History Trivia / TomPetty

** Also {{Averted}} in several close-calls. In one early example, the record company wanted him to change the word "cocaine" to "champagne" in "Listen to Her Heart". The strange thing is, the context of the song makes it anti-cocaine.

** PlayedWith and ultimately {{subverted}} with "You Got Lucky". Tom Petty was initially uncomfortable playing it live, despite the song's hit status when released, since he was generally very reluctant to play synthesizer-driven songs. However, it became a concert staple in Petty's later years of career, and the 2019 definitive collection ''The Best of Everything'' contains the song, showing it was indeed an important track for him and the band's members.

* BreakthroughHit: Similar to Bruce Springsteen's ''Music/BornToRun'', it was the third album ''Damn The Torpedoes'' which was their make-it-or-break-it, first true success and breakthrough.

** To see what was overall Petty's favorite material, just see the tracklist of "The Best of Everything". Though it lacks one important song that Petty cited as a favorite, namely "It's Good to Be King", the anthology represents what Petty considered to be his most representative material overall.

* OldShame: Following the Confederate flag controversies of the 2010s, [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-petty-on-past-confederate-flag-use-it-was-downright-stupid-20150714 he apologized for]] and repudiated his use of Confederate symbols during the ''Southern Accents'' tour in the 1980s. Even before the 2010s, he showed some regret over using the symbols - the packaging for the live album ''Pack Up the Plantation'' originally included a photo depicting the band in front of a confederate flag backdrop, taken from a performance during the aforementioned tour - he had the photo removed from reissues.

* BreakthroughHit: Similar to Bruce Springsteen's ''Music/BornToRun'', it was the third album ''Damn The Torpedoes'' which was their first true success and breakthrough.

* ApprovalOfGod: When eclectic new-wave dance singer Grace Jones covered Petty's "Breakdown" in 1980, her version boasted a new third verse that Petty had written especially for her to record.

** He famously fought MCA Records (successfully) and their decision to raise the price of ''Hard Promises'' for $8.98 to $9.98 as part of a "superstar pricing" policy (Music/SteelyDan's ''Gaucho'' and the Film/{{Xanadu}} soundtrack were also selected; Steely Dan fought the pricing increase just like Tom did). He even threatened to name the album "The $8.98 Album".

** ''Wildflowers'' was supposed to be a double album, but Warner Bros. president Lenny Waronker felt the release would be too long and asked Petty to condense it to a single record. Some of the songs wound up on the ''She's the One'' soundtrack, while Petty gave "Leave Virginia Alone" to Music/RodStewart, who had a hit with it in 1995. The original double album version of ''Wildflowers'' was eventually released in 2020.

*** A 2018 solo tour in which he performed his 1994 ''Wildflowers'' album in its entirety. The expanded reissue of ''Wildflowers'' that was to accompany the tour was eventually released in 2020.

** "Don't Do Me Like That" could have been performed by Music/TheJGeilsBand instead of the Heartbreakers: Petty had written it with Mudcrutch, but didn't think much of the song, so he let his manager pitch it to The J Geils Band, who were just starting out at the time. They turned it down, and the song was left by the wayside until RecordProducer Jimmy Iovine convinced Petty to record it for ''Damn The Torpedoes'' in 1979.

*** A 2018 solo tour in which he performed his 1994 ''Wildflowers'' album in its entirety.

* OldShame: Following the Confederate flag controversies of the 2010s, [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-petty-on-past-confederate-flag-use-it-was-downright-stupid-20150714 he apologised for]] and repudiated his use of Confederate symbols during the ''Southern Accents'' tour in the 1980s. Even before the 2010's, he showed some regret over using the symbols - the packaging for the live album ''Pack Up The Plantation'' originally included a photo depicting the band in front of a confederate flag backdrop, taken from a performance during the aforementioned tour - he had the photo removed from reissues.

** During the ''Southern Accents'' sessions, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell would give demo tapes of instrumentals for Tom to flesh out and add lyrics and vocal melodies to. Around the same time, [[{{Music/Eagles}} Don Henley]] was looking for collaborators for his next album and got in contact with Campbell; one of the demos Tom Petty rejected turned into "Boys of Summer", arguably Henley's SignatureSong as a solo act.

*** A 2018 solo tour in which he performed his 1994 ''Wildflowers'' album in its entirety

* ApprovalOfGod: When eclectic new-wave dance singer Grace Jones covered Petty's "Breakdown" in 1980, her version boasted a new, third verse that Petty had written especially for her to record.

* ThePeteBest: The other guys from Mudcrutch that didn't go on to be part of the Heartbreakers (Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh) were this until that band reformed in 2007 and put out two acclaimed albums. Instead, the person that best fits this trope is Jim Lenahan, who was Mudcrutch's original lead singer, whose departure allowed Petty (the band's bassist) to [[StepUpToTheMicrophone take over as frontman]]. A few years later, as Mudcrutch was transitioning into the Heartbreakers, Petty asked Lenahan if he wanted to be the band's stage and lighting director. He accepted, and he remained in that role until the band ended in 2017.
* PromotedFanboy: During his career, Petty got to work with many of the musicians he grew up idolizing. He befriended his boyhood hero Music/GeorgeHarrison and played with him in Music/TheTravelingWilburys, and he produced solo records for Roger [=McGuinn=] and Chris Hillman of Music/TheByrds (the later of which was the last project that Petty was involved with to be released before his death).

** He recalled the nightmare of the production for the "Don't Come Around Here No More" video. Actress Wish Foley stood in freezing cold water for over 24 hours and didn't say anything throughout the shoot. When they pulled her out, she had hypothermia and had to be given an emergency shower. The complex set with the various large objects presented a challenge for both set designers and actors, making a mess out of staging the video. A pig got loose and escaped the set. The long shoots exhausted Petty and his band members. The final shot in which Alice, played by Wish, turns into a cake was incredibly tricky to pull off. They only had the one cake and had to get the first take perfectly. Foley stood underneath the table for 3 to 4 hours with her head bent at an uncomfortable angle. Upon release, the video was broadcasted via satellite and sent MTV into a moral panic as it allegedly promoted violence against women. It continues to be a technically brilliant music video that pulled off a lot with its limited budget and time constraints.

** During the ''Southern Accents'' sessions, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell would give demo tapes of instrumentals for Tom to flesh out and add lyrics and vocal melodies to. Around the same time, [[{{Music/Eagles}} Don Henley]] was looking for collaborators for his next album and got in contact with Campbell; one of the demos Tom Petty rejected turned into "Boys Of Summer", arguably Henley's SignatureSong as a solo act.

* WorkingTitle: ''Full Moon Fever'' was initially titled ''Songs From The Garage''.

** He recalled the nightmare of the production for the "Don't Come Around Here No More" video. Actress Wish Foley stood in freezing cold water for over 24 hours and didn't say anything throughout the shoot. When they pulled her out, she had hypothermia and had to be given an emergency shower. The complex set with the various large objects presented a challenge for both set designers and actors, making a mess out of staging the video. A pig got loose and escaped the set. The long shoots exhausted Petty and his band members. The final shot in which Alice, played by Wish, turns into a cake was incredibly tricky to pull off. They only had the one cake and had to get the first take perfectly. Wish stood underneath the table for 3 to 4 hours with her head bent at an uncomfortable angle. Upon release, the video was broadcasted via satellite and sent MTV into a moral panic as it allegedly promoted violence against women. It was also considered one of the "Filthy 15" by the PMRC. It continues to be a technically brilliant music video that pulled off a lot with its limited budget and time constraints.

** He recalled the nightmare of the production for the "Don't Come Around Here No More" video. Actress Hope Wish stood in freezing cold water for over 24 hours and didn't say anything throughout the shoot. When they pulled her out, she had hypothermia and had to be given an emergency shower. The complex set with the various large objects presented a challenge for both set designers and actors, making a mess out of staging the video. A pig got loose and escaped the set. The long shoots exhausted Petty and his band members. The final shot in which Alice, played by Wish, turns into a cake was incredibly tricky to pull off. They only had the one cake and had to get the first take perfectly. Wish stood underneath the table for 3 to 4 hours with her head bent at an uncomfortable angle. Upon release, the video was broadcasted via satellite and sent MTV into a moral panic as it allegedly promoted violence against women. It was also considered one of the "Filthy 15" by the PMRC. It continues to be a technically brilliant music video that pulled off a lot with its limited budget and time constraints.

* ThePeteBest: The other guys from Mudcrutch that didn't go on to be part of the Heartbreakers (Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh) were this until that band reformed in 2007 and put out two acclaimed albums. Instead, the person that best fits this trope is Jim Lenahan, who was Mudcrutch's original lead singer, whose departure allowed Petty (the band's bassist) to [[StepUpToTheMicrophone take over as frontman]]. A few years later, as Mudcrutch was transitioning into the Heartbreakers, Petty asked Lenahan if he wanted to be the band's stage and lighting director. He accepted, and he remains in that role to this day.