# I think Tom Petty (RIP) is overrated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783 "2017-10-14T04:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/21 "2017-10-14T23:49:52Z")
I wouldn’t say he was overrated, because I never though he was considered highly rated. He was, as noted, a good middlin’ performer. Some hits, some noise. About par for rockers. He’s John Mellencamp more than Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/22 "2017-10-14T23:56:33Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > What about the time he slipped on peepee in the Costco Wow, it only just occurred to me that poor Gracie Margaret is an orphan now! ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/23 "2017-10-14T23:59:50Z")
In the music world, I may not always think of him. But he was one of the most memorable characters on one of my favorite comedies. > [@](#): > > For five years he played the sweet, dim-witted Lucky, a beloved character on Mike Judge and Greg Daniels’ acclaimed, animated series King of the Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/24 "2017-10-15T01:14:55Z")
First 2 albums were pretty good - lost interest w/ Damn the Torpedoes. American Girl is a really solid song. I think his singing got more annoyingly nasal, and his songs more trite. Saw him in concert once. Actually went to tee the backup - Squeeze. TP was so boring and non-spontaneous, we left early. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/25 "2017-10-15T01:16:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > The 'mats opened for Petty on a tour and it seems like tom lifted the line “Rebel without a clue” from the 'mats hit “I’ll be You.” Wait a minnit. Wasn’t “I’ll Be You” on the Replacements’ _Don’t Tell a Soul_, the last album before they broke up? When was this Petty tour? Also…the Replacements had a HIT? I adore the ‘mats, but I wouldn’t even call “Alex Chilton” (and I’ll bet a dollar that that got more airplay than any of their other songs) a bone fide “hit.” As for Petty, when the first Wilburys Album came out I was like: “Whoa, Dylan and Harrison, two complete giants. Orbison, a respected elder statesman with a great set of pipes. And look, they got two other guys to play with them.” ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/26 "2017-10-15T02:19:28Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Which would you use to change my mind on Petty? Watch [Runnin’ Down A Dream](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0965382/). If you don’t enjoy the movie and come away with a little more appreciation for Tom’s body of work, I don’t know what else could convince you. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/27 "2017-10-15T02:43:01Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Wait a minnit. Wasn’t “I’ll Be You” on the Replacements’ _Don’t Tell a Soul_, the last album before they broke up? When was this Petty tour? > > Also…the Replacements had a HIT? I adore the ‘mats, but I wouldn’t even call “Alex Chilton” (and I’ll bet a dollar that that got more airplay than any of their other songs) a bone fide “hit.” > > As for Petty, when the first Wilburys Album came out I was like: “Whoa, Dylan and Harrison, two complete giants. Orbison, a respected elder statesman with a great set of pipes. And look, they got two other guys to play with them.” I held Petty in equal esteem with George, Bob, and Roy. For me, the other guy was “that guy from ELO” (Jeff Lynne). YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/28 "2017-10-15T03:00:00Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I held Petty in equal esteem with George, Bob, and Roy. For me, the other guy was “that guy from ELO” (Jeff Lynne). YMMV. I agree that Petty was above Lynne. Equal esteem, no. For me the ranking was Dylan Harrison Orbison Petty Lynne. I originally found it hard to believe that Bob would enter into this, but I knew he was best buds with George, and respected Roy. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/29 "2017-10-15T03:08:20Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I agree that Petty was above Lynne. Equal esteem, no. For me the ranking was > > Dylan > Harrison > Orbison > Petty > Lynne. > > I originally found it hard to believe that Bob would enter into this, but I knew he was best buds with George, and respected Roy. Dylan had immense respect for Petty, too… He didn’t look upon him as some other guy. They toured together for 60 shows in 1986, before the Wilburys came together. > [@Bob Dylan](#): > > It’s shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him. [https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/nme/news/music/bob-dylan-tribute-tom-petty-death-2146580%3Fsource=dam](https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/nme/news/music/bob-dylan-tribute-tom-petty-death-2146580%3Fsource=dam) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/30 "2017-10-15T03:38:55Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Can I think both of those things? He isn’t that brilliant, and he is tending to be overrated by people from even the most avant circles at the moment. It was curious to me. I’m very familiar with the early stuff. It seems that we are having a lot of rockers die on us and I think we are getting a little punchy now, and maybe somewhat over sentimental. It’s curious to you that people say nice things about the recently deceased? Even since his death, I haven’t heard anyone claim that Tom Petty was America’s #1 Rock God or anything. What I have heard is that he had a long career making music that a lot of people found enjoyable, including a number of songs that would be well-known to anyone who listens to rock radio. That’s all true. From what little I know of him as an individual he also seems to have been a likable guy. That his music was often good but rarely great is, I suspect, a widely held opinion and one I happen to share, but the man’s been dead less than two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/31 "2017-10-15T03:39:04Z")
Thank you for the info…I’d hate to think that Bob thought he was slumming. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/32 "2017-10-15T03:59:58Z")
I get the sense that the sort of disdain expressed for Petty in this thread stems from the realization that a) he was very popular, b) sold a ton of records and c) had loads of enthusiastic fans, while d) More Deserving Artists Who I Have The Good Taste To Like Remain Relatively Unknown\*. \*for good reason. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/33 "2017-10-15T04:01:58Z")
Some people think Prince was overrated. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/34 "2017-10-15T04:05:37Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I agree that Petty was above Lynne. Equal esteem, no. For me the ranking was > > Dylan > Harrison > Orbison > Petty > Lynne. > > I originally found it hard to believe that Bob would enter into this, but I knew he was best buds with George, and respected Roy. Intrestingly, younger people are more familiar with Lynnes work than the other dated senior citizens save perhaps Harrison. His work has a timeless pop likeability to it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/35 "2017-10-15T04:21:31Z")
Do people even realize Tom recorded with three bands and produced three solo albums? His bands… Heartbreakers- Into the Great Wide Open sold double Platinum Damn the Torpedos sold triple platinum The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison sold triple platinum Petty’s first solo album sold 5x platinum. The 2nd sold triple platinum His greatest hits sold 12x platinum Mudcrutch was the only band that didn’t snag a platinum album. But the 1st album did chart #8 and the 2nd album #10 Petty had a stellar career other musicians dream about. The man was an incredible musician and songwriter. > **[Tom Petty discography](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Petty_discography)** > > This is the discography of Tom Petty, who was an American singer, songwriter and musician. Petty released 13 studio albums as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in addition to three solo albums. > "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) > "Mr. Tambourine Man" (Roger McGuinn with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) > "My Back Pages" (Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and George Harrison) > "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (All) > "Handle with Car... ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/36 "2017-10-15T04:29:34Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Which (song) would you use to change my mind on Petty? It’d be like trying to tell a stranger about rock n’ roll. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/37 "2017-10-15T14:26:35Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I get the sense that the sort of disdain expressed for Petty in this thread stems from the realization that a) he was very popular, b) sold a ton of records and c) had loads of enthusiastic fans, while d) More Deserving Artists Who I Have The Good Taste To Like Remain Relatively Unknown\*. None of those factors caused me to walk out of his concert bored shitless. And I stopped buying his albums at a time my roommate were in a band, saw live music more nights than not, and I had some 3k albums. ---
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/38 "2017-10-15T14:30:47Z")
He was great, and always had a top notch band to boot. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/39 "2017-10-15T17:16:01Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Wait a minnit. Wasn’t “I’ll Be You” on the Replacements’ _Don’t Tell a Soul_, the last album before they broke up? When was this Petty tour? > > Also…the Replacements had a HIT? I adore the ‘mats, but I wouldn’t even call “Alex Chilton” (and I’ll bet a dollar that that got more airplay than any of their other songs) a bone fide “hit.” > > As for Petty, when the first Wilburys Album came out I was like: “Whoa, Dylan and Harrison, two complete giants. Orbison, a respected elder statesman with a great set of pipes. And look, they got two other guys to play with them.” They only had one hit and you’re trying to take it away from them! > **[I'll Be You](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Be_You)** > > "I'll Be You" is a song by the American rock band The Replacements. It was written by lead singer Paul Westerberg and released as the lead single from the band's sixth studio album Don't Tell a Soul in 1989 . After being singled out by Reprise executive Lenny Waronker as a potential hit, the song was heavily promoted by the label and became the band's only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 51. > The song has since seen critical acclaim and its lyric of "rebel without a cl... I’ll be you was #51 on the Billboard charts. Here’s a thread about the tour > **[Petty and The Replacements | Man Without Ties - Paul Westerberg](https://paulwesterberg.proboards.com/thread/8168/petty-replacements)** > > I bought a RS special issue edition with Tom Petty. The whole issue is about him and the Heartbreakers. There is as section about the tour where the Mats opened. Sounds like TP was ok with them from Don’t tell a soul was from 1989, the one before the last mats LP. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783/40 "2017-10-15T17:18:41Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Some people think Prince was overrated. Sir, you read my mail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-tom-petty-rip-is-overrated/798783.md?page=3)