Tom Petty was a ‘master key’ of rock

I can't believe I'm writing about the passing of Tom Petty. If ever there was a rocker who never aged, it was him. Tom Petty is the band all rockers have in common. "American Girl" should be the National Anthem of bars.

Back in the day and for many years I worked as a rock disc jockey and in those days, you picked your own music for your show. You would try to blend the different bands into sets that were both eclectic yet popular enough to keep the masses listening. Your had your meat and potatoes bands like the Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, then there was Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, John Cougar, alternative representation came from Elvis Costello, U2, The Clash, and then there was Tom Petty.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were a band that you could throw into any set and no one would have a problem. Listening to Tom Petty just made you feel good. If bars had a National Anthem, it would be "American Girl" because you could not go into a club without hearing the local band play it. If you were looking for courage, think "I Won;t Back Down" Oneof the coolest songs ever for me is "Here Comes My Girl" Petty's songs were from the heart. Listening to them made you feel like you were hanging with your cool best friend.

That easy going attitude did not come easy for Petty. He was beaten as a child and turned to heroin in his fifties but he kept the relationship with his fans together.I will miss the cool attitude of his music and can picture him playing with old friends George Harrison and Roy Orbision. There are very few people that could take the stage with those two or blend in with any genre of rock. In fact Petty may be the only one.

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