The song Tom Petty wrote for Stevie Nicks before reclaiming it
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks shared a special bond that lasted from their young adulthood all the way up until his premature death in 2017. Petty played a pivotal role in helping Nicks find her voice as a solo star, and, subsequently, he handed her the one song that would put her career on the right track. When Nicks decided to take a break from Fleetwood Mac in order to create her debut solo album, 1981’s Bella Donna, their paths would cross for the first time. Even though she was going her own way during the band’s hiatus, if it was up to her, then she’d have become a member of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
However, that wasn’t going to happen, so instead, she had to settle for second best, which was a collaboration.
The singer’s love of Petty incentivized her to recruit his producer, Jimmy Iovine, which kickstarted their friendship with the Heartbreaker leader. It only took a couple of weeks before Iovine and Nicks began to date, which led to her catching a close-up of his working process, which helped shape the debut album. With the Fleetwood Mac singer now living with Iovine, Petty would often pop around while working on the album and help guide her sound. One thing that Bella Donna was missing, according to Iovine, was a stand out single which is where Petty came in and solved their creative conundrum.
Petty handed her the song, ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’, and Nicks not only had her debut single ready, but a friendship cemented. “I just fell in love with his music and his band,” Nicks reflected in Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes. She added, “I would laughingly say to anyone that if I ever got to know Tom Petty and could worm my way into his good graces, if he were ever to ask me to leave Fleetwood Mac and join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I’d probably do it — and that was before I even met him.”
The song wasn’t one that Petty just had simply lying around. In fact, he was planning on releasing it as his own next single. Somehow, however, her persuasive charm worked a treat, and she managed to get him to hand it over for her. However, at first, it wasn’t meant to be ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’. Instead, the plan was to share ‘Insider’, a number that he wrote specifically for Nicks, but, in the end, couldn’t bring himself to give away. “It’s one of those things in a relationship that really is the stinger,” he later recalled to Melody Maker about the track in 1981. “You know, you didn’t trust me, you couldn’t trust me… that’s the way it always come out. Trust.
“When I wrote that song, I wrote it very quickly, I mean maybe in ten, 15 minutes. I just wrote it all down on paper and then I just picked up the guitar and tried to sing each line out. It took me maybe an hour to do that – it don’t happen every day, fans! But the lyrics were real quick”. He knew the song was one that he wanted to keep, according to his memoirs, and in the end, he couldn’t bring himself from handing it over, so he gave Nicks ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ instead. One of the lines on ‘Insider’ reads, “I’ve had to live with some hard promises,” would even provide Petty with the title of his album, Hard Promises, which the song would appear on. Eventually, it was a happy ending for all parties as he left Nicks’ vocals in the final version of the track while maintaining ownership of the song he adored.
Credits: Far Out Magazine – Joe Taysom (@josephtaysom)
Zakk Wylde on recording with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Tony Iommi for Ozzy Osbourne’s upcoming album.
The as-yet-untitled effort is set to assemble some of the guitar world’s most legendary players – a prospect the longtime Osbourne collaborator is relishing.
Earlier this month, Ozzy Osbourne announced that his upcoming album will feature a dream electric guitar lineup comprising Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Tony Iommi – news that sent the guitar world into a frenzy.
As such, it should come as no surprise that Wylde himself shares our excitement for the project. In a recent interview, the long-time Osbourne collaborator spoke about the upcoming album and discussed what it’s been like playing alongside his “heroes”.
While in conversation with MusicRadar to celebrate the 30th anniversary of No More Tears, Wylde commented, “The new Ozzy stuff is sounding great. And for sure, it’s an honor to play on a record with all my heroes.
“It’s pretty cool. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” he continued, before going on to express his particular enthusiasm for sharing the album’s credit list with Jeff Beck.
“I’ve always loved Blow By Blow and Wired,” he expressed, “but honestly every record Jeff Beck has put out is amazing.”
Aside from gushing over Beck, Wylde also went on to reveal aspects of the role he’ll take up on the record, saying that he’ll be playing second fiddle to his heroes on some of the tracks. An experience that Wylde, unsurprisingly, is relishing.
“It definitely sounds slamming,” Wylde continued to tease. “The same goes for all the guys – what Tony Iommi played, and then Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, it’s all killer for sure.
I’m playing rhythm guitar for my heroes… it’s crazy! I’m beyond honored to be doing it “On those tracks I’m playing rhythm guitar for my heroes… it’s crazy! It sounds awesome and I’m beyond honored to be doing it.” It’s the second tidbit we’ve received about the album’s guitar lineup – which also features producer Andrew Watt – since Osbourne revealed the all-star guest appearances during an instalment of his Ozzy Speaks show.
At the time, the rock icon discussed Clapton’s guitar-playing contribution, hinting that his solo is “very good”. As for the blues guitar ace’s thoughts on the track’s lyrical substance, Osbourne said, “One of the lyrics was about Jesus, and he wasn’t sure about that. But it was all right in the end…”
Elsewhere in the interview, Wylde discussed the forthcoming Black Label Society album Doom Crew Inc, teasing that there’s some tasty two-axe action in store when the record drops on November 26.
“As I was writing this record, I knew we’d be using Dario [Lorina] in that vein,” said Wylde. “So now it’s truly a two-guitar player band and album. We’re going for a mix of Allman Brothers, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest, and you need two guitarists to play those parts… especially the harmonies.”
Credits: By Matt Owen / https://www.guitarworld.com/
Five-Time Grammy Winner Keb’ Mo’ Announces New Album ‘Good To Be’ Shares New Video
released on January 21st, 2022, via Rounder Records and features collaborations with Darius Rucker, Kristin Chenoweth, and Old Crow Medicine Show New Video “Good Strong Woman” feat. Darius Rucker Out Today
Today, five-time GRAMMY winner Keb’ Mo’ announces his new album Good To Be, set for release on January 21st, 2022, via Rounder Records. The announcement arrives with the official video for the first single “Good Strong Woman” featuring Darius Rucker. Written between Nashville and his childhood home in Compton, California, Good To Be is a celebration of roots and resilience, drawing on country, soul, and blues to forge a sound that transcends genre and geography. Good To Be is now available for pre-order.
“I cowrote this with two of Nashville’s best country writers, Jason Nix and Jason Gantt. It’s a song that I didn’t think I’d be recording, but it was just too much fun, and I had to give it a shot. When Darius got involved, it went from fun to stun,” explains Kevin Moore, who is best known by his stage name Keb’ Mo’. Good To Be was co-produced by Keb’ Mo’ alongside country music legend Vince Gill, who produced three of the album’s 13 tracks, and three-time GRAMMY winner Tom Hambridge (B.B. King, Buddy Guy). Darius Rucker, Kristin Chenoweth, and Old Crow Medicine Show all make guest appearances on the album.
Earlier this year, Keb’ Mo’ released “Sunny and Warm” and “The Medicine Man” (feat. Old Crow Medicine Show), both of which will appear on the forthcoming album. While some of the songs like “Quiet Moments” were written as far back as the early ’70s, others were penned just months ago in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Keb’ off the road for more than a full year.
Dividing his time between Nashville and Compton, where he recently purchased and renovated his late mother’s house, Keb’ often found himself reflecting on the idea of home, contemplating what it means to belong and what it takes to stay true to yourself.
“You can’t bring an attitude to Compton,” reflects Keb’. “You can’t pose. You can’t be anything but real when you’re walking down the same streets you used to ride your bike on as a kid. In a lot of ways, coming back there felt like it completed me.” Last month, Keb’ Mo’ was the recipient of the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Performance Award, which was presented to him at the organization’s 20th annual Honors and Awards show in Nashville. Keb’ Mo’ will be on tour throughout the rest of the year, with additional dates to be announced in the coming months.
Good To Be Track list:
01) Good To Be (Home Again)
02) So Easy
03) Sunny and Warm
04) Good Strong Woman (feat. Darius Rucker)
05) The Medicine Man (feat. Old Crow Medicine Show)
06) Marvelous to Me
07) Lean on Me
08) Like Love
09) Dressed Up in Blue
10) ‘62 Chevy
11) Louder
12) So Good to Me
13) Quiet Moments (feat. Kristin Chenoweth)
Jack White returns with hard-hitting, fuzz-drenched new single, Taking Me Back
The hard-rocking offering is featured in the new trailer for the video game Call of Duty: Vanguard. Just a few weeks after he opened the London Third Man Records store in grand style with a surprise set atop Damien Hirst’s balcony, Jack White is back with a new single.
The new tune – Taking Me Back – is White’s first new solo offering since his acclaimed 2018 full-length, Boarding House Reach. Featured in the new trailer for the video game Call of Duty: Vanguard, the song was produced and recorded by White at Third Man Studios in Nashville and features him on vocals and all instruments.
If you’ve followed White at all – whether through his star-making work with the White Stripes, his eclectic solo career, or his releases with the Raconteurs and Dead Weather – the elements of Taking Me Back will be familiar to you.
The song storms out of the gate with a fuzzed-out explosion of a riff, backed confidently by White’s funk-influenced drumming. White’s guitar leads, meanwhile, offer more of the pitch-shiftin’ zaniness and smoking fretboard runs he’s made his name with over the years.
Not content with merely releasing one version of Taking Me Back though, White also chose to display his softer side with the simultaneously released Taking Me Back (Gently), a country-folk version of the song, complete with bluesy acoustic playing and some absolutely phenomenal fiddle work.
Lovely as it is, we can see why this particular version didn’t exactly fit the Call of Duty vibe. Perhaps White’s saving it for the soundtrack to a hypothetical Red Dead Redemption 3? One can dream…
You can check out the hard rock Taking Me Back above and the acoustic version of the song below. In the meantime, if this new material from White leaves you wanting to learn more about his rig, he recently launched a new website in which users can explore the craziest and coolest of his custom electric guitars, among other custom-built pieces of gear.
Credits: By Jackson Maxwell Guitar World / guitarworld.com.