Watch 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year Tom Petty's full remarks at the tribute gala in his honor on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles in recognition of his extraordinary creative accomplishments and philanthropic endeavors. Hosted by Ed Helms, the tribute concert featured performances by Elle King, Norah Jones, Foo Fighters, the Lumineers, Stevie Nicks, and Lucinda Williams, among others. Proceeds from the annual Person of the Year tribute — now in its 27th year — provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.
The Conversation
[Applause]
wow thank you thank you so
much thank you thank
you 20 years ago I'd have been way too
cynical to do this
but I'm 66 now and U I feel
you I thank you for this and uh it's a
great honor I've watched the whole show
backstage uh I've never I'm I'm really
at a loss for words uh the music has
been
wonderful and I thank all these artists
for
coming um I don't also like right off
the bat like to thank
uh my band the
Heartbreakers
um they're such an important part of all
this um I didn't want to forget them and
I know it's been a long night I won't
talk too long um I want to play a bit
more music
uh I
we have some some friends who brought
with us and we're going to get to that
in just a second I'm way I'm just so
beyond honored to be here for music
cares for for something that does
something for
musicians I know people that this is
directly affected and they know how to
do it they don't ask for a lot of
paperwork and the money shows up and
they've helped so many
people and
and I thank all my friends and the
artists that that have come uh to be
here in the presence of so many great
American songwriters uh is is amazing
you know Jackson Brown Don Henley
lucenda
Williams Randy
Newman has
um we're truly
honored it it's been about two years
since I played with the Heartbreakers
honestly I've been producing records um
the last couple of years and we got
together um last week and rehearsed for
this thing
and and I realized I may actually be in
one of the best two or three rock and
roll bands there is you
know and
I I'm so proud of them uh I got into
rock and roll at age 10 I was collecting
records records rock and roll records
not rock this was rock and roll the role
designates a swing there's a swing in
the role and uh it's a music that was
created by black people given His Name
by a white DJ named Allan
freed who Along With Sam
Phillips uh in music they saw it as a
conspiracy to get black music on white
popular
radio and when Sam found Elvis he called
Allan and said we're ready to
roll and the music became
popular and it empowered the Youth of
America the government got very
nervous especially the
Republicans they put Elvis in the
army they put Chuck Barry in jail
things calmed down for a couple
years but it was too late the music had
reached England
and they remembered
it in 1964 The Beatles
came I had my eyes opened like so many
others and I joined the conspiracy to
put black music on the popular white
radio
and rock and roll goes on you know more
like the the blues or Jazz now but I'm
hardened to see these young bands uh The
Head and the Heart Cage the Elephant the
shelters they're going to carry this
forward and we have to be there to
support them through it because there
ain't nothing like a good rock and roll
band
people it's here to tell
you let me let me kind of fast forward
here um you know my story
uh this is kind of a surreal moment in a
Surreal Life it's for some Cosmic reason
so many of the artists that I adored
came into my world without me calling
they just showed up up and we played
together and we became
friends and there were so many people
the first one was Roger McGuinn or the
birds who was there right away with my
first record and so much has happened to me
that I you know you wouldn't
believe I'm not going to try to tell it
all to you but um I'm thinking right
now about one particular thing I I'm
just looking out there I know so many
people here
Mo Mo and Olivia are out
there I love I love Mo and I love live
uh me and George Harrison and Jeff Lynn
one night were at Mo Austin's
house and uh this was before we were
just working on the idea of the
traveling Wilbur's and uh I had written
this song Free Fall and and done the
record and taken it to my labal
MCA and they rejected the
record and that had never happened to me
before you know I was like wow what do I
do you know
and so we forgot about it and we were at
Mo's house and dinner ended and George
said let's get the guitars out and sing
a little bit and
we sang and George
said let's do that Free Falling Tom play
that so we had a kind of wiy arrangement
of it with Harmony and we we did
it and Lenny warer is sitting there he
said that's a
hit with two acoustic guitars you know
and I said
wow my record company won't put it out
and mo says I'll put it out
sorry but
anyway not supposed to do that okay I
was going to tell you
sorry I'm trying so hard to be good
and I got my wife who here with my
daughter Adria they're all I'm I'm
really on my best behavior tonight and
but I did I wanted to tell you one
little thing you know I I got into town
in 1974 and uh I was signed by Denny
Cordell to Leon Russell's shelter
records and uh Leon brought me over to
his house
and he said I want you to just hang
around and he like the songs i' had done
and if if it comes to a thing where we
need some words I need you to be here
and I and I'll pay you for it and he's
going to pay me I was going to be there
right so the first
session incomes George Harrison and
Ringo Jim
Kelner and they didn't need any words
but those cats were so cool you
know and I found
myself after the session when we were
hanging out I found myself slipping my
sunglasses on you know
Leon said what the hell you doing with
the dark glasses
man I said I don't know it feels cool
you know like Jimmy Kelner he's got his
he so wearing sunglasses at night is an
honor you
earn Lou Edler had Johnny Rivers and the
m and Papas before he put them glasses
on
[Applause]
Jack Nicholson made really shitty Boris
Carlo movies before he put them glasses
on
well put my glasses
on but I thank Leon for that advice and
um I was going to tell I was fortunate
enough to know the great Johnny Cash and
um I loved him since I saw him on the
hoot n television show in 1962 they
filmed in uh Gainesville Florida well I
actually didn't see him that week he the
papers did he was a little loopy and
punched a
policeman and did not appear that night
and and I loved him I loved all his
songs uh you know hey
Porter Don't Take Your Guns to
town big Big River you young songwriters
you want to be a songwriter just listen
to Big River about 60 times and you'll
write
something but uh we made an album
together Johnny and the Heartbreakers
and it won the Grammy for his best
country record of the year
and without ever being played once on a
country record
station but that's all right because it
was actually a rock and roll record you
know Johnny was pretty rock and
roll and
I this morning I was looking through a
box and um a card fell out and it was
from John on my 50th birthday and it
said Happy Birthday you're a good man to ride the
river with and that's all I want to
be good man to ride the river with and
I'm going to keep riding the river thank you