control over what members of the band could do--particularly Benmont and Stan--so the hypocrisy wasn't lost on Mike.

All in all, Tom being too disconnected (or coked up; they were all heavy into their drug days) to hear the potential of Boys was probably the best for everyone. Henley wrote an all timer. Campbell knew he could write great songs for other people. And Tom would have to come to the terms with the fact that as much as he liked to control tense band situations by asserting simply "I'm Tom Petty," Mike Campbell was indeed Mike Fuckin' Campbell.

Posted (edited)

I found Zanes' autobiography lacking.  It felt like he was determined to show off his PhD.  I'll check out Campbell's book.

Edited by jimmyjazz
Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Weeks later Don Henley makes it one of the biggest songs of his or anyone else's careers. Mike gets to keep his house. And Tom broke his hand punching a wall because he let that 'jazzy' song--The Boys of Summer--get away.

My understanding has always been that TP punched the wall and broke his hand all to hell because of dissatisfaction with how the recording was going on one of his songs on Southern Accents.  

Edited by Carl Spackler
Posted
1 hour ago, Carl Spackler said:

My understanding has always been that TP punched the wall and broke his hand all to hell because of dissatisfaction with how the recording was going on one of his songs on Southern Accents.  

correct

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