I met Tom Petty just before the release of his debut album. He was visiting San Francisco from Gainesville and the record company couldn't drum anyone
January 2, 2008

I met Tom Petty just before the release of his debut album. He was visiting San Francisco from Gainesville and the record company couldn't drum anyone else to meet him but my friend Michael and I. They were lucky. His album came out and it died a brutal death-- everywhere but in San Francisco. It was a smash on KSAN, where I worked. We got our listeners to sign petitions begging his label's executives to re-release it. They did. The first gold record I ever got was from Tom, although it was for his second album. This is the song that broke him, at least on my station-- at a time when he was thought of as part of the new wave thing. (The first live show I ever saw him do was opening for Blondie at the Whiskey in L.A.)

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon