The Tom Petty Project Kevin Brown

In the liner notes for Wildflowers and all the Rest, engineer Jim Scott remarks that “Tom would write a song like ‘Honey Bee’ on the spot and the band would just follow him. There are dozens of recordings just starting a song and making it up from top to bottom, coming up with funny lyrics.” Of course, there are plenty of deep cut or inside examples of this that are well known to the hard core fans, such as Juju Beads and the more widely loved Girl on LSD, but immediately Honey Bee is different. Whereas those songs are all about the playfully silly lyrics, Honey Bee also has a propulsive, irresistible groove to go along with it.
Today’s guest conversation is the most special one I’ve done so far. I’ve spoken to some fantastic musicians for this show and I’ve spoken to two men who have written seminal first hand accounts of Tom’s life and work. I’ve chatted with musicians and fans and have enjoyed every minute of it. But today, I’m chatting to one of the people I love most in the whole world, my youngest daughter Emma. When I asked her if she wanted to be one of my guests for this season, she agreed a little tentatively, but when I asked her to pick a song from the album, her answer was immediate. So we’ll dive into Honey Bee as well as where our musical tastes overlap as well as diverge. This was a wonderful conversation to have, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with my wonderful daughter, Emma Brown.
To listen to the song, check out the official lyric video here: https://youtu.be/tbyB10JSOHk
And to listen to the alternate version on the Finding Wildflowers release, go here: https://youtu.be/JWPsB-KAXB4
Please note: There is one use of the work f*** in this episode, used as a direct quote.
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As journalist Jaan Uhelski writes in the Wildflowers and All the Rest liner notes, “If Wildflowers is an album about taking stock of one’s life, “Only a Broken Heart” is a watershed moment on that excavation of self.” Everything about the way the final album version of this song is arranged and produced caters toward that excavation. The busyness of the piano and bass in the alternative version is stripped out and the harmonica lead from the demo is also abandoned in favour of allowing those double-tracked vocals take the weight of the lyrics and drop them in your lap. Coming between the titanic It’s Good to Be King and Honey Bee, this song could easily have become a little lost or overwhelmed but I think that, outro aside, the production choices on this song ensure that it holds its place as a sonic rest period and an eerie, forlorn interlude that acts as that “watershed” moment that Jaan Uhelski talks about
This episode includes a conversation with my very good friend and musical mentor, Randy Woods!
To listen to the song, check out the official lyric video here: https://youtu.be/9-9k5hELSlw
To listen to the home demo version, go here: https://youtu.be/t1Tk12Pz9PA
And to listen to the alternate version on the Finding Wildflowers release, go here: https://youtu.be/DTrLCZStfA8
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It's good to be king and have your own way. Get a feeling of peace at the end of the day” There’s security in success, but there’s an ominous cautionary tone that creeps into the next line, “And when your bulldog barks and your canary sings, You're out there with winners, it's good to be king”. When your bulldog barks and your canary sings. Dogs usually bark as a warning. Canaries were used in coal mines to detect poisonous gasses and act as a grim, sacrificial alarm to miners. With that portentous line up front “you’re out there with winners, it’s good to be king” becomes sarcastic and bitter to me. Yeh right, “it’s good to be king”, sure it is!
This episode includes a conversation with my pal, former guest, and outstanding podcaster, Pete Nester. You can check out his episode covering Wildflowers right here: https://tinyurl.com/yeyp7774
To listen to the song, check out the official music video here: https://youtu.be/2SF1iLXSQto
To listen to the extended version from The Fillmore, check that here: https://youtu.be/BJjdGpmu1Bk
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legendary Nashville songwriter, Harlan Howard is purported to have coined the expression “three chords and the truth” and friend and colleague Bob Dylan is also remembered for the great line “All I need is my red guitar, three chords and the truth”. Well that’s all this riff is. Three chords. No passing chords, no fancy inversions or suspended notes. Just three chords - D A E.
Mike Campbell was and is famously prolific in his writing and brought all of that work to Tom in case there was something there that connected. In this case, Tom saw the truth in those three chords and decided to write a masterpiece. It may have taken a while for the final brushstrokes to arrive, but when they did, they truly transformed a young girl with a faraway look in her eye into the Mona Lisa.
This episode includes a conversation with musician, writer, and former guest, Jeff Slate.
If you want to listen to You Wreck Me before the episode, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/-3aGZZueg08 
If you'd like to listen to the fantastic version released as a part of the Fillmore box set, you can find that here: https://youtu.be/aPV745BKtr8
If you have any interest in Van Halen, please check out my friends Corey and Mark over on And The Podcast Will Rock. You can find the show here: https://shows.acast.com/podcastwillrock
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On certain days, I think “Time to Move On” is the best song on Wildflowers, on other days, other songs take that honour. It’s a song that resonates with so many people because it gives us that glimpse into someone finding freedom, if not exactly peace.
Despite being the fourth most streamed song from Wildflowers on Spotify, "Time to Move On" was not played live very many times. In fact, on setlist.fm, it comes in tied with Swingin as the 58th most played song in Tom’s catalogue, behind tracks such as Drivin Down to Georgia and Melinda, which were never originally released as studio tracks. But Time To Move On has cult status among Petty fans as being another phrase that’s used as a show of support for someone who has had some sort of pivotal event happen in their life and is at a crossroads of one kind or another. 
This episode includes a conversation with Janet Lovell, who is one of the admins on the Tom Petty Nation Facebook group.
If you want to listen to Time to Move On before the episode, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/pDPq1QbGAAk
If you'd like to listen to one of the few times this song was performed live, from the Wildflowers & All the Rest boxset, you can find that here: https://youtu.be/aPV745BKtr8
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re all quick to judge people, whether they cut us off in the fast lane, or don’t hold a door open for us as we’re heading out of the grocery store. But we don’t know what that person is going through, emotionally, psychologically, physically. That disconnect is amplified a hundredfold when it’s in the context of a famous person. Wealth and stardom and all the trappings of comfort don’t mean much if your marriage is falling apart. So “You don’t know how it feels to be me” shouldn’t be viewed as a dismissive wave of the hand, it should be viewed as an invitation to empathy.
This episode includes a conversation about Wildflowers with special guest, Russell Mark of The Nextdoors.
If you want to listen to You Don't Know How It Feels before the episode, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/ygfA1A45tn8 
If you'd like to listen to that home demo version, with the alternative lyrics in the second verse, you can find that one here: https://youtu.be/D-g_THmIqI8
Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProject
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyproject
All music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com
The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.
A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".
Producer: Kevin Brown
Executive Producer: Paul Roberts
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-tom-petty-project.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.