stan lynch on tom petty death stan lynch on tom petty death

In a dramatic acknowledgment of the grieving across America that week for Petty and the victims of the October 1st massacre at a music festival in Las Vegas, country singer Jason Aldean who was onstage there when the shooting began opened the October 7th episode of Saturday Night Live with I Wont Back Down, Pettys anthem of iron will and moral certainty. Im sure thinking about that in the future will make me lose it. I didnt want to find out anything that would compromise the mans dignity, Zanes said. The one-two punch of The Wild One, Forever and Anything Thats Rock and Roll seemed to rise from a thoroughly singular new talent, blowing away rock musics post-punk irresolution to point a towards a sound both classic and original. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions. He was 66. In Lynchs mind, it was a Heartbreakers song. It was, she says, the last time I saw him.. And those meetings are really boring. But, he insisted, I wouldnt have hurt anybody., Mounting tensions within the Heartbreakers over Pettys creative grip culminated in Lynchs departure in 1994. Even when hed turn to a video crew trying to film the band arduously getting a song rejiggered at sound check and say, You guys are gonna have to fuck off, with that half-dismissive grin of his, he was gracious enough to ignore the sight of me writing it down. The tension that followed played a significant role in his ultimate departure from the band. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Right now, Campbell and the Dirty Knobs are on a brief break before returning to the road in late May for another long string of shows that includes stints opening for Chris Stapleton and the Who at arenas and even a few stadiums. Petty is a rock star who is also a member of a band that has been together since the mid-seventies, and it is difficult to be one without undermining the other. He was so powerful I used to say he had this fifth gear that he could go into and just really make everything explode. And I think among American rock-and-roll bands, theyre the very best. Stan Lynch joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1974 when Petty's piano player Benmont Tench recruited him. Heres the definitive guide to Tom Pettys best songs. Thats how, in a very roundabout way, Warren Zanes, a deputy professor at New York University, came to write Petty: The Biography, a new book about one of rocks most enigmatic figures, and his band, the Heartbreakers. On October 3rd, Springsteen dedicated the first preview performance of his solo Broadway residency to Petty. Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. My parents didn't have money. Id need you to play a leg of the tour. Their father, Earl, was Jerry Lee Lewis if he didnt play the piano. Tom Petty died of an accidental overdose on October 2, 2017, only a couple of weeks before his 67th birthday. I knew that there was the capacity within that group to push boundaries, he says. Lynch moved to Los Angeles, and hooked up again with fellow Floridian Ron Blair, during a recording session set up by Benmont Tench in 1976. Petty gave him complete editorial freedom, and told him that he could interview whomever he liked, because thats how Tom Petty does things. Pettys only condition was that he get to read the completed manuscript and be given the opportunity to respond to anything he felt needed it. He died at 8:40 p.m. the next night, after a daylong vigil by his family, friends and bandmates. Were not going to do any more long tours like this, but we have a lot of stuff were gonna do, because this is the best the band has ever been., When he walked past me, Campbell continues, I put my arm out, I pulled him close to me and said, Im so proud of you. And there was the day that an advance copy of Full Moon Fever arrived at Friar Park, the Harrisons English estate. He famously fractured his left hand when he punched a wall during a contentious mixing session for Southern Accents. By Andy Greene. He didnt like the record. [citation needed] "The drums were sort of a happy accident. And so I have regrets, but they dont hold me back. When hes telling the story about how his father beat the shit out of him at age five, its hard not to feel something., I cant pretend to know everything that was going through his mind in telling me these things, Zanes added. In 1961, an uncle working on the local set of an Elvis Presley movie, Follow That Dream, arranged for Petty and some family members to watch the filming and meet the star. When original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch was let go from the group in 1995 or excommunicated, to use his own term he started a new chapter of his life in Florida as a producer-songwriter and rarely looked back. Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The song went to No. But plans for that somehow evolved into Its the 40th year. From his early work with Mudcrutch until his final performance with The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty considered himself more as a fellow band member than as the frontman dispensing commands. The Real Reason Behind Tom Petty Firing Stan Lynch. I found out hes turned out to be quite a gentleman and a real brother to me., It also turned out they needed a lot less time than they anticipated to lock back in musically. Drums didn't absorb all of Lynch's feistiness as his parents had hoped, although he stayed in school long enough to graduate from P.K. It works really well with him. He was scary and violent. Original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch surprised himself when he agreed to the reunion with Mike Campbell that began earlier this year. Some news reports you just don't want to believe, so you stay off the internet for a few minutes. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. He was otherwise in vintage road-warrior form, according to J. Geils Band singer Peter Wolf, who saw the real deal when Petty and the Heartbreakers opened shows for the Geils Band in 1977. They also broke out the blues and covers: Smokestack Lightning, Kansas City, Fleetwood Macs Black Magic Woman. The band sounds amazing, Petty exulted. It has a special vibe when its just the two of you. And so we started closing the show with it. But they loved the same stuff ukuleles, motor racing. " Even though he was still in the band in 1989, Lynch did not perform on any songs on Petty's solo album Full Moon Fever, even though Campbell, Tench and Epstein did. You think of those nearest to him, because you have had your foot in that door and seen his co-workers and lovers and fellow artists inside there. According to Colin Larkin, Gainesville is Lynch's place of birth. He had a big smile, and he was putting a cough drop in his mouth, says Williams, an old friend who had just finished her opening set. In Pettys interviews with Zanes, he was as forthright and honest as he is in his songs, talking about his abusive father, his failed marriage, and his heroin use. This summer, Wolf and his solo group did the honors for Petty. Dhani the son of Pettys close friend, the late Beatle George Harrison notes that when his father died in 2001, someone said, Ive never seen so many grown men cry. The same thing can be applied to this., Tributes swiftly followed the news of Pettys passing. Id hear that he was auditioning for another group. Lynch accepted the offer, and the two re-established their musical partnership. Good records stay made. "As a kid I had very little opportunity. I like to think that Pettys demise, which will draw a perhaps never-to-be-reopened shade across part of my consciousness,will only serve to enhance his stature. ', I dont give a shit what were playing, adds Lynch. It also fucks with the legacy. Stan Lynch joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1974 when Pettys piano player Benmont Tench recruited him. That he most certainly was. . Some news reports you just dont want to believe, so you stay off the internet for a few minutes. I dont know how thats going to feel. Petty fell into his own hard-drug use in the Nineties as he coped with a difficult divorce and a rough spell musically, commercially, emotionally with the Heartbreakers. "We have the same musical pulse we always had," says Campbell of hitting the road with his old Tom Petty bandmate after . Another intense moment in the show is Southern Accents. Midway through the tour, Campbell changed the lyrics from Theres a dream I keep having where my mama comes to me/And kneels over by the window and says a prayer for me to Theres a dream I keep having where my brother comes to me Its a change of just one word, but its had a profound impact on the crowd. You see a . Thats when it fell apart with Stan., The tensions between Lynch and Petty had been building ever since the late 1980s when Petty recorded with the Traveling Wilburys and followed that up with his first solo album. I wasnt a good story. I never knew how it got there, but it sure wasnt left over from the night before. I know your leg has been killing you. You guys were great. Tom called him on it, straight out. Lynch talked to Zanes for two days straight about his long years of having to prove that he was the right drummer. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, Dylan said of Petty, and Ill never forget him.. The 1993 edition of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers included, left to right: Mike Campbell, Tom Petty, Stan Lynch, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch recalled working with Stevie Nicks in a July 2021 interview. 2023 Cond Nast. And Petty was keen to work on the next album by his protgs the Shelters. We apologized to each other for being assholes and young and stupid, says Campbell. Petty declared bankruptcy while making Damn the Torpedoes to force his way to a more equitable record deal. We never even tried one of my songs., When the tour ended, Zanes left the band and went back to New England, drifted around, and ended up in New Orleans, where he became a bike mechanic. You play this beat [Ferrone mimics the songs distinctive shuffle]. Petty died Oct. 2 after suffering cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home. Its become a very special moment and the crowd picked up on the love between us.. The Wild One, Forever, a mostly acoustic lament celebrating and mourning an impossible but unforgettable young love (it would have a close cousin in Magnolia two years later) was followed by the pounding Chuck Berry stompof Anything Thats Rock and Roll.The entire album was by turns an artistic declaration and a hollering yawp that in sum seemed to insist that only lovers would be left alive in some brave new rock world where the iconic American Girl ruled the turf. U2 played bits of Free Fall-in and Learning to Fly during Beautiful Day., I thought the world of Tom, said Bob Dylan, who hired Petty and the Heartbreakers as his road band in 1986, then became Pettys bandmate with Harrison, early rock & roll legend Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra in a supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys. Also, I could never really close doors on people that were important in my past. Stan and I had some personal conflicts with family here and there, he says. Ive warmed them up for you. He looked at me and goes, I bet you did, with those twinkly eyes and that beautiful face. They hugged; a photo was taken. The musician revealed that he wishes he had handled the situation in the band in a more proper way regarding his departure. I have regrets. "We got somethin', we both know, we don't talk too much about it Ain't no real big secret, all the same, somehow we get around it Listen, it don't really matter to me, baby They walked back out there and carried on playing., With Pettys death, three of the five Wilburys are gone (Orbison died in 1988), and the Heartbreakers have lost their voice and leader. Petty spent the downtime recording his . It was magical, it was spiritual, Campbell affirms. Even though Tom Petty's . I wouldnt want to cheapen it or do a watered-down version., Theres been talks of a one-off tribute show where the Heartbreakers would play with guest singers, but Campbell says he cant even envision that. Id never learned anyone elses parts., He started going over the material at his home studio, and he turned to longtime drummer buddies Kenny Aronoff and Gregg Bissonette for advice. There was a lot of miscommunication and a lot of immature shit going down. His hooks, his titles when he gets to them, its solid as a rock, Newman says, likening Petty in a remote, odd way to the legendary pop songwriter Burt Bacharach, who winds all over the place. ', When he heard about Pettys death in 2017, Lynch says he was shocked, but not completely surprised. Lynch stated he would be open to playing with the other three original members of The Heartbreakers in the future. He never wanted to be the bands lead singer. The two had not previously met or spoken in twenty years, other than a brief phone call following Petty's death. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Wasnt this already the day from hell? Tom Petty Proteges the Shelters Remember Their Mentor Stevie Nicks reprised her duet with Petty, Stop Draggin My Heart Around, a Top Five hit in 1981. Finally, Dylan walked off, forcing Petty to coax him back on as the Heartbreakers kept playing. The 50 Worst Decisions in Music History Lynch joined his former bandmates during their induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Six days later, on the evening of October 1st, Petty suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Lets do some more. It was a short walk, 20 steps, from his front door to his studio, Dimitriades says. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time And he said, This is really good. He sounded just like Tom Petty when he said it. If its just one or two of us, thats one thing. We played with X, we played with Gun Club, but we never stopped loving Tom Petty, Zanes said. You learn them. It made a big difference for me, and I believe my participation made a huge difference for them., Lynch has stayed on good terms with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench during the past 30 years, and the drummer is very open to the idea of one day playing with all the surviving members of the group in some capacity. That work produced lasting friendships, especially with Dylan and George Harrison. Ive thought about having different singers up there doing the songs, but why? Tom Petty fired Stan Lynch It's safe to say Lynch's dismissal from the Heartbreakers wasn't a mutual decision. Ill do it in a chair if I have to., Petty postponed two shows in late August due to laryngitis. Petty didnt wander. Zaness visits to Pettys compound inMalibu began in 2012. I felt like all of the uniforms and emotional and metaphysical stuff about being a drummer, Id sort of outgrown. I started to hear a whole new kind of thing coming out., Petty was flattered when Hillman asked if he could record his own version of Wildflowers title track for Bidin My Time. I was always amazed how they did it their own way. It hit me how strong the songs were, Petty said, with just a couple of acoustic guitars. It's hard to even imagine that album without Stan. All rights reserved. I dont believe the good times are all overI dont believe the thrill is all goneReal love is a mans salvationThe weak grow strongThe strong carry on. Then you look at it now. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. ), Looking back at that intense time all these years later, Lynch says he wishes hed handled the situation a bit differently. But, Tench says, I never want this guy to be thought of as OK, weve put him in the file, thats done. Because he resonates. Petty was found unconscious at his home. In December 2016, during a radio interview to announce the 40th Anniversary Tour, he described a recent rehearsal with the Heartbreakers, their first in two years. He also has toured with the Eagles. 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The music was beautifully written, beautifully constructed. Petty later got a solo deal with Shelter but turned to Campbell and Tench again to form a band with Pettys name up front, playing his songs. "We have the same musical pulse we always had," says Campbell of hitting the road with his old Tom Petty bandmate after decades of estrangement. . Dhani recounts a story that Petty once told him about the Heartbreakers tour with Dylan a story that says everything about the way Tom interacted with people: honest but cheeky. Onstage one night, Dylan kept complaining that the stage lights were too bright and threatened to leave if they were not turned down. As Lynch's ability increased, so did the offers to play with other artists, creating experience that covers a wide variety of musical territory. I think I have some Tom nuances in my voice. Tom Petty, at age 66, rushed from his Malibu compound to ahospital and it didnt look good. I was doing my job but struggling to keep my vibe up. One night, in the middle of a song, Petty came over to Campbell, stood next to me, and he goes, Just remember, up here, nobody can touch us., Springsteen calls it the debt the chance, if it comes, to honor a pivotal teacher and repay that gift of inspiration. He was a powerhouse onstage. via He was found unconscious at his home in the early morning and was taken to hospital in . The influences were obvious the Byrds, a lot of the Merseybeat stuff, Wolf says of Petty and the Heartbreakers 1977 sets opening for the J. Geils Band. After being with the Heartbreakers, Lynch calmed down. You see a friends tweet first, and he closes with Ugh. Yes, thats the noise you make when you get a gut punch. Steve Ferrone joined the Heartbreakers in 1994 after original drummer Stan Lynch's departure. The entire band was displeased by those decisions, but Stan was the most vocal. "We all kind of thought Howie would get the job," says original Heartbreakers' drummer Stan Lynch. Among his more pointed criticisms concern the song "Stop Draggin' My Heart . Tom Petty and the Heartbreakershad been off the road for nearly a year when the 1994 Bridge School Benefit came around. Lynch started to work with various Florida bands, among them Styrophoam Soule and Road Turkey, and when he was 15 he met Ron Blair, who was six years older than Lynch. If you listen to the old records, Stan and I are pushing, were locked, and lot of times were driving the songs. I came out the good side., Nicks credits Campbell with being a vital, balancing force in Pettys life. Among his more pointed criticisms concern the song Stop Draggin My Heart Around, which Petty did with Stevie Nicks. Youve been up there like a soldier, man. We had a nice hug and said we loved each other. After that, at the Bowl, it was backstage, Hi, how you doing?, a little patter between songs.. To the all-star Traveling Wilburys, he brought an insouciant slouch; in tandem with Stevie Nicks on The Insider and Stop Draggin My Heart Around, he brought weaponized heartbreak. Ringo Starr on 'Good Friend' Tom Petty's Death: 'It Was a Shock'. As a teenager growing up near Gainesville, Lynch determined that he would find a way to make a living with music. The session also included Jacksonville native Mike Campbell. In 1981, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. He could go anywhere I wanted to go. It started with the 1976 self-titled debut album. Acts Lynch has produced include The Band, the Eagles, Don Henley, Jackopierce, Joe 90, Scotty Moore, and Sister Hazel. We want to hear it. We both started smiling at one point and went, We got something here. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. So now we must press on. Propelled by Stan Lynch's rollicking drumming and the band's now-signature soaring guitars, this high-octane rave was a close-up of Petty's vocal prowess and persona: sweet then sour . Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - with Blair and original drummer Stan Lynch, both from Gainesville - released their self-titled debut album in November 1976, then hit the road in earnest. Lynch took this chance to step off explaining there were just a handful of songs on that record that I just didnt like and left the band. Tom Leadon, Tom Petty's Mudcrutch Bandmate, Dead at 70. I kneeled down, took her hand, and I went, Its going to be OK. I think its a bit of healing and closure for people to revisit that feeling and revisit Tom in a positive way., Playing Pettys music night after night has also given Lynch the opportunity to grieve for his friend. Petty spent much of his stardom in ready, grateful service to his rock & roll elders. 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Before an encore on Ferrones first tour with Petty in 1995, the singer asked him if he knew Breakdown. The drummer said no; it wasnt on the list of songs he was supposed to learn. But less is more., Petty returned to the Wildflowers project before his 40th Anniversary marathon was over. (For a detailed account of this saga, check out Warren Zanes definitive book Petty: The Biography. He was a real cat. When Petty sang a song by Jimmie Rodgers, Merle Haggard or the Searchers, Tench insists, he wasnt a dilettante, trying something on. I was on my fuckin knees, staring at the sky. Good songs stay written. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. I was roadieing for him!" He had ongoing tensions about his drumming, especially with producer Jimmy Iovine. But I havent seen him again since then.. Any movement I made. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time A lot of the times Id just be focused on what I was doing, but then Id turn around and be like, My God, its Lynch and hes fuckin smoking it! The other night I looked down during that song and there was a woman in the front just sobbing, says Campbell. Answer: Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. In addition to academic papers on rock, he wrote the 33 and 1/3 book on Dusty Springfields album Dusty in Memphis. Around 2000, he stopped listening to new musicexcept for Tom Petty. Were just gonna throw a bunch of records up in the air and see where they fall tonight, Petty told the sold-out crowd in his sandy, slow-as-molasses drawl, early in a two-hour streak of legacy that was, in fact, decisively chosen and largely set in stone throughout the tour. Id rather hear the old songs with the real singer.. Every one of them came to me. Watch below. It was also the climax of their 40th Anniversary Tour, a 53-show celebration of the singer-guitarists unbroken lifetime with his band as one of rock & rolls biggest, best and most committed live acts. Because every night I went out and watched Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Walking like Tom Petty walks. "Tom told me, 'Look man, you can call anybody anything you wantbut you can't lay a hand on anyone in this band.' Occupation (s) Songwriter, Record producer, Musician. Im not going back out there. But I am through it. And every night, they got multiple encores., With Damn the Torpedoes, Petty and the Heartbreakers became that rare phenomenon in rock: a critically acclaimed band that packed arenas, sold albums in platinum numbers including the 1985 experimental concept, Southern Accents and made challenging singles that were popular on Top 40 radio, FM rock stations and MTV (the eerie menace of You Got Lucky; the electro-psychedelic haze of Dont Come Around Here No More). Petty said at the time that there were various substitute drummers being put in to join them: I will say that when other drummers were brought in, they werent Stan Lynch.