Anyone who’s been in the music business for over a decade will probably get more than a little bit jaded. There will always be those in it for the long haul, but there are just as many people artists have to deal with who only care about the bottom line and put on a fake smile to everyone they see so they can get what they want. Although George Harrison grew much more cynical as the years went on, his rough exterior softened whenever he talked about Tom Petty.
Considering where Harrison had been since the 1970s, there would be good reason why he would never want to play the showbiz game again. He had spent years trying to talk about his spirituality and share his discoveries with the world, but the fact that no one cared to hear what he had to say shook him to his core when he reached the 1980s.
Just as Harrison was starting to leave music behind, Petty became one of the few artists who could actually say what every other rocker wanted. Whereas most artists were still entrenched in the sounds of punk rock and new wave, Petty didn’t care whether he was in fashion with the rest of the world. For him, rock and roll was something deep in his veins, and he was going to play it for anyone who would hear.
Considering how many people were moving towards MTV at the time, Petty was the middle ground that both pop fans and dad rockers all over the world could love. As Harrison was settling into his golden years, Petty was one of the few newcomers to whom he gave his nod of approval.
In the documentary Runnin’ Down a Dream, Harrison said that Petty was the one modern artist he listened to that stuck to his guns, saying, “Tom, he’s got this great sound, it’s kind of this slur. For me, he’s just one of the nicest people because he’s not full of shit, as they say”.
Outside of being a fellow Traveling Wilbury, Petty was also one of the few who actually got to do a couple of co-writes with Harrison. Although it never got as big a reception as his other singles, ‘Cheer Down’ is one of the most neglected Harrison classics, albeit with a lot more of a heartland-style slant to it.
More than anything, Petty helped Harrison get out of his shell a little bit more. Jeff Lynne certainly got the ball rolling for Harrison again going into the making of his album Cloud Nine, but Harrison remained friendly enough with Petty to lay down some guitar parts on his records, like the now-iconic slide guitar break on ‘I Won’t Back Down’.
Then again, Harrison knew how to put Petty in his place, too, often telling him when he thought something was crap or spending hours on end playing ukuleles with him until the sun came up. Harrison was always treated like the baby of the band when he was with The Beatles, but in Petty, Harrison saw a little brother figure who was carrying on the tradition of classic rock and roll.
