Why Tom Petty Wouldn’t Write Songs for Stevie Nicks After She Got out of Rehab
Musicians Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty were close friends until Petty’s death in 2017. The two frequently worked on music together and supported each other’s careers. However, Petty once refused to write songs for Nicks after she got out of rehab.
Tom Petty once refused to write music for Stevie Nicks
In 1993, Nicks was admitted into rehab. Her album Street Angel was released in May 1994, with some of its production occurring while Nicks was in rehab.
After she left rehab, Nicks had asked Petty to help her work on music, as she was doubtful about returning to music.
When she asked Petty, he refused to help her. However, Petty’s reasoning came from a place of encouragement.
“He said, ‘You are one of the premier songwriters in this business. Just write some great songs — that’s what you do,'” Nicks said in Rolling Stone according to Music Spotlight Magazine.
Stevie Nicks thinks Tom Petty was ‘honest’
In 1981, Nicks released her debut solo album, Bella Donna. While Petty did not work as the main producer of the album, he and Mike Campbell gave Nicks a song to include on the album.
“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” is a song by Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Nicks revealed that Petty gave her the song to help her album have a single.
“There’s not a fake bone in his body,” Nicks said according to Music Spotlight Magazine. “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.’ Tom is a great and loyal friend, but he’s also honest like that.”
How the artists became friends
Initially, Nicks was a huge fan of Petty. She ended up reaching out to Petty to see if Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers could make a song for her.
In an interview with American Songwriter, Petty admitted he was “a little wary” of Nicks when she first approached him.
“And 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,” Petty said.
He continued, “And then, of course, she turned into one of my great, great friends forever. But Stevie was really adamant about me writing her a song.”
Petty died in 2017 when he was 66 years old. In 2018, Nicks received the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year Award.
According to Music Spotlight Magazine, Nicks mentioned Petty in her acceptance speech, saying, “The loss of Tom Petty has just about broken my heart. He was a great father and he was a great friend, and he was one of my best friends. My heart will never get over this.”
