Why Stevie Nicks Always Wears This Gift From Tom Petty
Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty are two legendary artists who became friends and collaborators in the early 1980s. And even though Petty passed in 2017, Nicks remembers him every day with a gift from the Heartbreaker himself.
Nicks began listening to Petty’s 1976 debut shortly after she joined Fleetwood Mac. The album made her an instant fan, and she hoped that she would be able to work with him one day.
When she began her solo career in 1981, she began working with Petty’s producer Jimmy Iovine. Iovine passed a song on to Nicks that Petty had begun recording and ditched. Instead of recording her own version from scratch, she turned it into a duet using Petty’s demo vocal. When Petty found out, he wasn’t happy about it at first. But that misunderstanding blossomed into an enduring friendship. Nicks said that as she got to know Petty, she found that he “is a great and loyal friend but he’s also honest.”
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After Nicks went to rehab in the early ’90s, she wanted to reinvigorate her career and asked Petty for help with writing songs. He reportedly said, “No, I won’t. You are one of the premier songwriters in this business. Go home, and turn off the radio. Don’t be influenced by anything. Just write some great songs. That’s what you do.”
Nicks even asked if she could join his band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, at one point, but he denied her request, not wanting a female vocalist in the band. However, the rejection turned into a sweet gift in the 2000s.
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“In 2006, I did 27 shows with him,” she revealed. “Tom made me a little platinum sheriff’s badge that had 24-karat gold and diamonds across the top and said, ‘To Our Honorary Heartbreaker, Stevie Nicks.’ On the back, it says, ‘To the Only Girl in Our Band.’ I keep it on my black velvet top hat. It goes with me everywhere. It’s probably the most beautiful piece of jewelry a man has ever given me, ever.”
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’80s Where Are They Now
March 2023
Who can forget all the great TV shows, movies and music of the ‘80s? See what your favs are up to now!
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