The 50s and 60s were the two most transitionally important decades in the history of modern music. Musicians of the decades that support that fact are The Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, The Kinks, The Doors, Chuck Berry, and, of course, the top dogs, The Beatles and Elvis Presley. For a child who aspired to be a musician in the 50s and 60s, The Beatles and Elvis Presley were the epitome of success in the music industry. Hence, children of the decades who wanted to become a working musician often looked to them for guidance and inspiration, and one child of the times who did that was Tom Petty.
Videos by American Songwriter
Tom Petty was born on October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida. He was a product of the baby boom, and consequently, part of the generation that experienced the biggest shift in pop culture history firsthand. And like most kids of the baby boomer generation, Tom Petty became a staunch fan of both The Beatles and Elvis Presley. However, he connected more with The Beatles than he did with Elvis Presley, and that is for one ultimate reason: relatability.
Tom Petty Related to The Beatles’ Understated Personality
On the surface, one might think that Tom Petty would relate to Elvis Presley more than he would to The Beatles. After all, both Petty and Presley are American Southerners, and both utilized a very American sound in their sound and attitudes.
Regarding his perspective on Elvis as a southern man, Petty stated in an interview with CBC, “My picture of Elvis was the American dream. Elvis was a kid from the south who had broken all the rules, he had become his own man and looked like he did whatever he wanted, whether adults liked it or not.”
Despite these similarities, Tom Petty could not relate to Presley because of his ornate pagentry and animated showmanship. He added in his interview, “That was kind of the picture I had, but that didn’t look like something you could be for me. To be Elvis? Nobody has ever pulled that off, you’d have to be Elvis. You’d have to look like that for one thing, and orchestras would have to come out of the shrubbery and onto the beach. That just doesn’t happen, but The Beatles looked like something that could be done to me.”
So in essence, at the time of Petty’s youth, Elvis was The King, whereas The Beatles were just some kids next door.
Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.