It's just the normal noises in here

My introduction to T.P.

Like I did with Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run, I discovered Tom Petty with the release of his third album (Christmas present, 1979), Damn the Torpedoes.  For the better part of the next twenty years, the announcement of each and every release of his was cause for celebration and each album was a joy to listen to.  Unlike The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or even The Who, whose best work was behind them by the time I discovered them, Petty (and Springsteen and John Mellencamp) had numerous albums full of classics that I got to discover without the grace of the past and was lucky enough to watch his brilliant career unfold in real time.

Hearing of his passing yesterday at the age of 66 brought me to tears for only the second time when a hero of mine had died (Muhammad Ali being the first), and I have spent the better part of today listening to my favorite songs of his and not without some emotion.  I keep thinking "My God, he's gone," but he really isn't.  His musical legacy will be with me and his many fans for the rest of our lives and that is no small gift.  It's also a reminder that we are all here for a relatively short time, and it's the (hopefully) happy memories that will survive us.

For some odd reason, of all the umpteen songs of his that I loved, the one that's been resounding in my head since I heard the news is a relatively unknown cut from his Echo album, entitled, appropriately enough, "Echo."  Probably because his passing leaves me with the "...the same sad echo":

R.I.P, Mr. Petty, and thanks for the happy memories....

emaycee