Remember When: Tom Petty Shattered His Hand Over a Frustrating Song in 1984

If you listen to “Rebels”, the opening song on Tom Petty’s 1985 album Southern Accents, you likely won’t be able to notice any of the strain that went into it. And you might not ever realize that the song nearly ended Petty’s career as a guitar player.

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Petty’s frustration with the track led him to severely injure his left hand in 1984, which isn’t the best outcome for a right-handed guitar player. Luckily, he recovered, even if he never quite recorded “Rebels” the way he wanted.

Headed South

Tom Petty originally envisioned the Southern Accents project as not just a concept LP but a double album as well. He started the process while touring the Deep South with the Heartbreakers. As they traveled, he’d write down words that pertained to the area, such as “rebels” and “trailer,” as song ideas.

When Petty and the band started the process of recording the album, they weren’t touring, meaning they had more time on their hands than usual. On top of that, they were recording at Petty’s house in Los Angeles instead of a proper studio.

Inevitably, excess, in the form of drugs and drink, clouded the process. On top of that, Petty began writing and recording with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. That combination was largely responsible for “Don’t Come Around Here No More”, the hit single from Southern Accents. But it also helped to dilute the original concept.

An Ill-Advised Punch

As the sessions dragged on, Petty started to realize that he was losing control of his original artistic vision. He had been producing the record on his own. Realizing he was in over his head, he called Jimmy Iovine, who had produced Petty’s last two albums. Iovine not only took control of the sessions, but he also insisted that they be moved out of Petty’s home and into Village Recorder Studios in LA.

But even that move couldn’t help Petty with “Rebels”, the first song he’d written for Southern Accents. Right after writing the song, he had done a demo that he particularly liked. No matter what he tried in the studio, he couldn’t recapture what he’d heard in that original take. Day after day, he labored to unlock the song.

Eventually, his frustration boiled over. One day, after another failed attempt to nail the song, Petty took a swing with his left hand at one of the studio’s concrete walls. In that battle, the wall won. And Petty was left with a deeply damaged hand.

The Aftermath

Petty’s hand swelled up to a massive size by the time he made it to a specialist for a consult. Initial diagnoses were less than promising. But he underwent surgery and a grueling period of physical therapy of eight months, during which he couldn’t record. Luckily, he was able to get the hand back into playing shape and continue his career unhampered.

Meanwhile, he finally finished Southern Accents. Only small glimpses of the anticipated concept album can be heard in the final product. And the double album went out the window. Nonetheless, the LP turned into one of Petty’s biggest hits.

As for “Rebels”, Petty said after the fact that the finished version on the album never quite rose to the level of his demo. But at least he was able to move on from both the song and the injury it indirectly caused so that he could shred another day.

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