Tom Petty’s ‘Buried Treasure’ Show Belongs in a Museum. SiriusXM Radio Should Release It to the Public.

in #music7 years ago

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Some songs find a place in our minds. When we hear them, they evoke memories of a particular time or place. When I was a kid, I went surfing one day with Tom Petty’s “Runnin Down a Dream” stuck in my head. And in the years since, each time I’ve heard the song, I’ve had a flashback of glassy waves. The animated music video didn’t do that song justice because it meant something completely different to me.

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Tom Petty died last week and I felt the same way about many of the tributes to him. People knew him as a great singer and songwriter, which he was. But he was much more than that: also a music historian and an interpreter of American cultural history. SiriusXM Radio has custody of some of his best work in that area and I hope they release it to the public.

Beginnings

When I was a teenager, I thought Tom Petty was old. I’d heard most of his songs, which were quickly becoming staples of classic rock radio. And yet, he wasn’t “cool” to me because he was almost as old as my parents. I was listening to much trashier stuff, so I was not smart enough to go out and buy a Tom Petty album.

And then came “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” which was an instant hit. Tom Petty was in his 40s when he recorded it, yet the song was immediately relevant to kids in high schools and colleges. People smoked marijuana, but it was not prevalent in public discussion the way it is today. Petty’s song never actually mentioned the drug, but there was a double entendre. To some, it was a song about a girl. The music video starred the lovely Kim Basinger and opened with her dead in a morgue; it was strange enough that young people like me thought it was pretty cool.

For many years, that was Tom Petty to me. I enjoyed hearing the occasional TP song on a classic rock station, but for the most part, I didn’t pay much attention to his music.

Buried Treasure

That changed when I bought a car which had a subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio. This is a subscription-based radio service and it has many more amazing channels than the free local ones. Nevertheless, the subscription costs money, and I’m not the type of person to pay it unless the content blows me away. That was when I discovered Tom Petty’s channel and, more importantly, his ‘Buried Treasure’ show.

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Creative Commons via Flickr by Mark Runyon, Concerttour.net.

The singer, songwriter, and musician Tom Petty died last week. While I enjoyed his music, it was Tom Petty the music historian who I came to respect the most. His ‘Buried Treasure’ show on SiriusXM radio was one of the best musical educations a fan could have. Here was someone at the top of his profession, with more money that he could ever spend and enough fame to do whatever he wanted. He chose to devote significant time and throw his passion into educating others on the radio about the music and traditions which influenced modern music.

He played records from his own personal collection on the show. Listening was a rare treat. I learned so much that I hadn’t known before about early American blues, the so-called British invasion (not just the Beatles), rockabilly, funk, and whatever music Tom Petty felt like sharing. Not only did we get songs from little-known artists whose work has been buried in archives; he also explained the context for each song and how it influenced other songwriters and bands. He even interviewed interesting people on the show from time to time.

It’s fortunate that he had a long and productive career, but unfortunate that he can no longer continue to share his depth of knowledge with that audience.

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Tom Petty Should Be Remembered for More Than His Own Music

Since his death, there have been many tributes to the singer and musician. This is my remembrance of TP the music historian. RIP, professor, and thanks for giving me a deeper appreciation for the tunes that shaped your life and shaped American music.

SiriusXM radio created a classic with ‘Buried Treasure’. They own the material and have every right to profit from it. However, I call on them to make both the music list and the host’s commentary available to a broader audience. As Indiana Jones might have said, “It belongs in a museum”. Humanity would be richer if people could hear the passion Tom Petty had for real music.

Here are songs by a few artists who influenced Tom Petty and whose music was featured on his Buried Treasure show.

Champion Jack Dupree

Yardbirds

Howlin' Wolf

Conway Twitty

Santo & Johnny

Little Eva

Johnny Cash

And finally, here is Tom Petty singing “Learning to Fly” at Bonnaroo in 2006, one of his best live performances. He performed his final concert just a week before his death and thanked his fans for “40 years of a really great time.”

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I met Tom when I was 14. I've met a lot of celebrities and most were terrible, but he was awesome and gracious. I'll miss him.

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I can imagine; i mean, from how he behaved during the Travelling Wilbury's time - well, I sensed he was gracious.

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Playing Games in 90's

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woow great pic

I'm not a big concert goer, in fact I can probably count the number of concerts I've ever been to on one hand. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the only band that I've ever seen in concert more than once. I even drove from Ohio to New Jersey to see them live. Best experiences of my life. His music will always be a huge part of who I am. Every time me or my cousin are having a hard time we text each other 'I won't back down'. Sorry for the ramble, losing TP is a big loss, just grateful that I got to experience his magic.

What a great story. It's awesome that you went to those shows and have found the music so inspirational.

Growing up in Gainesville Fl. where Tom Petty made his debut we listened to him constantly. Their are a small group of bands that are what I call southern rock and roll. Tom Petty was our way out of a crazy time in our lives. He will forever be missed. 🐓🐓

That was where it all started for him. The Gator crowd's tribute was quite moving. It's great to follow someone local who makes it big; I've seen a couple of other great bands before they became famous and always continued to root for them.

@donkeypong Thank you for reminding me that we are all "Runnin' Down a Dream"...... I agree Mary Jane's Last Dance is a Great Song. I never got to see Tom Live in Concert. But I have seen some very Good Live Shows in my Life. My Mom even took me to see the Beatles at Dodger Stadium when I was a kid. Us Old Guys are few and far between on STEEMIT, but I am glad I am here.....

Wow, you're in the Beatles club! Glad you are on Steemit also. :)

I am Grateful everyday for STEEMIT........

Here is one little upvote in a sea of people you may never see.
Still, l must take a moment and thank you for writing this lovely post.
The moment I heard Tom had left the planet my heart sank we all loved not only his music but the man who played the music.

There is a fun Netflx documentary about Tom I started and decided to wait to watch the rest when my husband could watch with me. He is the kind of person you want to share not only his music but his life with others. I agree with Tom on all the views on life he had that I have come across one being how dangerous television is ... "no moral boarometer whatsoever."

Great post @donkeypong if I had bots they would all vote for you too.
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Yes, some of his views were very stark and I agreed with most of them also. Thanks for a great comment and I hope you get a chance to watch the documentary soon.

Reading this I felt like I was with Tom all through his life.

You did Justice to it.
Yeah, Tom maybe dead but his song lives on forever in your heart.

I found this quite interesting!

It's a brand new morning here.

I think exactly the same. A wonderful post.

Wow great post @donkeypong! Just a couple of days ago I was trying to get my girlfriend to watch Jerry McGuire. When Tom Cruise gets to keep Cushman as his main client and FREE FALLING plays in his car... Seriously who dosnt feel warm inside after that? Still my 'happy moment' in the whole movie haha. You had me at Tom Petty :)

Haha. I forgot the song was in that movie. Another moment anchored by a song.

Tom Petty Gold scattered all throughout peoples varied experiences. That's what great music does aye :)

Often musicians have lasting contribution that reaches far past the limits of music. So too is Tom Petty. Music is a universal language. He spoke it well. God rest his soul. Good read. Thanks.

At some point during my formative years I thought that music was my life and that I couldn't live without it. Well i can't make that kind of statement now because things have changed. My priorities are now different. However each time i listened to such songs especially of the late 80s and 90s I do shake my head in wonder and amazement as to how good music use to be back then. Thanks for this beautiful reminder.

Every word of your comment is spot on and true for me also. I hope we keep real music alive.

Oddly enough for me Tom Petty reminds me of my high school PE class. We had a copy of Tom Petty's greatest hits and it used to play while we ran laps around the gym and such. It was always Tom Petty, three days a week for 2 years of my formative education. I never liked his music until then, but for some reason hearing it over and over again didn't get on my nerves as most other artists would. It grew on me instead.

Never listened to his sirus show, will have to investigate. These past few years have really seen all of my musical idols pass. It's hell to get old. At least artists like Tom Petty have left the world with a soundtrack while we race there.

That's a good memory also. His songs are straight up, honest American rock. While I can get sick of listening to them after a while, they never get annoying or grate on me either.