The Song Tom Petty Gave to Stevie Nicks for ‘Bella Donna’ Only to Take It Back for Himself
In 1981, Stevie Nicks released her debut solo album, Bella Donna. Jimmy Iovine is the main producer of the album, and it also features a song with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers called “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Initially Petty was going to give Nicks a song called “Insider,” but he decided to release that song on his 1981 album Hard Promises.
Stevie Nicks asked Tom Petty to work on ‘Bella Donna’ with her
When Nicks set out to make Bella Donna, she initially asked Petty to produce the album for her. While Petty turned her down, he introduced her to producer Jimmy Iovine to help her with Bella Donna.
“And so after a track I went, ‘Look I can’t do this. I don’t have the time. I’m too busy and I don’t think that I’m going to be a big help to you. But I know a guy who might be good for you named Jimmy Iovine,'” Petty said in an interview with American Songwriter.
He continued, “So she did meet Jimmy, and he agreed that he would produce [Stevie’s album, Bella Donna]. He also wanted [a song] from me desperately.”
Tom Petty wrote a song called ‘Insider’ for Stevie Nicks
With Iovine’s encouragement, Petty began working with Nicks to create a song for Bella Donna. Petty ended up creating a song called “Insider.”
“[The title] came as I was writing, if I remember correctly. It just came out of the verse. I wrote that on my own at home. I remember spending a good day on it. And I was just knocked out with it when I got done. I was really proud of it. I loved it. I thought it was one of my best songs to that point,” Petty told American Songwriter.
While Petty had initially created “Insider” for Nicks, he decided that he couldn’t part with the song.
“Then Stevie sang it with me. And then we put the band on after. But by the time the track was coming to fruition with the band and everything, I was getting a little depressed about giving away this song,” Petty told American Songwriter. “I was really attached to it. And it really hurt me when I did the track and the vocals.”
One day, Petty admitted to Nicks he needed to keep the song for himself. It turns out Nicks was OK with Petty finding a different song for her.
‘Insider’ was released on ‘Hard Promises’
In the end, Petty and Mike Campbell gave Nicks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” to be included on Bella Donna.
“Both Tom and Jimmy [lovine] said to me, in a brutally honest way, ‘You don’t have a single on this record. And here’s a single for you,'” Nicks said of the song according to Music Spotlight Magazine.
Petty went on the release “Insider” on the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, Hard Promises.
