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Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles
A complete history of Tom Petty in Los Angeles.
When Tom Petty arrived in Los Angeles in 1974 in search of a record deal for his band Mudcrutch, the Gainesville, Florida native found one almost immediately. While he thought he had found exactly what he was looking for in L.A., it would take years for Petty and his subsequent band, the Heartbreakers, to break onto the pop charts. Within the following two decades, Petty would stay planted in Los Angeles through chart-topping albums, battles with record labels, personal struggles, collaborations with rock and roll royalty, and even an arsonist burning down his home in the San Fernando Valley.
From the earliest Heartbreakers concerts in Los Angeles at the legendary Whisky a Go Go and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, to the band’s final concerts at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Petty aimed to continue the tradition of the Southern California rock and roll of his musical heroes like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield in his own fashion. At the same time, Petty’s career often coincided with seismic shifts in the music business, indicated by Petty’s famous refusal to back down in the face of label management, industry conventions, and the changing courses of platforms that helped make him a superstar, like rock radio and MTV.
Somewhere You Feel Tom Petty and Los Angeles explores the artistic life of Tom Petty through his career-long relationship with Los Angeles and the many colorful characters and venues that inspired him and his music—including his work with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash, Roger McGuinn, Leon Russell, Rick Rubin, and Del Shannon.
When Tom Petty arrived in Los Angeles in 1974 in search of a record deal for his band Mudcrutch, the Gainesville, Florida native found one almost immediately. While he thought he had found exactly what he was looking for in L.A., it would take years for Petty and his subsequent band, the Heartbreakers, to break onto the pop charts. Within the following two decades, Petty would stay planted in Los Angeles through chart-topping albums, battles with record labels, personal struggles, collaborations with rock and roll royalty, and even an arsonist burning down his home in the San Fernando Valley.
From the earliest Heartbreakers concerts in Los Angeles at the legendary Whisky a Go Go and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, to the band’s final concerts at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Petty aimed to continue the tradition of the Southern California rock and roll of his musical heroes like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield in his own fashion. At the same time, Petty’s career often coincided with seismic shifts in the music business, indicated by Petty’s famous refusal to back down in the face of label management, industry conventions, and the changing courses of platforms that helped make him a superstar, like rock radio and MTV.
Somewhere You Feel Tom Petty and Los Angeles explores the artistic life of Tom Petty through his career-long relationship with Los Angeles and the many colorful characters and venues that inspired him and his music—including his work with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash, Roger McGuinn, Leon Russell, Rick Rubin, and Del Shannon.
- GenresMusic
256 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2020
9 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Christopher McKittrick
6 books4 followersChristopher McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and a contributor to entertainment websites. Christopher and his work have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Observer, Newsday, USAToday.com, CNBC.com, Time.com, RollingStone.com, and dozens of entertainment and news websites. He has also appeared on television on HLN's How It Really Happened and has been interviewed on several podcasts and radio shows, including WOR Tonight on WOR, The Lisa Show on BYU Radio and Warren in the Morning on WKNY.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 8, 2024
Nearer Grotty than Gear
As the Beatles, might say. Petty's LA journey replete with lists for everything, bad reviews and good, concert attendances - somebody should have edited this account. The author relies on you loving Petty but even if do, this is hard work. Free on Audible, thank God. Terrible narration, like reading a phone directory. Not much to recommend it.
As the Beatles, might say. Petty's LA journey replete with lists for everything, bad reviews and good, concert attendances - somebody should have edited this account. The author relies on you loving Petty but even if do, this is hard work. Free on Audible, thank God. Terrible narration, like reading a phone directory. Not much to recommend it.
October 19, 2023
As an enormous Tom Petty fan, I was pretty let down by this one. The book's central thesis seems to be "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are an L.A. band"... which, yes? There's not really a ton of debate on this one, even though they are occasionally lumped into the Southern Rock subgenre by the ill-informed. But even then, this isn't so much a treatise on that subject as a compendium of facts in the "the band played at this California venue on this tour on this date and sold X number of tickets" vein. Not exactly compelling stuff.
But the biggest flaw by far is that it doesn't seem like the author conducted any new primary research at all. He just rehashes quotes from myriad secondary sources, most of which are contemporaneous articles/reviews from rock mags and various California newspapers. And he doesn't even provide a bibliography/references! (Which would actually have been really handy.) The author also borrows liberally—almost comically so—from the Peter Bogdanovich Runnin' Down a Dream documentary, Paul Zollo's Conversations with Tom Petty (which I haven't read yet), and Warren Zanes's vastly more comprehensive and superior Petty: The Biography. The author did have a chance to tread some new ground as those works all came out before Tom's death, but the final few chapters felt rushed—a real missed opportunity.
It's not like I didn't learn anything new or enjoy several of the chapters (especially the one on Wildflowers, my all-time favorite album), but this is just so overshadowed by the Bogdanovich doc and Zollo/Zanes books. Petty heads should just stick to those, IMO.
But the biggest flaw by far is that it doesn't seem like the author conducted any new primary research at all. He just rehashes quotes from myriad secondary sources, most of which are contemporaneous articles/reviews from rock mags and various California newspapers. And he doesn't even provide a bibliography/references! (Which would actually have been really handy.) The author also borrows liberally—almost comically so—from the Peter Bogdanovich Runnin' Down a Dream documentary, Paul Zollo's Conversations with Tom Petty (which I haven't read yet), and Warren Zanes's vastly more comprehensive and superior Petty: The Biography. The author did have a chance to tread some new ground as those works all came out before Tom's death, but the final few chapters felt rushed—a real missed opportunity.
It's not like I didn't learn anything new or enjoy several of the chapters (especially the one on Wildflowers, my all-time favorite album), but this is just so overshadowed by the Bogdanovich doc and Zollo/Zanes books. Petty heads should just stick to those, IMO.
April 24, 2023
If any musicians/singers/songwriters from the rock era produced hits that mirror their own life experience, Tom Petty would have to be near the top of the list. His struggle to make it to stardom is about as classic as it gets in America. You may not like Petty's songs, his voice, his looks, or anything else about him. But no one can deny how his determination helped him overcome incredible obstacles to become one of the most popular rock performers of the late 20th century. I suppose "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "I Won't Back Down" are two songs that best reflect Petty's tenacity of never giving up on L.A. until it finally embraced him.
Petty's career brought him into close contact and collaboration with some of the best in the business: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nix, and many more. He even has an inspirational connection to Elvis Presley. Petty's songwriting wasn't really complicated, or even that deep in most cases, with the lyrics of "Free Fallin'" being an exception in my mind. But his songs captured deep emotions and resonated with a generation of Americans who were disillusioned, suspicious, and sometimes angry. Petty had his share of fear and pain, from divorce and drug use to attempts on his life, all of which informed his songwriting and made his material relevant to so many people.
This book relies heavily on the previously published Petty: The Biography but has a more singular focus, which captures his rise to fame without delving too deeply into his early years and all his personal relationships. Still, this book offers a clear picture of Petty's departure from the security of his small Gainesville, Florida, fan base to a national audience that only Los Angeles could provide, especially during the 1970s through the '90s. It also goes into some detail about Petty's battles with the music industry, a topic of serious import to 21st-century music in so many ways. The earlier biography is best for the biggest Petty enthusiasts. McKittrick's book is fine for the the admirers, like me.
Petty's career brought him into close contact and collaboration with some of the best in the business: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nix, and many more. He even has an inspirational connection to Elvis Presley. Petty's songwriting wasn't really complicated, or even that deep in most cases, with the lyrics of "Free Fallin'" being an exception in my mind. But his songs captured deep emotions and resonated with a generation of Americans who were disillusioned, suspicious, and sometimes angry. Petty had his share of fear and pain, from divorce and drug use to attempts on his life, all of which informed his songwriting and made his material relevant to so many people.
This book relies heavily on the previously published Petty: The Biography but has a more singular focus, which captures his rise to fame without delving too deeply into his early years and all his personal relationships. Still, this book offers a clear picture of Petty's departure from the security of his small Gainesville, Florida, fan base to a national audience that only Los Angeles could provide, especially during the 1970s through the '90s. It also goes into some detail about Petty's battles with the music industry, a topic of serious import to 21st-century music in so many ways. The earlier biography is best for the biggest Petty enthusiasts. McKittrick's book is fine for the the admirers, like me.
April 27, 2022
An enjoyable enough look at the life and career of Tom Petty. However, the focus on Los Angeles tends to be a limitation.
Knowing the arc of the Petty story I would have hoped this book would provide a level of specific detail and insight that highlighted the influence of Petty on LA/Southern California and vice versa. I don't think it does; I can't recall anything of significant value in this book that wasn't covered in Zane's biography, or the Conversations With Tom Petty book.
Knowing the arc of the Petty story I would have hoped this book would provide a level of specific detail and insight that highlighted the influence of Petty on LA/Southern California and vice versa. I don't think it does; I can't recall anything of significant value in this book that wasn't covered in Zane's biography, or the Conversations With Tom Petty book.
March 3, 2021
Meh.
Not much new here. Limiting the story to LA might have been interesting if all this had not been covered better elsewhere. Again, it’s frustrating that 80% of the book covers the first 20 years.
Not much new here. Limiting the story to LA might have been interesting if all this had not been covered better elsewhere. Again, it’s frustrating that 80% of the book covers the first 20 years.
June 3, 2021
I think I’ll get the book again on audio and listen to it. Since the book covers his entire body of work and the comments and details from about everything that was adjacent or influential to the work.
July 20, 2021
4.5 stars! i adore tom petty and his music so naturally i enjoyed this. i did think some of the information included was unnecessary, but not so much so that it took away from the book as a whole. while i do prefer petty: the biography, this one is just as good
February 25, 2024
Audiobook
June 20, 2024
Although I enjoyed the book, I disagree with the idea throughout that Petty and the Heartbreakers are an LA band. These guys belong to all of us. ❤️
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews