Tom Petty Once Explained Why He Related to The Beatles More Than Elvis Presley

Tom Petty grew up during the 1950s and 1960s when Elvis Presley and The Beatles were the two dominant names of rock ‘n’ roll. Both musical acts influenced the future leader of the Heartbreakers, as the two changed the music industry in many ways. While Petty was American, he connected more to the four boys from Liverpool than the King from Memphis. 

Tom Petty believed he was more similar to The Beatles than Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley took America and the world by storm in the 1950s. His soulful voice and influential rock music captured the attention of many, but his stage presence is what made him iconic. His shaking hips and flailing legs sent audiences into a tizzy, and his rebellious spirit made him attractive to young audiences. 

Many artists owe their love of rock n’ roll to the Memphis singer, including The Beatles, who considered him one of their music idols. In a 2014 interview with CBC, Petty said Elvis embodied the “American dream.” He grew up in poverty but rose to stardom by breaking all the rules and being the person he wanted to be. 

“My picture of Elvis was the American dream,” Petty said. “Elvis was a kid from the south who had broken all the rules, he had become his own man and looked like he did whatever he wanted, whether adults liked it or not.”

While Elvis was closer to home for Petty, the “Free Fallin’” singer said he had a hard time relating to him. The flashy clothes and energetic performing style weren’t something that Petty saw himself doing. He connected more to The Beatles, who arrived in America during the 1960s. They didn’t have the same flash as Elvis, but they felt like normal, everyday kids, an image Petty associated with more at the time. 

“That was kind of the picture I had, but that didn’t look like something you could be for me,” Petty added. “To be Elvis? Nobody has ever pulled that off, you’d have to be Elvis. You’d have to look like that for one thing, and orchestras would have to come out of the shrubbery and onto the beach. That just doesn’t happen, but, The Beatles looked like something that could be done to me.”

Petty managed to meet Elvis in 1961

After breaking into the music industry, Tom Petty became friends with The Beatles, especially George Harrison. The two collaborated many times, including in the supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys. Meeting Elvis was another rare opportunity Petty had, but this was when he was much younger. 

In the summer of 1961, Petty visited his uncle in Florida, who was working on the set of Elvis’ film Follow That Dream. While Petty couldn’t have a full conversation with the “Heartbreak Hotel” singer, he got a wave and a nod, which was plenty enough for him. 

“He arrived in a fleet of white Cadillacs,” Petty told Rolling Stone. “People were screaming, handing records over a chain-link fence for him to sign. I remember his hair was so black that the sunshine was glowing off of it. Just a nod and a hello made your skin tingle. I was high for weeks. It lit a fever in me to get every record I could, and I really digested it. Elvis became the soundtrack of my early years.”