The reason why Tom Petty gave away his song 'The Boys Of Summer' to Don Henley
Sam Kemp
WED 2ND FEB 2022 19.00 GMT
Following the break up of his band The Eagles, Don Henley transitioned from being the drummer and co-lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in America to a solo artist armed with little more than an acoustic guitar. The success of his single ‘Dirty Laundry’, which reached number three in the Billboard charts, lay the foundation for a glittering new career. But if it wasn’t for Tom Petty’s decision to reject a demo made by Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, that career may well have fizzled out completely. Because that same rejected song would go on to be one of Henley’s biggest solo hits of all time: 1984’s ‘The Boys Of Summer’.
Campbell crafted the demo for ‘The Boys Of Summer’ using the newly-unveiled Linn drum machine. The Linn LM -1 was the first drum machine on the market to use digital samples. It ended up defining the sound of ’80s music and was practically inescapable for a time. It was utilised by the likes of ABC, Devo and, notably, Michael Jackson, who used the Linn LM-1 in his track ‘Thriller’. Campbell used the Linn LM-1 to form the basis of the ‘Boys Of Summer’ demo and then overdubbed all the other parts except for the vocal line. After playing the track for Tom Petty and producer Jimmy Iovine, Campbell could tell that they were distinctly unimpressed with his efforts.
Speaking on Brian Koppelman’s podcast The Moment, Campbell said: “In Tom’s defence, when I got to the chorus, I went to a different chord. It was kind of like a minor chord. As the song ended up, on the chorus it goes to that big major chord. You know, it lifts up. And so he heard a slightly inferior version. And I remember when it went by, we were kind of grooving to it, and it got to that chord and Jimmy Iovine goes, ‘Eh, it sounds like jazz.'”
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https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/why-tom-petty-gave-away-his-song-to-don-henley/?presentid=webnews/
