Friday, January 15, 2010

The Greatest Rock Band AMERICA has Ever Produced

This one has been kicking around in my head for awhile. While England has us beat in the rock department (See Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, The Who), the US essentially created the genre. You can ask ten people at a bar who the best American rock band is and get ten different answers. I myself have only ever received one answer without hesitation, the Beach Boys. I know at least one of my Twitter followers wouldn't have to think about her vote for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I love Springsteen as well as Aerosmith and Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) but my vote is cast for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They've undergone minor personnel changes in their 30+ years but they have been the best and most consistent rock band this country has ever produced. The release of the live anthology in November '09 confirms this. The one thing Petty was missing was a definitive live collection. Petty has few equals as a songwriter and Mike Campbell is as underrated as a sideman can be. Listen to the way Petty bashes the very industry he works for on "The Last DJ" cd. He also landed on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in the 70's for refusing to raise the price of his record, due to an increase in the cost of vinyl. He's always managed to put the fans first. His ticket prices have managed to avoid becoming outlandish as well. For my money he played the best Super Bowl halftime show as well, and yes I realize my favorite band, the Rolling Stones played the Super Bowl, previously. The tension between Petty and Simon Cowell on the Tonight Show was palpable. He wrote one of the best 'driving songs' ever, Runnin Down a Dream. It gets your foot tappin as you push down the accelerator. The list of classics is endless: American Girl, Breakdown, Refugee, Rebels, I Won't Back Down, Honey Bee, Saving Grace, etc. If you need further proof of the power of Tom Petty, ask Eddie Murphy. That's right Eddie Murphy. In 1987 Petty co-wrote a song with Bob Dylan called "Jammin Me"about commercialization and overexposure of personalities. The line "Take back, Eddie Murphy" prompted Murphy to respond "F**k, Tom Petty!" Murphy's career hasn't been the same since, because you don't mess with Tom Petty...EVER!