For many of us, earning fame seems like little more than a pipedream. Even those of us with a modicum of musical talent might feel like that sort of success is out of reach. However, those that make it in this industry, look at that uphill journey as a welcomed challenge. According to Tom Petty, seeing one artist reach unimaginable prestige is what pushed him into his own music career. Find out which artist made Petty fall in love with music, below.
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The Legendary Artist That Made Tom Petty Fall in Love with Music
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can’t help falling in love with you?
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Though many regard Petty as a once-in-a-generation talent, he had many musicians that came before him to look up to. For many people in his era, the Beatles were that shining example of fame. However, for Petty, there was another rock icon that inspired his foray into music: Elvis Presley.
“Elvis was before The Beatles,” Petty once said. “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.”
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
[RELATED: John Lennon, Keith Richards, and Other Rock Legends on the Influence of Elvis Presley]
Something about Presley’s unattainable “it” factor made Petty dream about a life as a musician.
“That was kind of the picture I had, but that didn’t look like something you could be for me,” he added. “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.”
Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can’t help falling in love with you
(Photo by Solomon N’Jie/Getty Images)
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