Guitars took a backseat to synths on “You Got Lucky,” the lead single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Long After Dark. The legendary singer-songwriter continued to lean into the futuristic theme with the “Mad Max”-esque music video. “You Got Lucky” was a daring creative move in a career full of them, and remains a fan favorite seven years after Petty’s death. Recently, Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch spoke about how the song came into existence.
Videos by American Songwriter
How “You Got Lucky” Was Created From a Drum Loop
Last month, Tom Petty’s estate released an expanded deluxe edition of 1982’s Long After Dark, including 12 new live and previously unreleased tracks. Recently, Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Stan Lynch, along with music producer Ryan Ulyate and Petty’s daughter Adria, provided some behind-the-scenes insight to the Life of the Record podcast.
After four records with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Lynch says he was game for just about anything. “You know, I’m like, “Man if you want me to play timpanis, that’d be fun,’” he said.
“I think [the drum beat] was created from a 24-track loop, which we didn’t even know you could do,” he said. “We’re like all holding spindles and broom handles.”
Petty suggested that the song’s guitar solo “should be like Clint Eastwood, like a Ennio Morricone-type sound,” Campebll added.
“So I basically played the keyboard line on the guitar with the whammy bar. And that’s why it has that sound to it,” he said.
Tom Petty Adjusted Quite Well To MTV
Tom Petty gained a reputation as someone who levitated above the influence of popular culture. However, his daughter says the “Won’t Back Down” hitmaker was actually quite savvy in that department.
MTV was less than a year old when the Heartbreakers released “You Got Lucky.” Music videos were becoming a marketing necessity whether artists liked it or not. Adria Petty remembers watching the channel with her dad “all the time.”
“He knew what Americans liked. He knew what was sincerely communicating with an audience and what wasn’t,” Adria said. “And I think he thought MTV was very exciting. He thought anything that took music seriously was exciting.”
Featured image by Richard Isaac/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.