Tom Petty was one of the greatest songwriters in rock n roll history, as well as a standard bearer for integrity in the music business. This expanded edition of the first authorized book on Tom Petty, and the only one in his own words, includes additional interviews, articles and reviews.
Trusted to conduct a series of in-depth interviews with a special focus on songwriting, Paul Zollo met with Tom for more than a year of Saturdays to compile this rich collection of conversations. Featuring a foreword and photo captions written by Tom himself, Conversations With Tom Petty is a must-read for all who admire the man behind some of the most memorable rock anthems of a generation.
‘The big strength of this oral approach is that its intimacy enables us to feel closer to Petty, the way his mind thinks and his generosity of spirit’ Long Live Vinyl
Paul Zollo is a singer-songwriter, author, photographer, and music writer. Conducted as editor of SongTalk, his interviews with some of the world’s greatest songwriters have been collected in the books Songwriters On Songwriting and More Songwriters On Songwriting.
His other previous publications include Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History Of Its Golden Age and Zappa On Zappa. He has also contributed to magazines such as Billboard and Variety, and written the liner notes for artists including Paul Simon, Laura Nyro, and Dan Fogelberg.
As a songwriter, Paul has written songs with many artists and released a self titled album with his band The Ghosters and two solo albums, Universal Cure and Orange Avenue. His photos of Tom Petty and others are represented by Morrison Hotel Galleries in New York, Los Angeles, and Maui.
THE ONLY AUTHORIZED BOOK ON TOM PETTY: With a foreword by Tom Petty and the full approval of Tom’s wife Dana this is perhaps as close as you can get to an autobiography by the great man.
SONGWRITING AND CREATIVITY: Reflections on the craft of songwriting from the man responsible for some of the most memorable rock anthems of all time including: ‘American Girl’, ‘Breakdown’, ‘Refugee’, “The Waiting’, ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’, ‘I Won’t Back Down’, ‘Free Fallin’, ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’, ‘You Don’t Know How It Feels’, ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ and many others.
WIDE RANGING CONVERSATIONS: Author Paul Zollo conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Tom Petty for more than a year of Saturdays. The result is a wide-ranging, rich collection that covers life, songwriting, art and Petty’s extraordinary musical career.
"The big strength of this oral approach is that its intimacy enables us to feel closer to Petty, the way his mind thinks and his generosity of spirit" Long Live Vinyl
