Stevie Nicks transformed a Tom Petty song into a popular duet for her debut solo album, Bella Donna. Nicks’ rendition of the song sounded a little like Petty’s, and he felt a bit deceived when he heard it. But he finally had a chance to avenge her years later. Petty stepped in and took over a song that Nicks was having trouble recording. She was disappointed, but she understood.
Tom Petty took a song that was originally meant for Stevie Nicks
Nicks originally requested “Insider” for her album, but Petty realized he couldn’t give it up since he loved it so much. Instead, he offered her “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” But when he heard her explanation, he felt somewhat betrayed. The song had been transformed into a duet by producer Jimmy Iovine, who had changed nothing from the original idea. Its release was a huge success as well, overshadowing Petty’s album.
As per Louder Sound, “Why couldn’t ‘Insider’ and ‘Stop Draggin’ have been on both Hard Promises and Bella Donna?” “I guess back then that’s not the way it worked. I wish the song was more recognized as Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks. But they sang so great together.”
Years later, Petty retaliated against Nicks. He allegedly based his song “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” which he composed for her after spending the night with Dave Stewart, on what she had supposedly told him the previous morning. Petty arrived to assist with the recording process.
Nicks struggled to record and departed early. Petty stayed and made a recording of the song on his own. The song was good—better than Nicks’ rendition—and Petty persuaded Iovine to give it to him.
Nicks stated, according to Simon Morrison’s book Mirror in the Sky: The Life and Music of Stevie Nicks. “Even though I was deeply hurt, I knew it was a great song and that Tom deserved to sing it. He sounded great singing it, and I told him so. I said nothing about feeling wounded. I kept those feelings to myself.”
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks proved their friendship transcended their fights about music
Petty and Nicks argued over music frequently during their years of friendship. She, for instance, attempted to construct a Fleetwood Mac hit out of a song he accidentally stole. Even Nevertheless, Nicks and Petty became close friends for many years.
They demonstrated that their relationship could, at least in part, withstand one of them succeeding at the other’s price. Nicks remained a stable influence in his life while his marriage broke down, and Petty continued to assist him in the studio and with her writing. Despite the fact that music was one of the things that meant the most to them both, they didn’t allow it to interfere with their relationship.
How did Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks meet?
Stevie Nicks and Petty first connected via her frantic request for him to compose a song for Bella Donna. Petty wasn’t sure what to make of her for a long.
According to American Songwriter, Petty stated in the book Conversations With Tom Petty. “We were a little wary of Stevie. We didn’t quite know whether to like Stevie or not, because we kind of saw this big corporate rock band, Fleetwood Mac, which was wrong, they were actually artistic people. But in those days, nobody trusted that sort of thing and we just kept thinking, ‘What does she want from us?’”
Nicks, though, desired a friendship with Tom Petty. She persisted in being in his life, and over time he began to warm up to her. Their friendship lasted until Petty’s passing in 2017.
