Sweet Memories

Song 376: This week’s playlist track Magnolia by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, written by Tom Petty, pays tribute to an RnR icon who died on Monday (10/2), and you can find a YouTube video of it here. While I haven't seen all that many concerts in my life, I have actually had the good fortune of seeing Tom Petty 3 times. First, on the Friday evening of 12/2/77, for the bargain price of $3, I caught him and his band as the opening act for Elvis Costello in Chicago, although, as I remember it, EC, who headlined the show, also did his set first. At the time, I knew nothing about TP, but I liked his performance even better than Costello's, though I certainly appreciated Mr. Elvis as well. Then, less than a year later, in the early fall of 1978, having hitched across the country and resettled in Oakland, CA, I did a hitch down to Santa Cruz one day, and a woman who gave me a lift in that area, and who lived near SC, told me about the new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers LP You're Gonna Get It (which included this cut) and before she played it for me, she said, "You're gonna like it." She was quite right about that, and as much as I have relished all of the band's other recordings, YGGI still tops the list. In July of 1985 I had the good fortune of seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers once again, this time at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, with Lone Justice as the opening act (see Song 193). and then, less than a year later, in June of 1986, I had a very good seat in that same venue to enjoy a performance by Tom Petty and Bob Dylan together. I will cherish these memories even more, now that Tom is no longer out there somewhere in the world, and, like so many of his other fans, I will remember him.