Ugly. Unremarkable voice at best. Mediocre songwriter.

How did he get so popular?

>>127079636 (OP)
looks didn't matter back then

People confused him with Johnny Thunders in the beginning....

Boomers fucking loved Dylan and worshipped any second rate Dylan that got big

>>127079665
He's nothing like Dylan, except his voice. Dylan's wordy. Petty is succinct and catchy with pop sense.

>>127079665
Then why did they hate The Velvet Underground so much?

>>127079636 (OP)
>Caring about how a guy looks.
Yet again, OP is a fag.

>>127079636 (OP)
thank you

finally /mu/ is bashing the overhyped trash who deserve it

>>127079665
>>127079688
Petty is more heartland rock like Springsteen, both influenced by Dylan for sure but they had their own sound going on

>>127079636 (OP)
heartbreakers were a kick ass band.
also, don't confuse simple songs with bad ones.
fogerty wrote simple songs for ccr too, yet they all went to top of charts (when the competition was steep with hendrix, beatles, stones, etc.)

the Waiting is pure pop everybody loved that tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmJPKmAhLbw

>>127079636 (OP)
He got that slacker spirit in attitude before grunge was even embryonic

>mediocre songwriter
Remarkable melodicist.

>>127079636 (OP)
not ugly, i'd fuck a young Tom (no gay shit tho)

>>127079636 (OP)
He knew the right people. Look at all the already established musicians he collaborated with. Look at all the actors and writers he was friends with. Look at the movies and TV shows he was in.

All that said: his actual music was more popular in the midwest. I'm from Indiana and I know every one of his songs despite never owning one. Back in the 90s you'd hear all his shit all the time on various radio stations.

>>127079636 (OP)
Nah he’s a top tier songwriter. Writing simple catchy songs is exponentially more difficult than music with “depth” that’s usually circlejerked here.

>>127079636 (OP)
must have been his remarkable voice and brilliant songwriter desu

You're Gonna Get It! [ABC/Shelter, 1978]
". . . might sound strange/Might seem dumb," Tom warns at the outset, and unfortunately he only gets it right the second time: despite his Southern roots and '60s pop-rock proclivities, he comes on like a real made-in-L.A. jerk. Onstage, he acts like he wants to be Ted Nugent when he grows up, pulling out the cornball arena-rock moves as if they had something to do with the kind of music he makes; after all, one thing that made the Byrds and their contemporaries great was that they just got up there and played. Thank God you don't have to look at a record, or read its interviews. Tuneful, straight-ahead rock and roll dominates the disc, and "I Need to Know," which kicks off side two, is as peachy-tough as power pop gets. There are even times when Tom's drawl has the impact of a soulful moan rather than a brainless whine. But you need a lot of hooks to get away with being full of shit, and Tom doesn't come up with them. B

I'm no Tom Petty stan but if you don't grove a single time to full moon fever then you might have serious depression and need some help

Petty was very good at riding trends and adapting to the times.

>in the 70s he copied Springsteen
>in the 80s he copied John Mellencamp
>in the 90s he copied Hootie and the Blowfish
>in the 2000s he copied Nickelback

>>127085182
>>in the 70s he copied Springsteen
The same thing with comparing him with Dylan. Both Springsteen and Dylan write novels. Not something Petty was known for even in the 70s.

>>127084299
He got his big break in the UK, where he didn't know anybody.

>>127084299
>Look at all the actors and writers he was friends with.
He's been around forever. He didn't start that way. Hell, some of his "famous" friends weren't famous when he met them. Kid Rock was his weed dealer.

>>127085120
Why is this hack still alive?

>>127084332
No it's not.

>>127085182
You’re a fucking retard. Wildflowers is one of the most brilliant and unique albums ever released, and no one else could’ve come close to doing it, especially not the loose butthole acts you’ve listed. Be honest, how many dicks a week do you suck?

The man had a knack for the hooks.

>>127079636 (OP)
Good hooks

>>127079636 (OP)
He wasn't that popular, I unironically didn't know who he was until he died.

>>127087615
American Girl is part of the American song book, you're dumb is all

>>127087630
I'm not an American, is all.

>>127087578
>>127087569

>>127085120
The duality of man.

>>127079636 (OP)
Beatles connection through George Harrison

>>127079636 (OP)
He wouldn't back down.

>>127079636 (OP)
He wrote some hits