A dream runs down

Last week, while the country was in a gigantic spasm of shock over the Mandalay Massacre, something notable took place, and it was, quite understandably, overwhelmed by the story in Las Vegas. It was just one of those cases of bad timing, where Mr. Reaper shows us that he proceeds on his schedule, not ours, thank you very much.

So on Sunday, Oct. 1, Steve Paddock went berserk. On Monday, Oct. 2, we lost our boy Tom Petty. Paddock got 95 percent of the coverage last week, and I understand. But now that things are calming, maybe we can balance things a bit.

I’ve spent the last few days whipping up a thorough tribute to T.P., one of our most righteous and enduring rock ’n’ rollers, and it came out pretty damn good. Considering the material I had to work with, how could it not? I mean, when you have songs like “American Girl,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “The Waiting,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Running Down a Dream,” etc., etc., etc., etc., your chances of putting together a terrific tribute show are not just good, but guaranteed. If you wanted to say goodbye to Tom—well, I’m sure you’ve been playing your albums and CDs and doing it up in your own way. But if you’d like a crazed bossjock to step up and do it, I’m here for ya, to where you can just turn out the lights, strap on the headphones, and re-live all the great mojo that has occurred in your mind and body over the years because of T.P. and the Heartbreakers. Just go to JiveRadio.org and check the broadcast schedule for this tribute. The show runs two hours, and even at that length, I couldn’t get everything in the mix. Petty was a good one. A real good one. In fact, I wouldn’t argue with you for a microsecond if you wanted to go ahead and say that T.P. and the Heartbreakers were the American Rolling Stones. No problem. I’m down.

And if you wanna get all choked up, go to YouTube and search Florida Fans Sing Petty. Check out 90,000 people last Saturday the 7th at the University of Florida football stadium singing “I Won’t Back Down” as a farewell to their favorite son (Petty grew up in Gainesville). It’s pretty doggone neat.

And my tribute to Walter Becker of Steely Dan, done last month, was pretty spiffy, too. Again, considering the material, how could it not be? What an incredible combo the Dan was. It’s also available right there on the homepage.