Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tom Petty enjoyed a long and enviably successful music career, selling millions of records and scoring multiple hit singles across several decades.
The late artist rose to fame as leader of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, later enjoying a successful solo career and working alongside legends George Harrison, Jeff Lyne, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison as part of the Traveling Wilburys. Petty was born in 1950, the son of an office worker mom and salesman dad.
A pivotal moment in his life occurred aged 10. Petty's uncle was working on the set of Elvis Presley's movie, Follow that Dream. The young Petty was invited to watch the filming and a lifelong love of rock and roll bloomed.
Wildflowers Was Petty’s Most Personal Album
Of all the fine albums that Petty made over his career, the one that he was most proud of was his second solo LP, 1994's Wildflowers. Speaking of this album, the singer told one interviewer: “It’s my favourite, I think, of all of them… I think, looking back over all our work, it’s just one of the most satisfying things. There are some other ones I really like, but that one I think is the most me. That’s where I live musically.”
For Wildflowers, Petty brought onboard legendary producer and co-founder of Def Jam Records, Rick Rubin. Rubin had already guided to success the careers of rap stars the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and Public Enemy. In the 1990s, he'd expanded his palette to include rock and pop acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mick Jagger, and Joan Jett.
The Making of the Album
Petty and Rubin decided they would take a very human centered approach for Wildflowers. As Petty later explained: "…we stayed with organic instruments - no synth, no digital, no computer, no sampling. Rick and I thought it would give the record a certain character."
In order to avoid the album sounded over-produced, Petty used just a handful of instruments. “Spontaneity was important, too,” he added. “We didn't spend too long with any one song. It's hard for me to do 10 takes of a song and stay fresh. If we got stuck, we moved on. It was the same with the arrangements. We'd have a general structure worked out, but I'd still leave it up to the musicians, having them contribute to the process too.'”
Four singles from the resultant album hit the charts: “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “It's Good to Be King,” “A Higher Place,” and “You Wreck Me,” while the record's title track has become a firm fan-favorite.
To honor Petty's sad passing in 2017, an expanded edition of Wildflowers was released in 2020, featuring previously unreleased material, demos, and live versions of his songs.