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(needle crackling on record)

(tonearm clicking)

TOM PETTY: Who is it?

Room service. Can we clean the room, please?

-What? -Can we please clean the room, please?

-Get out of here. -Please, can we please cl-clean your room?

Get out of here.

Excuse me, sir.

(door opens)

TOM: Get the fuck out of here!

Kind of like going for wild bear.

-(band playing "Refugee") -(crowd cheering)

* We got something, we both know it *

* We don't talk too much about it *

* Ain't no real big secret all the same *

* Somehow we get around it *

* Listen *

* It don't really matter to me, baby *

* You believe what you want to believe *

* You see, you don't have to live like a refugee *

* Don't have to live like a refugee *

* Somewhere, somehow *

* Somebody must've kicked you around some *

* Tell me why you wanna lay there *

* And revel in your abandon *

* Listen *

* It don't make no difference to me, honey *

* Everybody's had to fight to be free *

* You see, you don't have to live like a refugee *

* Don't have to live like a refugee *

* No, you don't have to live like a refugee *

* Don't have to live like a refugee *

* No, no, whoa! *

(electric guitar solo playing)

* *

(tempo slows, band playing flourish)

(song ends)

(crowd cheering)

WOMAN (over speaker): Cameron, bring ABTR H phase a little bit to the right.

I thought we were gonna ABO that sync

-like on the Norm Crosby... -MAN: Hey, what are you doing?

What do you mean what am I doing?

My name is Cameron Crowe.

I've been writing about music for the last ten years,

and I've had a chance to interview

a lot of the legendary figures in rock and roll.

-But for the first time... -Cameron, Stan Lynch is on the phone.

Could you please take a message? I'm busy.

-Okay. -For the first time,

I can take you with me for a video profile,

and we're going to be taking a rare behind-the-scenes look

at one of the most important bands around: Tom...

Cameron? Stan says to cut this intro out.

No one wants to see this kind of thing.

I got to go.

CROWE: Well, Tom, when we first decided to do this interview,

you said you wanted to go cruising

around the streets of Los Angeles in a limo.

Why a limo?

TOM: Well, I like limos,

'cause I can be in any state I want

and not have to worry about driving.

It's a pretty, you know, obnoxious way to travel around.

And I don't have to ride in a...

in an old Ford

to convince myself that I'm of the street.

You know, I know I'm of the street. (laughs)

Our guest has been described as an authentic,

all-American rock and roll hero, which I'm sure...

-(crowd cheering) -(man clears throat)

I'm sure nobody here would argue with.

He, uh, he does not normally do things like this or interviews

because he doesn't like them, which is one of the reasons why

we're especially pleased he agreed to be our guest today.

Please welcome Mr. Tom Petty.

(crowd cheering)

I'd say, "Why?

What am I gonna do, go give a lecture at college?"

Like that was the ultimate hoot, as far as...

And he said, "No, I think it'd be great."

I said, "No, I don't want to do it."

MAN: How's it going, Tom?

(chuckles) Can't complain.

First off here, I just want to say that

I hope you keep pumping out that good kick-ass rock and roll.

It helps a lot.

I myself am involved with a band right now,

and, um, we spent about two and a half hours one night

trying to figure out on "American Girl"

your lyrics in the second verse there.

-We had a hard time. -(laughter)

Well, what you do is you just don't worry about it,

-and you kind of... (laughs) -(laughter)

-Y-You put a... -That's the way we're doing it.

Y-You get a fork full of food and just sing, and...

-(laughter, applause) -um, it'll sound the same.

What-what do you want to know? You want to know the lyrics?

-Uh, I... -Well, it's-- Yeah. It's just been--

You know, I've been losing sleep over it a little bit.

(laughter)

All right, what part you want to know?

(laughter)

Well, when you start off, "Well, it was kind of cold that night."

-"She..." -"She stood alone."

-"On her balcony." -Oh, okay.

"She could hear the waves roll by."

No, "She could hear the cars roll by

out on 441 like waves crashing on a beach."

By any chance, would 441--

would that be a highway somewhere in Florida?

Yeah. Runs right through Florida.

CROWE: Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida,

and brought up in a typical working-class family.

But Gainesville was known more for alligators

than its music scene, and Petty left early

to find his success in L.A.

He returned home in 1981 a hero.

MAN: We're fortunate, in this case,

that not only is, uh, Tom Petty

a Gainesville boy

but also that he is of good moral character.

-And... -(laughter)

I'm very happy today to present him

with the key to the city of Gainesville.

(cheering, applause)

(cheering)

-MAN: Show us the key, Tom. -(indistinct chatter)

-All right. -E flat.

-E flat. -(laughter)

TOM: Yeah, it's funny that, you know, when you're there

and kind of going to juvenile court

and all the things that happened to us there,

and you-- and then you come back and get the key to the city,

you-you have to take it with a pinch of salt.

But, I mean, I thought they were very nice to us.

CROWE: Petty's life changed when he met Elvis Presley

at the Florida location of

Elvis's movie Follow That Dream.

The next day, Petty traded his favorite slingshot

for a stack of Elvis 45s.

He would never be the same.

TOM: It was just like, once the music got

into my-my body-- or, like, I have a friend

that says, "Once the ghost gets in you."

I mean, once the ghost got in me, it never came out.

I mean, I never could think of doing anything else.

It wouldn't have mattered if I had gone to school

or off to be a monk or any-- It wouldn't have mattered.

You know, I would have done the same thing.

It's just-- there was no control.

There was no way to quit, no way to walk away from it.

Just to hope for the best from it,

you know, like, hope that it takes care of me.

(playing "American Girl")

CROWE: The Heartbreakers formed in 1975

when Petty ran into four old friends from Florida--

guitarist Mike Campbell, drummer Stan Lynch

and bassist Ron Blair--

all at a Los Angeles solo session

for keyboard player Benmont Tench.

Within the first few minutes of playing together,

they knew they had a band.

The Heartbreakers were soon an L.A. club favorite,

thanks to early songs like "American Girl."

* Well, she was an American girl *

* Raised on promises *

* She couldn't help thinking that there *

* Was a little more to life *

* Somewhere else *

* After all, it was a great big world *

* With lots of places to run to *

* And if she had to die trying *

* She had one little promise she was gonna keep *

* Oh, yeah *

* All right *

* Take it easy, baby *

* Make it last all night *

* She was an American girl... *

TOM: The inspiration for "American Girl"

was not Roger McGuinn; it was Bo Diddley.

(playing "American Girl")

It's the same...

You know, the whole...

And it'd be like...

* Yeah, she was an American girl *

* Raised on promises. *

(playing "Listen to Her Heart")

* You think you're gonna take her away *

* With your money and your cocaine *

* You keep thinking that her mind is gonna change *

* But I know everything is okay *

* She's gonna listen to her heart *

* It's gonna tell her what to do *

* She might need a lot of loving *

* But she don't need you... *

Yeah, we didn't have any idea what we were doing.

It was like the first album,

first couple albums, first couple tours,

we didn't have any idea what we were doing.

We didn't know any better, which was great.

That was a real cool time for us.

Plus, there was nothing but disco happening,

so we knew we were cool, you know.

There probably was s-some, you know,

jockeying for position in the first of two albums,

as-as there always is, you know.

But I think even if it was called the Heartbreakers,

it would still be Tom, because he--

it's-it's ultimately his vision as a singer and-and songwriter.

CROWE: In their seven years together,

the Heartbreakers have had only one personnel change.

In 1982, they added Howie Epstein on bass.

It was great.

Well, I was a fan of the band's anyway,

so it was just sort of neat playing with them.

How did the decision to replace Ron Blair come about?

It's just like somebody in your family, you know,

that you're not working with anymore.

(laughs): So, you know.

But he-he told me he didn't really want

to go on the road anymore, that he just couldn't

get on the bus again.

So we're on the road. We are a team, you know.

It's like we're a family or--

I hate to say family, but that's what it is.

We're, like, married.

We depend on each other,

and we feed off each other, you know.

And then it's-- so it's like--

it's almost essential that we be really close.

Like, last tour, last couple of tours, we bused instead of flew,

which kept us, like, in really close quarters,

like 24 hours a day, which got to be

a bit Boy Scouts after about three months of it.

(playing "I'm Stupid")

* But just because *

* I eat bricks *

* And just because *

* I run in front of cars *

* Just because *

* I put food on my head *

* People think *

* I'm not smart *

* But I'm stupid *

* I've been stupid since the day I was born *

* Yeah, I'm a dumbass, baby *

* I'm stupid, right on *

* But just because *

* I go around with Mike *

* And just because *

* I don't sleep at night *

* People think *

* I'm not bright *

* I'm stupid *

* I've been stupid since the day I was born *

* Well, I'm a dumbass, baby *

* I'm stupid *

OTHERS: * Right on! *

So we're here in the desert.

(device buzzes)

CROWE: What about the Heartbreakers on the road now?

-(scoffs) -(chuckles)

As of about four years ago,

you used to always see the band characterized

as these road marauding...

you know, bandidos.

They come into your town.

(chuckles)

Stan has a saying: "total conquest."

CROWE: Has it changed much the last few years

or is it still pretty...

"Heartbreakers Beach Party" out there?

TOM: Well, we hadn't gone in, like, a year, but...

it's pretty insane, yeah.

Now, I don't think it'll ever change too much. Um...

It seems like, um...

it just gets worse year to year. (laughs)

You know, it's in them, and it's got to come out.

It's one of those kind of things.

It's hard, though. It takes me...

After you do that show,

I mean, going to sleep is just a laugh.

I mean, like, yeah, okay, sure, you could...

you could even go get in bed.

What's the difference?

You're so charged up, you're so revved

that, you know, it takes a lot to-to knock it down by morning.

-(playing "Hit the Road Jack/Breakdown") -* It's all right *

(crowd cheering, shouting excitedly)

* Old woman, old woman, don't you treat me this way *

* 'Cause I'll be back on my feet someday *

* I guess if you say so *

* I'll have to pack my bags *

-* And go * -* That's right *

* Hit the road, Jack *

* And don't you come back no more *

* No more, no more, no more *

* Hit the road, Jack *

* And don't you come back no more *

(crowd cheering)

* It's all right *

(cheering grows louder)

Is it all right?

(crowd cheering)

Is it all right?

(crowd cheering)

Is it all right?!

(crowd cheering)

* All right *

* 'Cause you can walk right out the door, baby *

* I don't mind *

* You can walk all over me, baby *

* I don't mind, I can stand it, I don't mind *

* I can face it, I don't mind, I can take it *

* I don't mind, I can live with it, I don't mind *

* I can take it, I don't mind, I can take it, I don't mind *

(cheering grows louder)

* It's all right! *

TOM: There's a point in every show, though,

I can feel where I just feel relaxed

and, like, you know, we broke through, you know.

Maybe even, like, sex, but not quite like that.

I mean, but, like, where, you know, I-I've got it now.

We're really rolling now, you know.

Nothing's gonna go wrong.

And you hit that where nothing can go wrong.

CROWE: Except maybe one night a few years back in Winterland

when you got pulled into the audience.

What was going on?

Were you going out into the audience

to-to play part of the song?

No, I just got a little too happy.

Can you say, "I love rock and roll music"?

Can you say, "It makes me feel good inside"?

(crowd cheering)

* Sometimes *

* Sometimes *

* Sometime easy... *

I lean out over, and somebody just got me

-right around the legs. -(hands clap)

You know, in we go.

And, uh, that was, you know, pretty scary.

They, uh...

It was one of the first times it really registered to me

that, you know, the crowd is dangerous.

The crowd... crowd, you know, out of control, is dangerous.

Because that was dangerous.

You know, I was beat up pretty good there.

And it-it doesn't seem on the tape

like it takes very long at all to get me out,

but, I mean, it was a lifetime.

I don't know. I think they really thought

that they could just

take a finger home, you know, take this, that.

I don't know what they thought to tell you the truth.

I got back up and finished the show.

-(band playing rock music) -(crowd cheering)

Now, they're-they're a great audience, really.

It was a great show.

And I don't hold anything against the audience 'cause,

I mean, I'm the one that stirred it all up in the first place.

I just should know better than to... to get too close.

From very early on, we-we used to do those tours

that would just go eight, nine gigs in a row

before there was a day off,

and month after month and a month.

And then, you-you know, we learned real early,

hey, you just can't do it.

And now I-I try to keep a...

some kind of moderate watch on it and still have a good time.

I don't want it to get so safe that there's no fun left.

(crowd cheering)

(crowd clapping and chanting rhythmically)

In the wrong fucking room.

Everything is fucking wrong.

It's like, you got to stick with us.

We're in the wrong room.

MAN: Want to go back up?

MAN 2: Let's go back up and get in the right room.

-MAN: Yeah. -Come on.

MAN 2: We'll bring it down here if we have to. Shit.

Put me in the wrong fucking room.

(indistinct chatter)

MAN: Oh, yeah, this is happening.

Tennis, anyone?

MAN 3: You're on our court.

You're walking around our court.

-Oh, we're in the wrong room. -(laughing)

-We're in the wrong room. -Tommy.

-What? -Today's court day, right?

-I thought we're going to court. -The wrong direction.

Yeah.

Oh, well, see, we just come offstage.

We thought we were going to the dressing room.

You'll have to forgive us.

MAN 4: Next door right.

MAN 3: You don't play tennis courts,

so get the fuck out of here.

Oh, we'll see you, then.

-MAN 2: Have a good game. -MAN: Let's go.

Okay.

-I plead insane. -(laughing)

(band playing upbeat rock music)

CROWE: In 1979,

the fun stopped and the legal hassles began.

The Heartbreakers record company was sold to MCA,

and Petty felt like a pawn in a huge corporate game.

In his well-publicized battle to retain creative freedom,

Petty was sued from three different directions.

His most important album, Damn the Torpedoes,

was almost never released.

-("Don't Do Me Like That" playing) -* Don't do me like that *

* Don't do me like that *

* What if I love you, baby? *

* Don't do me like that *

* Don't do me like that, don't do me like that... *

All I'd done really to... to get into the lawsuit was, um,

become popular enough that everyone thought

they were gonna make a fortune.

It was really scary. It was down to the point of,

"We're gonna come get your tapes.

"We're gonna send a marshal down to the studio,

and he's gonna confiscate the tapes."

And we're gonna put the wrong names

you know, fictitious names on the tapes.

And there was no way, I mean, to this day,

with all the records we sold and everything,

I still wouldn't be in the black.

There was no way to-to get ahead.

Nothing. Uh, publishing, every single thing.

And we'd just gotten, you know,

sophisticated enough business-wise to realize that.

And I said, you know, "I'll-I'll light the whole thing on fire.

"I'll burn this tape before I'm gonna give it to you

-and let you just exploit me." -("Refugee" playing)

* It don't make no difference to me, baby *

* Everybody's had to fight to be free *

* You see, you don't have to live like a refugee *

* Don't have to live like a refugee *

* Now, baby, you don't have to live like a refugee *

-* Don't have to live like a refugee * -* No... *

TOM: Finally, after, uh, ten months, the whole mess was resolved,

and it wound up with us going to a new label called Backstreet

that would, uh, be distributed by MCA.

-("Even the Losers" playing) -* Baby, even the losers *

* Get lucky sometimes *

* Even the losers *

* Keep a little bit of pride *

* They get lucky sometimes, hey... *

TOM: This is great, you know.

From being nearly washed out,

from being bankrupt, all the way around.

And we'd just done it on this record,

and the-the fans had done it, you know.

You have to-- like, at the risk of sounding corny,

you know, you really have to thank the fans and be...

I'm still very reverent about that.

You know, I will stop and sign the thing because...

it's that important, you know.

I mean, I think that if you lose that,

if you get where they're just them, then it's all gone.

I always feel sorry for those groups that get so big

and shut it all out and get, you know, too cool to be happy.

CROWE: After selling three million copies of Damn the Torpedoes,

the next album would be more anticipated than ever.

The mood of Hard Promises changed many times

as the band felt the pressure of a follow-up.

You know, you have a big record, and all of a sudden,

everybody expects a bigger one next time,

you know, and that's a hard promise to live up to,

'cause half the time, you don't even know how you did it.

You just went in, it happened. You made a great record.

And then next time, you got to go out

and you got to go, "Well, how...

We got to do that, but we got to do it better."

Instead of just going for it blind.

So, Hard Promises, we had...

Torpedoes did really well, you know.

Hard Promises, we were kind of...

We knew everybody would-would really be

listening to this one.

So we didn't want to do the same album again,

you know, so we took some chances on it.

("A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)" playing)

* She laughed in my face *

* Told me goodbye *

* Said, "Don't think about it *

* "You can go crazy *

* "Anything can happen *

* "Anything can end *

* "Don't try to fight it *

* Don't try to save me" *

* She's a woman in love *

* She's a woman in love *

* And he's gonna break her heart to pieces *

* She don't want to see *

* She's a woman in love *

* But it's not me... *

CROWE: With the release of Hard Promises,

Petty would make yet another stand,

this one over higher record prices.

MAN: You had a, uh, lot of publicity about a struggle

with your record company about the list prices

on one of your albums.

Uh, what would be one of the things

that probably peeve you off most

about the industry in the U.S. at this time?

It's like, the only times we butt heads is

when they want to do something like take advantage of me.

You know, like, I felt like charging 9.98

was taking advantage of me.

And if you notice, records are still at 8.98

for the most part, you know,

which, uh, makes me feel good about that,

-because they didn't have to do it, you know. -(applause)

Now I'm out in the woods, and I'm thinking,

"How am I gonna eat tonight?

Or even get to that Ted Nugent show?"

-(gun pops) -Whoa, there's one down now.

-CROWE: Nice shot. -I felt good about it.

While we're waiting for Cameron to get his dart together,

this is the, uh, the first cover of the album.

-(gun pops) -Whoa.

I feel good about that.

TOM: Okay, Cameron,

-here is all the dirty truth. -Okay.

TOM: That's a cover of Cashbox that I found very strange.

So, did you just put all this stuff in a box

as you got it and just stashed it away?

Uh, yeah, me or somebody did it.

CROWE: Is there a story behind this picture?

TOM: He's the only person I ever asked for an autograph

was James Brown, Godfather of Soul.

This is the first night I ever met Campbell.

We got banned from Germany for a while 'cause of this.

-You had to be there. -So how old are you here?

TOM: I don't know, 20, 19.

Well, I would never really want to sit down

and see this much of me, you know?

What's in there?

I think that's up in Santa Cruz a long time ago.

This is the first letter

I ever got back from a-a record company.

Yeah, that really pissed me off that cover,

'cause I didn't see that girl as anything like that.

Oh, "Necesito Saber."

"Necesito Saber." One of my favorites.

CROWE: What was the most bizarre version

of one of your songs that you've heard?

TOM: The weirdest thing I ever heard

was a Swedish version of "I Need to Know."

("Vill ha ett svar" by Gyllene Tider playing)

(song continues with lyrics in Swedish)

It is kind of a cute little record.

* *

Oh, we're just having a party.

You want to see some of these videotapes?

-CROWE: I do. -Just-just at random?

All of Hard Promises is on videotape.

Oh, this is an old movie. Wait.

-(playing "Gator on the Lawn") -* My lawn *

* Yeah, I run in the kitchen, looked in the paper *

* Said, "Oh, God almighty, mama, there it says a gator *

* Come on..." *

This is us, yeah, doing, uh, the "Gator on the Lawn."

* Every other day, I got a gator on my lawn. *

-(playing "Heartbreakers Beach Party") -* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah *

(laughing)

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah... *

TOM: Like, here, I-I'm just showing them this song.

-(playing "Insider") -* I'm an insider *

This is the first time anybody's hearing this.

* Yeah, I'm an insider... *

But we made this record that night.

You know, we got...

just got lucky that night.

We got it.

And if we'd been at rehearsal,

we wouldn't have got it, you know?

* With some hard promises *

* I've crawled through the briars *

* I'm an insider. *

-Well, why does it have to... -(indistinct chatter)

Well, we can...

CROWE: How'd you and Stevie Nicks get together?

TOM: She was a fan of the band,

and she just had been for a long time

and wanted to come and-and hang out and sing some.

So she was asking me one night at dinner for a song.

You know, "Would you write a song?"

She'd asked me a couple times,

but one night, she got real adamant

about, you know, "Really want a song."

So I said, "Okay, you know, I'll write the song."

And, um, I went...

...went home, and the next afternoon,

I wrote this, um... "Insider."

* I'm an insider *

* I been burned by the fire *

* But I've had to live with some hard promises *

* I've crawled through the briars *

* I'm an insider... *

TOM: That's where I got the whole "hard promises" line.

The whole thing just hit me in the head all at once.

* I'll bet you're his masterpiece *

* I'll bet you're his self-control *

* Yeah, you'll become his legacy *

* His quiet world of white and gold... *

TOM: She said, "You know what?

"I can't take this from you

"because I know-- I can see how bad you want it.

"And you just keep it

and write me another song, and we're even."

* I said, "Yeah, well, what am I supposed to do?" *

Okay. I-I knew it. I just...

This really helps to do this little thing.

"And I said," dash, "I-I..."

"I said," dash, "Yeah, well," dash,

"what am I supposed to..."

-And it works. -Yeah.

Creative writing, right? Did you ever take that?

You have to write, and then you have to-- you go--

you make dashes and exclamation points,

so you-- when you read it...

I tell you, I just barely got through school at all.

-It was just, uh... we never... -(chuckles)

* You'll come knocking on my... *

English was about as deep as it got.

-Right, right. * You'll come knocking on... * -Um...

* You'll come knocking on my front door *

* Same old story that you used to use before... *

TOM: We did "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

I think it took us a-a few hours.

We went down and learned it and sang it, and...

-the rest is history. -(Crowe laughs)

* Baby, you'll come knocking on my front door *

* Same old line you used to use before *

* I said, "Yeah, well, what am I supposed to do?" *

* I didn't know what I was getting into *

* So you've had a little trouble in town *

* Now you're keeping some demon down *

* And stop draggin' my, and stop draggin' my *

* And stop draggin' my heart around. *

TOM: And it's still a big thrill,

anytime you create a piece of music, to me.

It's just a real kick.

It's like... It's fun.

It's fun to-- for four people to play and tape rolls,

and then you can play it back.

I'm still fascinated by that.

(playing "Keeping Me Alive")

* But sometimes we ride around *

* She plays the radio up loud *

* If I was sad, well, I'm happy now *

* And it feels so good to know *

* I got you where you belong *

* Here in my heart *

-* Right by my side... * -(music stops)

Tried to do it as long as I could.

-What happened? -The vocal-- this vocal mic is so (bleep) loud.

-Oh, sorry. -Blow your head off.

That was happening.

-STAN: Sorry, guys. -It's okay.

STAN: One. Turn this thing down.

-TOM: Not in my cue. -STAN: One.

-Ah! -TOM: No, no, no!

You're turning it up in my cue.

STAN: One, one.

TOM: We want it down. Hey.

That's good right now in this cue.

Okay, why is it so loud in my cue now?

TOM: So I think I like the studio a little too much,

you know, because I-I could stay there endlessly

and just make sounds, make noises.

You know, I wear everyone out.

Nobody wants to stay.

They always want to go before I do.

-(music resumes) -* I got a job *

* I work hard *

* These days, the money don't go very far *

* It's hard enough keeping gas in the car *

* But sometimes we ride around *

* She plays the radio up loud *

* If I was sad, well, I'm happy now *

* Yeah, and it feels so good to know *

* I got you where you belong *

* Here in my heart, right by my side *

* Honey, you're getting me by *

* Yeah, you're keeping me alive *

* All right *

* *

* Whoa... *

TOM: Our whole music is based around influence.

This is, you know... it's just like a real American group.

It's like, uh, we just take everything in.

It all feeds in.

You know, I think the key word

to the '80s music is-is "synthesis."

You know, it's a synthesizer. Like, a-a...

Not the instrument but just, like, what the instrument does.

It just combines sounds. It takes everything in.

And that's-that's all that's going on in rock, really.

Because I ain't heard nothing new

since "Whole Lotta Shakin'."

-(playing "Wild Thing") -* Wild thing *

* You make my heart sing *

* Yeah, you make everything groovy *

* Oh, yeah, wild thing *

* Oh, yeah *

* Now you got it *

* Now you got it *

* Hey, wild thing *

* I think you move me *

* But I wanna know for sure *

* I said, come on and, uh, hold me tight *

* I love you, yeah *

* Yeah, wild thing *

* You make my heart sing *

* Yeah, you make everything groovy *

* Oh, wild thing... *

CROWE: What do you think about when you're playing the drums, Stan?

-You want an honest answer? -I want an honest answer.

I think about, like, (bleep) and (bleep).

* Wild thing *

* Hey. *

(tempo slows, band playing flourish)

(song ends)

CROWE: I wondered about

your particular process of writing songs.

Do you carry a notebook with you

and jot down ideas when they come to you?

TOM: Yeah. The hardest part of writing a song ever

is... is the title and what you're gonna write about.

I mean, that's always the hardest part to me.

Because once I know what I want to do,

I can do it in-in an hour.

How about "The Waiting"? How did that start out?

Oh, "The Waiting," I had the 12-string guitar,

and I just, uh...

hit that-that little...

I wanted something that-that,

you know, that had a little lick from the beginning,

and I just hit that, uh...

(playing "The Waiting")

That's all I had, see?

I did that for a week.

(Crowe laughs)

Then finally I'd hit... * The waiting *

* Is the hardest part *

* Every day, you get one more yard *

* Take it on faith, take it to the heart *

* The waiting is the hardest part. *

You know, I'd get to that, and then I'd go, "Well, now what?"

You know.

And I'd be, like, all week.

You eat dinner, you come back, sit down, pick up the guitar.

People start banging on the wall.

"Don't play that anymore." (chuckles)

And so finally, I'd hit...

* Yeah... * (singing mumbled lyrics)

You know, or however it goes.

* Baby, don't it feel like heaven right now? *

You know, I-I'd hit that part

and then, you know, slowly into this part.

And then, you know, just every day,

I'd just come down like a puzzle, you know, and say,

"Well, I know that this will connect to this."

And then more and more, and then I had to sit down in the...

final stages of the song, just sitting down and trying

to tie it up lyrically, where it all...

you know, got across the thing.

And when it did, you know, I got real excited, you know.

Went to the phone, called Iovine.

"I did it! I wrote a song!"

* The waiting is the hardest part *

* Every day, you see one more card *

* You take it on faith, you take it to the heart *

* The waiting is the highest part *

* Yeah, the waiting *

* Is the hardest *

* Part. *

(song fades)

(device buzzes)

CROWE: All right, we're ready.

-(indistinct chatter) -Roll camera.

-Okay. -In the room.

I wanted to ask you about Long After Dark.

It seems to be more of a band album,

a little bit of a harder album.

And, uh, I wonder if that was the intention going into it.

No.

CROWE: How does Long After Dark

sound on the radio these days?

-What do you think, How? -I think it sounds great.

-Howie loves it. -Howie loves it.

(playing "Change of Heart")

* Well, I fought for you *

* I fought too hard *

* To do it all again, babe *

* It's come too far *

* You never needed me *

* You only wanted me around *

* It gets me down *

* There's been a change *

* Yeah, there's been a change of heart *

* Said there's been a change *

* You push just a little too far *

* There's been a change *

* You made it just a little too hard *

* There's been a change *

* There's been a change of heart *

* Oh, yeah *

* Oh, boy *

* Looks like we finally reached the turning point *

* Oh, me, oh, my *

* Looks like it's time for me to kiss it goodbye *

* Yeah, I can kiss it goodbye *

* There's been a change *

* Yeah, there's been a change of heart *

* Said there's been a change *

* You push just a little too far *

* There's been a change *

* You made it just a little too hard *

* There's been a change *

* There's been a change of heart *

* Oh, oh. *

(electric guitar solo playing)

* *

(song ends)

-What's next? -I don't know.

If we ain't in it, I ain't volunteering.

CROWE: I definitely wanted to ask about the concept

of the "You Got Lucky" film.

How did it come about?

Well, the concept for that film, I, uh...

always pictured that song-- in the production of the song,

not the song itself but in the actual production,

I wanted it to have this Ennio Morricone,

kind of Clint Eastwood Western feel,

where it's sort of eerie

but still daytime.

(wind whistling)

* *

* *

*

-("You Got Lucky" playing) -* One, two *

* You better watch what you say *

* You better watch what you do to me *

* Don't get carried away *

* Girl, if you can do better than me, go *

* Yeah, go *

* But remember *

* Good love is hard to find *

* Good love is hard to find *

* You got lucky, babe *

* You got lucky, babe *

* When I found you *

* You put a hand on my cheek *

* And then you turned your eyes away *

* If you don't feel complete *

* If I don't take you all of the way *

* Then go *

* Yeah, go *

* But remember *

* Good love is hard to find *

* Good love is hard to find *

* You got lucky, babe *

* You got lucky, babe *

* When I found you *

(electric guitar solo playing)

* Yeah, go *

* Just go *

* But remember *

* Good love is hard to find *

* Good love is hard to find *

* You got lucky, babe *

* You got lucky, babe *

* When I found you. *

* *

* *

(song fades)

So when we went to write, you know, the movie,

I really just wanted an excuse to go

play around in the desert and stuff, you know.

But, uh...

So I didn't try to adhere to the song or anything.

I just thought we'd go for a-a vibe,

you know, like that kind-- some kind of feel that was fun.

(laughter, chatter)

No more synthesizers on these fucking records.

-(laughter) -That's what I want to hear.

We're going back to our fucking roots.

-That's what I want to hear. -We're gonna be pure,

like back when we made the first album.

("A One Story Town" playing)

* Oh, I'm lost in a one-story town *

* Where everything's close to the ground *

* Yeah, the same shit goes down *

* Nothing turns around *

* It's a one-story town *

* *

* Yeah, I'm lost in a one-story town... *

Yeah, I don't know, man. Every tour is pretty crushing.

This one that's coming up is gonna be

just a piece of cake, though.

(crowd clamoring)

TOM: Just get 'em out, man.

Just take 'em both out.

(crowd cheering)

Man, it's like, you know, I don't know if you understand it,

we care about what we're doing here.

We came to play for you, not to fight, you know.

(crowd cheering)

(playing "Straight into Darkness")

* We went straight into darkness *

* Out over the line *

* Yeah, straight into darkness *

* Straight into night... *

MAN: Sorry about that disturbance down front.

I don't know who that was, but...

Well, it's just, you know, just...

Let-let me apologize for those inconsiderate Americans...

Yeah, well, I mean, I-I wouldn't...

...that-that make this hard on all of the other-other Americans

that are trying to at least, you know, get over.

Yeah, I-I wouldn't hang that on you guys,

you know, but it's just-- it's real hard to play

and, like, get into the songs and stuff

with these guys punching it out down there.

-MAN 2: It really sucks. -You know?

They'd be better off doing that outside

or-or on the base or in the war or something, you know?

It's like, fuck it at a rock show.

(indistinct chatter)

But, you know, I just, I just get real worried

that, uh, you know, I see these little kids down front.

I get real worried that, you know,

somebody's gonna swing and-- You know, if he wants

to kick this guy's ass, fine, you know,

if he wants to knock him down,

but if he's gonna hit the girl standing next to the guy,

you know, how the fuck can I...

how can I sing the song, you know?

-Oh! -CROWD: Oh!

-Oh! -Oh!

(playing "Kings Road")

* On the old Kings Road *

* The old Kings Road *

* Oh! *

* Whoa *

* On the old Kings Road *

* *

* *

(crowd cheering)

(crowd clapping rhythmically)

* *

(cheering and rhythmic clapping continues)

*

(piano solo playing)

* *

* *

(band joins in)

* Out on the old Kings Road *

* The old Kings Road *

* Whoa! *

* Oh *

* Out on the old Kings Road. *

(tempo slows, band playing flourish)

(song ends)

TOM: Think about it, you know? I mean, you just live your life.

You don't worry-- you don't change

when you go through the door at home or out onto the stage.

I mean, my friends have seen things

go down here that they'll never see onstage.

(laughs)

So, no, I don't... I don't ever feel like I'm...

I hate those, uh, rock stars or whatever that--

I hate any artist when I always hear,

"Well, there's me and there's the character.

-There's me, you know?" -CROWE: Right.

"There's me-- that's usually my real name-- and him.

Now, him--" You know, it's the Jerry Lewis syndrome of

the idiot and-and Jerry.

You know, what a load of shit. I mean, it's you, man.

It ain't him and me, you know.

And I don't think-- I could-- I would go nuts doing that.

I can't pretend to be T.P. and then come home and not be.

No, I'm the same guy.

-(playing "Shout") -* You know you make me wanna *

-* Shout * -* Come on *

-* Shout, shout * -* Come on, now, come on, now *

-* Shout * -* Come on, now *

-* Shout * -* Just a little bit louder now *

-* Shout * -* A little bit louder now *

-* Shout * -* Little bit louder now *

-* Shout * -* Little bit louder *

* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh *

* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh *

* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh *

* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh *

* Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah *

* Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah *

* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh *

-* Whoa, oh, whoa, oh... * -(shouts)

CROWE: When people get up in front of a stage,

in front of hundreds of thousands of people,

they always go, "This is an amazing sight."

I'm here to ask you, is it really an amazing sight?

It can be, yeah.

I mean, that night, it was an amazing sight.

(tempo slows, band playing flourish)

(crowd cheering)

* *

-(song ends) -(crowd cheering)

One of the best new songs that you have

definitely is "Straight into Darkness."

And a lot of people have been paying attention to the lyrics,

particularly the last verse where you say, uh,

"I don't believe the good times are over,

I don't believe the thrill is all gone."

I wondered when you wrote that if you thought

that people might pick up on that.

There's nothing wrong with optimism.

It's, uh... it's still in vogue to...

to have a little, um...

you know, faith in, uh, people and that sort of thing.

And just, you know, some people can keep that.

Some people can make the-- a leap of faith,

as they say, or they can't.

That's-that's really what that was about.

That's really what that song was about.

But, uh, I'm really glad. Yeah.

People have come up to me, and they all--

they quote me that line.

And if that inspires them, if that lifts them up,

then that's really the highest compliment

that we can be paid, you know, because, um...

You know, all we can hope to do is inspire.

(playing "Straight into Darkness")

(crowd cheering)

* There was a little girl, I used to know her *

* I still think about her, time to time *

* There was a moment when I, I really loved her *

* Then one day, the feeling just died *

* We went straight into darkness *

* Out over the line *

* Yeah, straight into darkness *

* Straight into night *

(electric guitar solo playing)

(piano solo playing)

(crowd cheering)

(electric guitar solo playing)

Come on.

* *

* I don't believe the good times are over *

* I don't believe the thrill is all gone *

* Real love is a man's salvation *

* The weak ones fall, the strong carry on *

* Straight into darkness *

* Out over the line *

* Yeah, straight into darkness *

* Straight into night *

* *

* Whoa *

* Yeah. *

* *

(tempo slows, band playing flourish)

(crowd cheering)

(song ends)

Oh, it was great. It was great.

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

* Heartbreakers beach party *

-* Yeah! * -(song stops)

It's a very special guitar to me

'cause this is the one that I play at home.

When I write songs--

there's one now-- comes very natural to me.

How about a Spanish flavor?

How about back to the American?

Country blues?

You got it.

Rock and roll.

Spanish.

It's all the same.

Hi. I'm Cameron Crowe.

I've been writing about music for the last ten years and--

Fuck. Okay, start all over again.

Now for the first time, I can take you with me.

And it's my... (laughs) Fuck.

Now for the first time,

I can take you with me for a video profile.

To suit the occasion,

we're gonna visit one of my favorite bands,

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

I looked around a lot.

When we were looking at some of the footage recently, Adria,

we-we came across this one setting

that was never in

the original Heartbreakers Beach Party cut.

And it's Tom and me here on Mulholland Drive.

One guy was timeless: Tom.

The other guy totally stuck in the early '80s: me.

-But I'm so happy to be here with you... -Aw.

...right now kind of talking about what that time was.

Yeah, the-the band was famous at that point

but only for a couple years.

They're still very much bonded as a group.

They're just kind of like rascals.

They're just fun, and they're mischievous,

at the height of their '80s powers,

but a time when the world wasn't embracing creative types

or real guitars or, you know, anything other than synth.

I went into this thinking Long After Dark was

one of the lesser albums, and I come out of it thinking

it's one of the more important albums

because it embraced a darkness.

-He's exactly at that spot. -Yeah.

Because it's that explosion of, like, the later '70s,

and now MTV is coming in.

And he-he sees it.

He sees how the road can divide

and become something less authentic.

And I think in the outtakes and stuff, you really see that theme

that he's like, "I'm gonna plant my flag."

Yeah, he's making a huge effort to promote that record

by making this film and opening up to you like that.

And-and I don't think he ever did it again after 1983.

-MAN: Here we go. -Okay, let's go!

-(footsteps approaching) -(laughing)

Come on.

(laughter)

I can't do it. Okay.

MAN: We have, we have speed.

-All right. Roll one. -We've got it.

I'm Cameron Crowe.

I'm sitting here talking with Tom Petty in his music room.

-Music room of his house. -(whistles musically)

What is this room for you? Kind of a retreat?

-You record demos here? -TOM: Yeah, all of the above.

I just bang out little demos and bring them in

to the band and play them,

and then they usually change the arrangement completely,

and, uh, and we go back to square one.

Did you write most of the Long After Dark album in this room?

Yeah, I did, actually.

I-I wrote every track in this room.

CROWE: Well, we're sitting here

on the eve of the release of your single,

-"You Got Lucky." -Mm.

And I don't know.

Traditionally, how do you feel at this point?

Like, you finished the album. It's about to come out.

Do you still feel that kind of phantom limb thing of,

"It's still there, I'm still working on it,

I can still change something if I want"?

Yeah, I mostly just, uh...

I feel nervous, you know, like I always do

before you put a record out.

You-you live with it so long, and then when it's finally done,

you don't want to hear it anymore

because you've heard it so much, you know?

And now I just, I just want to hear it on the radio.

("You Got Lucky" playing)

* If you don't feel complete *

* If I don't take you all of the way *

* Then go *

* Yeah, go *

Sing it, Howie.

* Good love is hard to find *

* Good love is hard to find *

(singing along): * You got lucky, babe *

* You got lucky, babe *

* When I found you... *

CROWE: He wanted to get a limo

and do part of the interview in a limo heading nowhere

just to spoof the rock star life.

Yeah, I always, uh, roll my own cigarettes.

I think you got to ride in these things while you can,

because, uh, you know, next year, I might be

-back to that old Cortina. -(laughs)

You know, so I'm just--

I'm having a big time while I can.

And so far, it hasn't affected my music

in the least, you know.

CROWE: I wanted to, uh, ask you about

the inspiration for the "You Got Lucky" video.

TOM: I just got my mind into an altered state

and, uh, started throwing things out,

and Lenahan would try to calm me down.

It probably would have been, you know, the budget

for Apocalypse Now if I had gone on,

you know, what I was trying to do.

* You got lucky, babe *

* When I found you... *

CROWE: You guys hit upon this idea,

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

MIKE: Yeah, that was Tom's idea, really.

And the first time we did it, it just sounded so bizarre,

we had to keep it, you know, 'cause it's just like--

the song is so serious, and this ridiculous guitar comes in.

It kind of adds some comic relief, I think.

* Good love is hard to find... *

BENMONT: First time I met Tom Petty, he threw me out of

Lipham's Music store for playing "Pictures of Matchstick Men"

on two grand pianos simultaneously

for a half hour straight.

I think about, like, just kind of, like, you know,

how much fun it is to be in a rock band

and how cool it is

and that it's probably not gonna be here forever.

You have to savor that part of it.

MIKE: Last couple of tours, we bussed instead of flew.

You got to be a team. You got to be tuned in.

You got to like each other to play the kind of music

we want to play.

CROWE: When and how

did you come up with the name the Heartbreakers?

(laughter)

-Howie'd probably remember that best. -(laughter, chatter)

For a while, we were gonna call ourselves, uh, Nightro.

We were Petty's Thieves for about two days.

We were The Pickups, too, for a little while. Remember that?

-That was a short one. -Yeah, that'd be a short one.

-Cheaters. -The Cheaters. -Cheaters.

-The King Bees for about a day. -Yeah, the King Bees.

We fell right on that Heartbreaker thing, though.

Seemed like a good name at the time.

-Better than Headaches. -I know.

-And we never got sued for it, right? -Yeah.

CROWE: He talks about family

in some of the footage, too, which he hadn't before.

And it was such a warm sequence in the interviews

where he kind of takes us to the outside

of your house, Fort Petty.

And there's... there's this kind of, uh, abandoned cart.

There's, uh, a flagpole,

and he talks about flags that he would, like, run up the pole.

Like, the most personal I'd ever seen him,

because there was a thought early on that's, like,

these guys only live in a band context.

They're all kind of rogue guys

that you'll never know too much about.

But here he is, like, at your house,

talking about family,

love, togetherness and Fort Petty.

Welcome to part two of "Yammering with Cameron."

Well, let's yammer a little bit about your, uh, your neighbors.

What do they think of your flag there?

Depends on which flag you fly, Cameron.

-Uh... -(laughs)

Yeah, the state of Florida

hasn't brought a, uh, vicious response.

And I haven't got the skull and crossbones up yet,

-so I don't know. -(laughs)

But I-I like to have a flag up,

you know, just...

-I like flags. -(laughs)

Um, you live on the outskirts of L.A.

Yeah.

In fact, a lot of people don't really realize

that you live where you do.

That's the way we like it. No. Uh, yeah, that's correct.

They all think we live in Florida still.

L.A.'s really home.

I mean, I've lived here eight years, more,

maybe eight and a half years, a long time.

This is home more than anywhere now.

Strange but true.

And that house then, of course,

was burned down later by an arsonist.

Then we went on the Dylan/Petty tour,

and that created the whole second era of my dad's life.

-CROWE: Do it again, Phil. Good. -PHIL: At last. -(device beeps)

What do you think of your singing voice?

-Oh. -A lot of people give you tips over the years?

Tips on how to sing?

No, they don't, strangely enough.

It's the same old story.

You just try to make the tune as believable as you can.

Now, whether you're on-key, off-key a little bit,

that and that and that, I don't worry about that.

It's just-- the only time I don't like my singing is

when it doesn't sound believable to me.

-(playing "I Need to Know") -(crowd cheering)

But, yeah, it was hard starting to be a lead singer.

There's a lot of screaming and weirdness.

* Well, the talk on the street say you might go solo *

* A good friend of mine saw you leaving by your back door *

* I need to know, I need to know *

* If you think... *

You got to learn a little bit about

how to use your voice, when to sing hard

and when you don't have to sing hard

and that stuff, just to make it last.

You know, I just try to keep it in good enough shape

that it can do the job.

* If you're making me wait *

* If you're leading me on *

* I need to know... *

-CROWE: What about the lyrics? -* I need to know... *

It's just always been hard for me

to sit and seriously talk about song lyrics.

You know, it's-it's real hard to tell somebody

about how you wrote a song or why you did it,

'cause you don't really know.

A lot of times, it just-- one of those things.

* If you think you're gonna leave *

* Then you better say so, I need to know *

* I need to know... *

It's almost like something supernatural,

you know, 'cause it's just-- the antenna goes out,

the signal's received,

and then you lose the signal and it stops.

(laughs) You know?

-If that makes any sense. -Sure.

* I need to know. *

-(song ends) -(crowd cheering)

They drying out.

They're a little bit damp,

but it'll get dry with this method here.

MAN: Any skid marks we gonna see?

Uh, no, now I got them blue. (stammers)

* The look that's right *

* The Elmo look *

* That's movies, Elmo. *

(goofy voice): I'm gonna get a Hawaiian shirt

and a tape recorder and some cameras. (chuckles)

CROWE: This is, like, the cliché songwriter question,

but do the words come later or do you write them first?

Sometimes they come at the same time,

and sometimes they come first, and sometimes they come later.

* You think you're gonna take her away *

* With your money and your cocaine *

I remember that... that line came in, right?

"Your money and your cocaine."

And from there on, it was real easy.

You know, the song just was...

You know, just-- it was-- yeah.

-(playing "Listen to Her Heart") -* She's gonna listen to her heart *

* It's gonna tell her what to do *

* She might need a lot of loving *

* But she don't need you... *

CROWE: Is it, is it generally the songs that come quickly

and simply that become the remembered songs?

I don't know. I don't think there's any rule.

A lot of them, yeah.

I think those are generally the best ones

that-that just fly out.

* *

(song ends)

MAN: I'm confused about this number.

ADRIA: I love that this film's gonna see the light of day,

and I love that we get to remember

those times when it was being created.

'Cause it was a really magical time,

um, creatively for that band.

CROWE: I remember Tom looked at a cut at Phil Savenick's house.

Phil was kind of our Lorne Michaels,

who had, like, done clip packages

for award shows in Hollywood for Disney.

-So, like, he knew TV. -Right.

And Phil, who is that guy to this day...

* Heartbreakers Beach Party, yeah. *

Phil was like, well, you know,

"We've got to have some elements where we're telling the story

"and we're just, like, talking about

rock star dreams and things."

And you can see in some of the outtakes,

Tom is like, "Hmm."

PHIL: This will be the last one we'll get out here,

and then you can go in-in the house and talk at length

about when you were little, what your dreams were,

-and whether now your dreams have really come true. -Boy.

Anyway, so he watched a cut at Phil's house,

and he said, um, "Why can't the music be

up a little more, be louder here?"

And Phil was like,

"Well, we don't want to drown out the-the words."

And-and Tom said, "Oh, come on, Gramps,

-let the kids have it up loud." -(laughs)

(static crackles)

(harmonizing)

* The boll weevil, the boll weevil *

* Is in my grass, is in my grass *

* Fly away, boll weevil, shoo. *

-CROWE: Are we rolling now? -MAN: Still rolling.

Hold on. Don't roll.

-Roll one. -Hey, I'm just getting a drink.

Hold on a second here.

Tom...

(laughing)

-(laughter) -(hands clapping)

(indistinct chatter)

-PHIL: Okay, can we just-- -(clears throat)

Again, this is your-your half hour now, too.

-Ask the questions. -Okay.

-Do the setup yourself. -All right.

CROWE: Under the heading of

realizing dreams and so forth,

seems right around the time of Hard Promises,

there you are in a position where you've achieved a lot

that you might have set out to achieve.

And I wonder if you felt any need to comment

on your success or on that situation in that album.

Comment on the success in the album?

Well, I think we did, in a way.

Yeah. I think that, you know...

It's funny, when I was doing it,

I don't remember consciously doing it.

Now when I look back on that album,

I see all of that in the album.

I don't know if I'm reading it in, but I think it's there.

I think we just-- I think I was a little frightened

by, you know, just everything that had gone on.

CROWE: It must be a difficult thing when you've spent

a lot of years with this band,

kinship and the spirit of being underdogs.

All of a sudden, there you are, one of the major bands,

you know, in America, if not the major American band.

You have to deal with another set of expectations.

You know, you're no longer the underdogs.

TOM: We always, uh, try to keep ourself

in that frame of mind, the underdog.

But it is, it is hard to-to go on, and, you know,

you know that they all want to see the-the Red Sea part

by the end of the show, you know,

or by the beginning or whenever.

But you just can't-- I can't anyway--

I can't think about that too much.

If I think about that, it scares the hell out of me, you know?

I'm just-- I figure if I get caught up in that,

I'm of no good to anyone, you know,

so I just try to find something else to think about.

But it's there for sure.

Yeah, it's a real thing, but it's-it's no good

to-to get-- to live your life around it.

Yeah. Also, the cover was really interesting to me,

because here you are,

looking fairly anonymous on the cover of that album.

You know, it's just, like, Tom in a Mexican record store.

TOM: I think what really sold me on that cover was, uh,

I thought, "Ah, this is perfect.

This is, this is exactly the mood of the album."

It was a little anonymous, and I wanted to do that.

I didn't want to come after Damn the Torpedoes

with, uh, Torpedoes 2, you know,

which would've been so simple to do

and such an obvious thing to do that I thought,

"Well, let's-let's go the other way and see--

"and use this power...

to try to put something else on them," you know.

And-and I believe we were successful.

But it's always been real hard for the record industry

to understand us anyway.

I mean, I remember when we were--

we did the first album, they wanted to change the cover

because I had on a leather jacket and, uh, bullets.

They thought it was gonna offend people.

And-and it's just gone along that,

"Well, are they this? Are they that? Are they this?"

You take the group out on the stage live,

-and-and I know what that is. -CROWE: Yeah.

TOM: But beyond that, I don't know what the group is.

It's a country group, it's a rock group,

it's all sorts of group-- and I-I don't think

it's fair for us to just go,

"Okay, well, we're gonna do this."

I think we'd break up in-in a month.

(device beeps)

CROWE: One of your best in many, many ways,

just even as far as the way I could see it, uh,

touch kids in high school and stuff

that were listening to it was "Even the Losers."

-Yeah. -Was that an easy song to write?

Yeah, it wasn't too complex. I came in...

Was another one where I came in, I think,

with different words than, uh, I wound up with on the record.

But I-I just wrote it from,

uh, you know, from different experiences that I had.

I remember getting to the studio and singing.

I'd get to the chorus, and I didn't know what to sing.

You know, I had, like, the, you know...

* It couldn't have been, couldn't have been that easy *

* To forget about me *

(vocalizing)

Keep doing that over and over, you know,

and then finally it just hit me, you know...

you know, what the song was about.

And finally just...

* Even the losers *

And-and I got the hook... * Get lucky sometime *

And the whole... and then I added in the little...

* Keep a little bit of pride *

* They get lucky sometime *

And then, you know, then we got excited, went, "All right."

See, a lot of people wouldn't go to the session without a song,

which is a pretty strange thing to do, when you think about it,

is to go to one of these sessions with no song.

But we just always had this kind of blind faith that it'll come.

(strumming guitar)

CROWE: I think the whole beach party idea was

an outgrowth of this running conversation I had with Tom

about Elvis Presley and Elvis Presley movies.

He'd actually met Elvis as a kid on the set of the movie

Follow That Dream that was filming near his house.

* He talked and talked, and I heard him say... *

CROWE: And on the way to the "You Got Lucky" shoot,

he played "Viva Las Vegas."

But then he started playing a little-known ballad on guitar,

"His Latest Flame."

And this was the most powerful outtake of all,

because in this moment, you could see all that would come.

It wasn't just the band.

There was more coming from Tom himself.

And soon, the band would grow on the shoulders of

this more personal style of songwriting that was coming.

"Kings Highway," "Learning to Fly," "I Won't Back Down,"

I could feel it all coming, sitting there,

listening to him play this song.

* Though I smiled, the tears inside were burning *

* I wished him luck, and then he said goodbye *

* He was gone, but still his words kept returning *

* What else was there for me to do but cry? *

* Would you believe *

* That yesterday *

* This girl was in my arms and swore to me *

* She'd be mine eternally? *

* And Marie's the name of his latest flame *

* Though I smiled, the tears inside were burning *

* And I wished him luck, and then he said goodbye *

* He was gone, but still his words kept returning *

* What else was there for me to do but cry? *

* Would you believe that yesterday *

* This girl was in my arms and swore to me *

* She'd be mine eternally? *

* And Marie's the name of his latest flame *

(chuckles) Feels good.

* And Marie's the name of his latest flame *

* And Marie's the name *

* Of his latest flame. *

-(vocalizes softly) -(song ends)

CROWE: He was the first person to, uh,

convince me that I could be a director.

And that scene happens in the Winnebago

on their way to the "You Got Lucky" video shoot.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High had come out in August,

and this was November of the same year.

And Tom had had a kind of a running conversation with me

about how, if you have longish hair and you look like Spicoli,

people assume that you're kind of, like, stupid.

And he told me, uh, "I have a song called 'I'm Stupid,'

which is kind of about that, and let's film it."

And I said, "Well, I'm not a director."

And he said, "Pick up that camera over there and film me.

I'll-I'll perform right into the camera."

* I'm stupid, right on... *

CROWE: So I remember seeing him through the camera

and getting this galvanizing feeling of, like,

this is nothing like being a rock journalist,

which is what I'd been up until that point.

This is cutting out the middleman.

This is the guy coming right at you, giving you his song.

Right.

And when it was over, we turned the camera off,

and he said, "Congratulations, you're a director."

* I'm stupid *

OTHERS: * Right on! *

(song ends)

TOM: So we're here in the desert.

I remember one time interviewing you, like, in '78,

and I said, "How would you adjust to, uh,

"playing sports arenas and selling lots of records

and the pressure that comes with it?"

At the time, you said, "Easily."

(Tom laughs)

-How did it happen, actually? -It's... It is...

It-it's easy on some levels. It-it's usually kind of, uh...

With me, it's always been...

It-it's like a-a recurring acid trip or something.

It just... it hits you later, you know?

It...

When it's all happening, there's not time

to think about it much, and then...

you can go through that-that kind of deep depression about,

"Oh, no," you know, "we made it."

And now it's all, you know, this pressure and...

And sometimes I wish it wasn't that way, but...

down deep I know that I do, you know, that I really dig it,

you know, or I wouldn't do it.

I'd just... I'd be working at tearing it down

rather than preserving it

if I didn't really dig it, you know.

"Straight into Darkness."

"Straight into Darkness."

I think, uh...

I arrived at the music first on that song.

And, um...

Trying to remember.

And it came really quickly, actually.

Um...

I started it late at night

and, uh, finished at about 7:00 in the morning.

Did you have any feeling when you wrote the last verse

about, uh, you don't believe the good times are over,

you don't believe the thrill is all gone?

Did that... did it feel like something people might

latch on to and pay a lot of attention to at the time?

Well, I wasn't thinking about that at the time.

I'm glad that they have, because I really believe that.

I think that... that you have to accept that,

uh, you know, the good times aren't over.

They're not. I mean...

I'm having a great time right now.

The thrill's not gone, you know, and-and when it is...

...then-then what-what have you got left, you know?

So that's just, uh, one citizen's viewpoint.

("Heartbreakers Beach Party" playing)

That's right.

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

* Well, we're gonna have a cookout *

* We're gonna wear muumuus *

* We'll have potato salad *

* A lot of weenies, too *

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

MIKE: The Heartbreakers were

a band that loved each other

for the music, not for the fame.

* Let's dig some clams... *

(crowd cheering)

STAN: I got all three wishes, you know.

I'd like to be a drummer,

I'd like to be in a great rock and roll band,

and I'd like to have brothers.

All three of those things happened.

That was what that period was like personally for me.

* Well, we're gonna do the dogs... *

Fantastic memories and fantastic music.

BENMONT: We was just kind of a kick-ass little band.

We were playing at the top of our game.

It was great.

* Heartbreakers beach party *

* Yeah! *

When you play with the same people

from when you're very young, you know,

I deferred to all of those guys as kind of role models.

I miss that band.

CROWE: Surely you think about how the Heartbreakers

might be written about in years to come.

What is it that makes the music special?

Boy, man, that's a hard one to answer. Um...

I don't know it specifically.

I know that...

it's just a real good rock and roll band,

and it's, uh...

I think that's what's special to us is that that's what we do,

and that's all we've tried to be over the years.

And I hope that we would be remembered as that,

you know, as-as a group that...

that was good pretty much of the time.

You know, the-the greatest thing would be if just the records

keep playing on the radio, would be great.

You know, I'd love to-to get old

and still hear these records on the radio.

Then-then I would feel like it was all worth it.

(crowd cheering)

("Change of Heart" playing)

* Oh! *

* Well, I fought for you *

* I fought too hard *

* To do it all again, babe *

* It's gone too far *

* You never needed me *

* You only wanted me around *

* It gets me down *

* There's been a change *

* Yeah, there's been a change of heart *

* Said there's been a change *

* You push just a little too far *

* There's been a change *

* You made it just a little too hard *

* There's been a change *

* There's been a change of heart... *

CROWE: How does Long After Dark sound on the radio these days?

-What do you think, How? -I think it sounds great.

-Howie loves it. -Howie loves it.

* It won't take long *

* I've stood in your gallery *

* Seen what's hanging from the walls *

* You were the moon and sun *

* You're just a loaded gun now *

* It gets me down *

* There's been a change *

* Yeah, there's been a change of heart *

* Said there's been a change *

* You push just a little too far *

-* There's been a change... * -(song fades)

* *