Stevie will perform a selection of songs with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers during these shows.

July 11th on American Recordings

Previously had "mid July" from what Tom said at the ASCAP Expo.

American Recordings is a Los Angeles-based record label headed by record producer Rick Rubin. It was founded as Def American after he left Def Jam Recordings in 1989. The label changed to its current name in 1993. Rubin produces most of the recordings on the label, as well as directing other music related ventures.

It's been distributed by Sony and Universal, but is now currently distributed by WEA (Warner, Elektra, Atlantic).

Tom spoke for an hour in front of a standing room only crowd of 700 - 800 people. I felt quite honored sitting on a reserved row along with Jon Scott, Bugs, Peter Bogdanovich, George Drakoulias, Tony Dimitriades, Mary Klauzer and Mrs. Dana Petty. Tom sat center stage with an interviewer and the room had two large video screens on either side, but there wasn’t a bad seat in the room. It was just great to listen to Tom talk in such an intimate setting.

To be honest, if you read Paul Zollos book, Conversations with Tom Petty, there really wasnt too much new information given. I did supply Mary Klauzer with three questions from the Tom Petty Bulletin Board. One of which was answered directly (kinda). The other two were kind of covered by other questions asked.

The first 20 minutes, the interviewer asked pretty standard questions. Tom wanted to give most of his time to the songwriters in the crowd, so the remaining 40 minutes or so was opened to the crowd. ASCAP had two microphones set up near the stage where people stood in line to talk to Tom Petty. They actually cut off questions when my friend and photographer, Michelle, was next in line. My heart just sank for her. But hopefully I will have pictures up at gonegator.com soon.

I know I didnt get all the questions, but my main concern was what Tom was saying. So, I will paraphrase some of the questions and give Toms answers. What I love about Tom Petty is what an honest, down to earth, humble and FUNNY guy he can be. And all of these things came out in this interview

Something of note, in the introduction part, the interviewer was mentioning tour dates. I havent seen or heard it mentioned anywhere else, but the band will be playing the Austin City Limits festival in, thats right, Austin Texas in September.

Interviewer: Where were you [in life] when music took you over?
Tom Petty: In my front yard

Tom then told the classic Elvis story we all know and love.

Interviewer: Tell us about your 1st band
Tom Petty: Tom never said which band it was, Epics or Sundowners, but did say I put this band together with the only other guy in Gainesville with long hair. He went on to say that this girl had asked him if his band would play a dance, so Tom said they got to the dance and had three songs worked up real good. We played these three songs really good [pause] and then we played them again. When I got into Rock n Roll, it was all about gettin the girl, so we did like Wooly Bully for this dance, never got that girl though. Tom went on to say that they auditioned for Capricorn at the studio in Macon, GA where the Allman Brothers recorded. He said, we were rejected for sounding too English.

Interviewer: Tell us about the songwriting process and lyrics, can you just call your muse up on the phone?
Tom Petty: Just lucky really, I like it when the words and music come together at the same time.” Tom went on to say how he wrote “Wildflowers.” He said basically, he had gone on a drive, turned the tape recorder at home and recorded that whole song, chord changes and lyrics in one take. On songs Tom said, “It just happens really and it keeps happening.” Who’s your muse?, “My wife [pause] inspiration comes at different times really, I just try to keep my antenna up because it’s downright impolite to ignore the muse. I just try to write a good song. I may write ten songs and throw them away before finding the right one.”

Interviewer: Tell us what its like working with the Heartbreakers.
Tom Petty: Theyre my family, theres nobody else I would rather work with.

Interviewer: Any advice for our songwriters?
Tom Petty: Always be yourself and never follow trends

Here are a few of the better questions asked by songwriters in the audience.

Songwriter: Any advice for writers block when your own worst critic?
Tom Petty: The Heartbreakers can be very critical surround yourself with good people find yourself a good producer to bounce things off of.

Songwriter: What did you think of the Strokes ripping off American Girl?
Tom Petty: I did hear that song, and if they had used my lyrics, I would have been upset I got a really nice letter from the Strokes saying please dont sue us, we meant it as a tribute to you So I let it slide.

Songwriter: Do you ever check your MySpace account?
Tom Petty: Whats that? [shrugs shoulders] I dont know what that is!

That answer received a great laugh and round of applause from the audience. Im writing this from my notes and I dont remember the exact question asked, but on collaborating with Stevie Nicks, Tom said Stevie has agreed to come out and do a few songs with us on this tour. On wardrobes and look, Tom said we got into the music, never got into the jewelry.

So, I supplied Mary Klauzer with a few questions from TP's BBS. And the interviewer goes we're going to pause and ask a question from the BBS... someone in the audience said something like "Is it from the 'Crazy Chick'" and I swear Tom goes yeah it's probably from the Crazy Lady or something like that.

Now I've only done the Crazy Chick bit on Gone Gator Radio during one of my live shows. So, it kinda made me feel like Tom heard that and thought it was funny. It may have been purely coincidental with how he responded to the girl in the audience. But it was flattering that the girl in the audience HAD heard the bit!!!

From the BBS: How do you develop your characters for your songs. Looks liked they picked Cathees question!
Tom Petty: Its just fun reallyits fun to try and be someone youre not to try to imagine what that person might be doingto tell a story. In a song, each line is so important. Tom goes on to give the 1st line of Blue Sunday as an example she took a rolled-up twenty out of her pocket and paid for my cigarettes now we have this guy who smokes he cant afford them and for some reason, this girl rolls up her money. Its just fun.

Ive got several more notes and an audio recording to go through with many more questions, but these were the best ones. Ill close with one of the last questions asked and I think with one of Toms best answers, ok, 2nd to the MySpace one.

Songwriter: What are your governing values?
Tom Petty: Have morals be good and treat other people the way you want to be treated.

In other words, dont be a dick!

In 1976, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album, and this summer Petty plans to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary in grand style. He and the Heartbreakers will hit the road in June on a tour that Petty says might be the band's last major summer outing; there's an ambitious documentary in the works; and Petty is finishing Highway Companion, a solo album tentatively due on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label this summer.

"It's a quieter album than I've done before," Petty says, sitting behind the sound desk in his home studio in Malibu. "I don't think I wasted any lines on this album. I think the songs are all there."

Petty exudes genuine pride as he debuts for Rolling Stone nine of the songs slated for Highway Companion, including "Square One" and "Turn This Car Around." He began recording the album last year with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne. Each contributes guitar parts, Lynne plays keys and a Hofner bass, Campbell plays a hefty amount of slide guitar ("He's never been better," says Petty) and, for the first time on record, Petty plays drums. Though they all but finished recording in February, Petty says, "The only thing keeping me from wrapping things up is just going, 'Well, I wonder if there's one more in me?'"

Petty plans to incorporate some of these songs into the Heartbreakers tour this summer, which will kick off in June with openers including Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio and, Petty hopes, the Strokes and the Allman Brothers Band. "I think we should do this tour and then put an end to doing national tours, and just play now and then where we want to play," he says. "The idea of doing sheds or arenas . . . you turn into an animal by the time it's done."

Also, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Mask) has begun shooting a documentary about the Heartbreakers' history. "We've given him access that we've never given anybody," says Petty. Bogdanovich will interview Petty at length and hopes to talk with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and members of Petty's family.

"We're trying to give a sense of what happened to this group of kids that came from Gainesville, Florida -- how they made the big time," says Bogdanovich. "How did that change them, and how did they change the world?

"I'm not an expert on Tom Petty, I'm just a fan," adds Bogdanovich. "But what appeals to me is that he's a real American artist -- an impressionist -- very much of the American grain."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be touring this summer. The final schedule will not be available until next week at which time you will be notified. Meanwhile we want you to be the first to know that the tour which celebrates the bands 30th anniversary and will start on June 9, will include some dates with some very special friends and opening acts.

For example we can confirm that Pearl Jam will be on two Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers shows in St Paul at the Excel Arena on June 26 and 27 and also two shows in Denver at the Pepsi Center on July 2 and 3.

There will be more shows with Pearl Jam and other exciting announcements will follow. Presales and other special opportunities for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fans will be available so please stay tuned and keep checking gonegator.com for details.

You have probably read that a new Tom Petty album will be released this summer. Although there is no official release date confirmed yet, Highway Companion will be released in July.

WOOHOO!

Melinda Newman

Last October during his Century Award interview, Tom Petty told Billboard that he could not believe the band was staring down its 30th year. "I specifically remember thinking if we get five years out of this, it would be really successful," he recalled. "I never thought we'd do it this long."

And yet, here comes the 30th birthday and Petty feels nothing but gratitude that he and his band mates are still at it with a fan base that is just as fervent as always.

Billboard caught up again with Petty in late February as he cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway to the recording studio to put the finishing touches on "Highway Companion," his forthcoming solo album, produced by Jeff Lynne. The new album is expected to arrive in June. Petty, offstage at the Billboard Music Awards in December, said the album will be released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings, which is distributed by Warner Bros. However, at press time, confirmation of the deal was still pending. Although the solo album beckoned, he genially discussed 30 years worth of Heartbreakers' music and what is still to come.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album. What do you remember about being in the studio with producer Denny Cordell and your boys?

We were really excited in those days. We worked on it on and off for six or seven months. We weren't afraid to try anything, I'll say that. We were all open to trying anything and I hear those records now and I can't hardly believe that we did them, but we somehow did.

I just remember that studio was really brown. We called it the Brown Room. It was the Shelter Studio in Hollywood. We'd just pull in every day and the songs came really effortlessly. The tracks were all played live. It was a joy, really. We were really proud of it when we got it done.

It sounds like you weren't afraid to try anything. That's a spirit you never lost even as success came and you had a lot to lose by taking risks.

Well, we kind of go where the wind blows us, you know [laughs]. We've never really played it safe or tried to make the same record again, it's a lot more fun that way. The idea was to take the same people and keep them together no matter what and see what we could produce and, so far, it's still holding our interest.

There was this incredibly appealing rawness to the first album.

It's raw, it's definitely raw. We didn't want to over-produce it. We didn't really know a lot about production. For one thing, there was a sort of bloated corporate rock at the time and people were putting out six-or seven-minute songs that just went on and on and I wanted to keep the songs nice short and concise, so you'll notice the songs aren't very long and that worked. We just wanted to get the best out of each song. But you never really know what you're doing on your first album, you know [laughs]. I don't think anyway. But when we got something we were proud of, we stuck with it.

We're going to flash forward 30 years. You're going out on your 30th anniversary tour this summer. How's it going to be different?

I'm talking off the top of my head now because I haven't gotten that far with it. I think the idea will be to play all the hits and cover all the different eras, try to hit something from every record -- I think there's been some talk about going deeper into the albums on this tour and you can always find things that you haven't done.

You're playing Bonnaroo this summer; you don't normally play festivals.

I've got nothing against playing them, there just aren't that many. We were going to do Bonnaroo last year or the year before and it got cancelled. I look forward to doing it this year. I like playing that sort of thing. I think also, with that kind of audience, we can stretch out and jam a bit and have a good time.

Director Peter Bogdonavich is trailing you and the band for a film that will come out later this year. You're a very private person. What made you decide to let someone document your life?

I think it's a worthwhile project, you know, and I think it's good that he's going to finally tell this story completely. He's put a lot of effort into it so far. Sometimes, giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist and we have let him have access that no one's ever had. So far, it's looking good. We're all pretty excited about it. I think he's going to make a good movie.

Were there other music movies or documentaries that you saw that made you think, "why not?"

I liked the Bob Dylan that I saw. The one we're doing isn't a concert film, per se, it has a lot of music in it, obviously. And God, they've been months just archiving old film so far, but I think they're going to find a lot of film that's never been seen that's going to be good. We are going to shoot a new concert to deal with this project, but I don't think the whole concert will be in the movie, just bits of it.

You're headed to the studio to wrap up "Highway Companion." When we talked in October, you said the album is about the passage of time. What else can you say about it?

I'm reaching there to try and find a theme. It's just really a nice collection of songs. I think it does have an underlying theme of time and what it does to you.

What does it do to you?

It makes you old, if you're lucky [laughs].

Between the biography you did last year with Paul Zollo ["Conversations With Tom Petty," receiving Billboard's Century Award, the documentary and the 30th anniversary, you're spending a lot of time looking over your past. Are there any revelations coming up as you're strolling down memory lane?

Well, the question I'm asked all the time is does it feel like 30 years and I'd say, yes, it sure does [laughs]. It absolutely does. But I think, mainly, I'm just glad to still be doing it, still be taken seriously. I haven't been relegated to the oldies file yet and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. The movie, I just think will put a nice bow on the whole thing and then we can quit dealing with the past… We'll forget about it and get on to "Part 2."

What's in part 2?

It's probably more of the same, I suppose. You know, we're already building up songs for a Heartbreakers record, but that's down the road. We've talked a long time about doing a definitive live record and that could be on the horizon, I don't know.

I'd like to do more recording. I don't see us touring forever. Every time we do it now, I wonder if it's going to be the last one. But, you know, I think we'll continue to do that; everybody's gung ho to do it so…

Why do you think it could be the last one?

I don't know how many more 50-city tours I want to take on. I've spent my life doing that and I'd like to have some part of my life where I could concentrate more on recording without having to go out on tours.

Tony Bennett turns 80 this year, BB King just turned 80. They're still at it. Do you ever think about stopping recording?

No, I'd really like to have more time than I have for that. I have to turn that over in my head. I see people who do it until they drop and they say you can't help it. I think if I ever feel that I'm not doing it well, I would just stop, but as long as we're doing it and we're doing it at the standard we want to be playing and the people are happy, we'll keep doing that.

When we talked last October you said you now make records for yourself. How has that changed from how you used to make them before?

I think we always made them for ourselves, really, but you used to have more concerns about you want to have one that's going to be a hit so everybody will buy the record. I think as time has gone on, I'm more interested in -- I don't know how to put it -- what kind of catalog of stuff I can compile. That's what I'm interested in doing. Just getting all the songs that come to me and make good records of them and just so they're around so somebody can hear them.

Do you have any kind of checklist of projects you still want to complete? Like a duets album or an album of blues standards?

No, it's just song to song. I'm amazed that they keep coming. That's about it. It's funny, every year or so a batch of songs appears. I don't really understand it but I'm just glad. I'm not going to question it because it keeps happening.

Was there ever a point, such as when Stan Lynch left or Howie Epstein died, where you thought the group wouldn't continue? Were you ever in doubt?

I don't think we were ever in doubt about it. It was always there if we wanted it. There are times, like you say, when Howie died when you're really [wondering] what's this worth? How dangerous is this gig? That crosses your mind sometimes. We were never discouraged to that degree. I think we've always enjoyed what we were doing and felt really blessed that we've always had a job and always been able to make another record and there's always a crowd there when we walked out on stage, so you gotta be really grateful for that.

In an interview last summer, your wife Dana said that you were still a "nervous wreck" before you went on stage. Is that true after all these years

I am, yes. I'm really nervous before I play. I just, you know, I don't know what it is, but I get to where I can't even speak a few hours before the show, you know, and once I get out there I'm OK.

I don't take it for granted ever. I always want to do my best and give them all I can, so, you know, I really take it seriously.

That actually shows an incredible respect for your audience.

Well, if you're going out to 20,000 people and you're not a little nervous then you're not plugged in.

Any plans for reissues for the 30th or other ways to celebrate besides the tour?

You'd have to ask [my] office, I don't know. I have no idea. They've got me doing interviews in the car for Christ's sake. I'm so busy I can't... between the press and the film and finishing the record right now, I'm one busy guy and I do a radio show every week ["Tom Petty's Buried Treasure" on XM satellite radio], so it's nuts, you know, but I love it, it's great. I'm glad to be employed.

Craig Rosen & Debbie Galante Block

To mark the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut, Billboard surveyed some of Petty's contemporaries, some of the band's members and those who have worked closely with the group over the years about their favorite Petty & the Heartbreakers song, Petty's songwriting craft, and what makes the Heartbreakers one of the best American rock bands.

Stevie Nicks - Singer/songwriter, member of Fleetwood Mac and Petty's duet partner on the 1981 single "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

The Songs: "When I thought I was dying in rehab in 1994, 'I Won't Back Down' was my mantra. It lifted me up out of the pain and made me fight thru it. 'Free Fallin' broke my heart about my life and his life and about who we were and that we simply could not change that. 'The Waiting is the Hardest Part' summed up my life. We can't stand waiting -- we rock and roll men and women. If we have to wait... we just don't. Tom Petty's songs are like a great book that you revisit when you need help. His songs make me better.

The Songwriter: "What makes Tom so good at this is that he writes about everything. Love in theory. Love in euphoria. Love in disappointment. Love in how it affects everyone; love after a long time. Divorce and how that affects everyone. New love and old love and how that affects everyone. Then he writes about personal growth and how that ebbs and flows. He writes about the world. He writes about the record business. He writes about monopolies and the nurturing of new artists that has ceased to exist. He has demanded that I start to write again when I thought I could write no more. He has, at times, been my Olympic coach. "You can do it," he says, "You don't need my help." He writes about his girls; girlfriends, daughters and wives. He has always been my great inspiration. He is magical. There is not, and never will be, another like him.

The Performer: "As far as live performance goes, he just knocks you out. On stage, there is no one better."

Olivia Harrison - Widow of former Beatle George Harrison, who with Petty was a member of the Traveling Willburys

The Song: "'Zombie Zoo' always puts a smile on my face because George and I and Tom and a gang of us were together on the night that inspired the song.

The Songwriter & Performer: What makes Tom Petty a unique live performer is that he is a storyteller. His Florida drawl and the meter of his speech are engaging. Even his everyday observations sound more like tales, and whether he is singing or speaking you'll hear truisms in his words. I call him Aesop Wilbury.

Randy Newman - Singer/songwriter and fellow Billboard Century Award honoree (2000)

The Songwriter: Tom's a really good guy. We worked together on a track for a record of mine and he worked harder than I did. He's a great songwriter and has been since the beginning of his career. He's remained consistent. Not all of us have.

Dwight Twilley - Singer/songwriter

The Songs: I have a fondness for some of his early songs that he made popular when were both were just starting out; songs like "American Girl" and "Breakdown." I also appreciate still that he sang on my hit song "Girls" in 1984.

The Performer: Tom's success represents a lot of hard work. It's a hard business. It's a big job to make a record, a big job to hold a band together and to go out on tour. He saw the importance of holding his band together, and he has stayed true to his roots.

Dave Stewart - Artist/songwriter/producer and member of the Eurythmics

The Songwriter: Tom is incredibly smart and has a beautiful mind. He has a way of distilling what he wants to say fluently, and he doesn't take any prisoners. Everything is spot on and not messy.

The Songs: One of my favorite songs is "Southern Accents." I also remember being in England and getting a real jolt of electricity when I first heard "Refugee." It was such a structured song, great words... I was turned on by that. The first time I heard it sung live, I was in shock at how powerful the performance.

The Band: Every one in the band is such a character in their own way. They are a classic band, and Tom is a consummate songwriter as well as a singer/performer.

Nils Lofgren - Singer/songwriter and E Street Band guitarist

The Songs: "If I had to pick one favorite song it would be 'Refugee,' but I loved 'Breakdown,' gorgeous and stark. Raw, but well produced. There was a lot of emotion in 'Even the Losers,' 'Free Fallin',' and 'Won't Back Down.' There has been integrity and substance in every hit record.

The Band: "As 'Damn the Torpedoes' was coming out, Tom and the Heartbreakers opened a long European tour for my solo band. It was unusual to have such an incredible rock band opening for us. As any opening act would do, they would come out and kick butt and we had to go out and make sure they didn't. They were great every night. I was shocked.

Right from the get-go, the band had an innate ability to present great songs in a very well-produced streamlined presentation. Not a lot of frayed edges, everything in its place. They were able to present that live with quite a bit of passion. It was a rare thing.

Roger McGuinn - Singer/songwriter and member of the Byrds

The Songs: I love Tom Petty. He's a wonderful musician and a wonderful artist, a great guy and a good friend. "American Girl" is the song that means the most to me because it's the first one I heard him do. I recorded it myself because I liked it so much. We went on the road together, played it in a lot of places and had a good time. The song brings back good memories for me. Tom and I also wrote a song together, "King of the Hill," which we recorded for my album "Back From Rio." The song was a moderate hit, and he sang it with me.

Warren Zanes - Singer/songwriter, former member of the Del Fuegos and VP of Education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum

The Songwriter: There are singer/songwriters that were guys with bands. Of that group, Petty had the capacity to really tell the story in the simplest way. Petty's stories were distilled in such a way that it allowed you to identify with the protagonist in the deepest way. When I was going through terrible s***, there was a Petty song. I could tell you my life from 15 years old on with Petty songs better than I could with photographs. He has a distinct gift as a writer.

The Songs: I don't have one favorite song, but I can pick a couple. Songs like "Straight Into Darkness," "The Wild One, Forever," and "Casa Dega."

Mike Campbell - Heartbreakers guitarist, songwriter, co-producer

The Song: "The first thing that pops into my mind is 'American Girl." We recorded it for our first album. I think it was around the 4th of July. It was really fun to make that record and I just had a feeling that this song had a really special quality to it. Not just the way it was written, but the way we recorded it, the way the band played on it and the sound that it made. When we recorded it, I just had a feeling that we were really onto something. There was something really special about this song, this sound, this thing we're doing, which is really us. This defines what we are. To this day, we don't always put it in the set, but when we do, [when I hear] that first chord, I have that same feeling for it.'

The Songwriter: "We have a great songwriter. His character is very powerful and it's easy to play with someone like that and sound good. It worked to his advantage that he found a group of players that had empathy and an instinctual understanding of how his songs could be realized."

The Band: "It's the old cliché of chemistry and the way we play. There's a certain talent that Ben has, that Tom has, and that I might have, and when you put it together, something happens that's better than all of us."

Benmont Tench - Heartbreakers keyboardist

The Song: "There's a song that nobody seems to notice on our second album, 'You're Gonna Get It,' called 'No Second Thoughts.' It's pretty brief. It's just a little short story, but it's wonderfully written and open enough to interpretation. And I love the feel of the track. It's just [drummer] Stan [Lynch] beating on some boxes or something and a little bit of organ, some acoustic guitars, and a pretty good bass part."

The Songwriter: "I just see us as this rock'n'roll band that's got a terrific songwriter, a really great songwriter that is deceptively good. There are 30 years of great songs that this guy wrote -­ and he wrote a lot of them with Mike [Campbell]. They run deeper than they seem on the top, which is a great thing about rock'n'roll. You can run things past people and they don't even know what they're getting."

The Band: "If it's really good live, it's because we're all aiming at the same thing. There should to be some telepathy there. [Original Heartbreakers bassist] Ron Blair is back in the band and as the new guy he's been in the band 10 years. If you've got a lot of really good songs and play them with heart and you're aiming at the song, that's going to make for a really good show."

Rick Rubin - Head of American Recordings, co-producer of the 1994 Petty solo album "Wild Flowers" album and "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a new song included on the band's 1993 "Greatest Hits" set

The song: "It was never a single or anything, but there's a song on 'Wildflowers' that really moves me called 'Hard on Me.' It's one of the very first things we cut together, so it's got some emotional relevance to me personally. Both the song is good, the tone of it is great, and the mood of the performance just captures the song perfectly. It's a perfect moment in time. It sounds really real, really live, personal, and intimate, and of a moment. It's personally revelatory lyrically, open, and honest. It's just a beautiful song."

The Songwriter: "If you look at his body of work, there are so many great songs. He's an incredible songwriter and when it comes to record making, he's a true craftsman. There are just not a lot of people that can do that. It's somewhat of a lost art."

The Band: "On top of that, you have Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, which is arguably the best American rock band, so you have a great band, with great songs, who make great records. It's really hard to beat."

Jeff Lynne - Former Electric Light Orchestra leader, Petty's Traveling Wilburys bandmate and co-producer of the Heartbreakers albums "Full Moon Fever," "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Highway Companion"

The Song: "One of my favorites, 'Square One,' was just in a film ["Elizabethtown"]. It was just a lovely tune, but my all-time favorite is one that I worked on is 'I Won't Back Down.' That kind of sums up Tom -- he's a cool guy and he's tough. I think he really did a great job on that, but I'm biased because I co-wrote the thing."

The Songwriter: "His songs are unique. He's got his own little spot in the whole spectrum of music. He's got tremendous words and very different kind of melodies. I always admire what he does with them. And he's a great singer. I think his singing has even gotten better over the years."

The Band: "They're just so tight, they kind of know what they're going to do before they do it. And Tom's a great frontman, he wears 'em every night and he really enjoys it. That's the key to it all."

Tony Dimitriades - Manager, East End Management

The Song: "'Even the Losers.' I like all his songs because of lyrical content, but in the case of 'Even the Losers,' when I hear it on the radio or when it's playing, even after all these years, I sort of tune into it again. If I'm in the car, I put the volume up."

The Songwriter: "Tom's got the entire package: lyric and melody. Also, he can tell an entire story in one line or paint a picture in one line. You don't have to listen to the entire song or an entire verse to get a meaning from it. One line will do the job for you."

The Band: "They can play anything. They're so tuned into each other and so similar in their tastes the can do things that nobody else can do."

Jimmy Iovine - Co-producer of the Heartbreakers albums "Damn the Torpedoes," "Hard Promises" and "Long After Dark," chairman of Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records

The Songs: "I've always loved 'The Waiting,' 'Even the Losers,' and 'American Girl.' It's all about the lyrics. He would just write things that take you out of where you are and put you in a place and you go, 'Wow, I feel like that or have felt like that in my life.'"

The songwriter: "Tom is just a brilliant songwriter. He's different than most. He was one of the original guys to hark back to American songwriters and also a lot of English songwriters. It was a time when there were these long rock songs, but he would write a three- to four-minute piece that had all the passion of any Led Zeppelin song or Bruce Springsteen song, but yet he condensed it in a three- or four-minute rock song. And he's very good at it. He's a great lyricist, a very poignant lyricist."

The Band: "What makes them sound the way they do is as much their imperfections as it is their talent and originality. It's the way Tom lays on a beat, and the bass and drums are slightly right behind. It is incredible chemistry. When you put all the instruments up, it would just lock. [Mike Campbell's] guitar, [Benmont Tench's] organ, and Tom's guitar go so well together. What you really have is an orchestra. When blended together it has a real concert sound."

Lenny Waronker - Former president of Warner Bros. Records

The Song: "I love ‘Free Fallin'.' We were lucky: my wife and I and [former Warner Bros. chairman/CEO] Mo Ostin and his wife were all up at Mo's house having dinner with George [Harrison], Tom and Jeff [Lynne]. They brought their acoustic guitars with them... It was kind of like being in Nashville or something. You had these three gigantic guitars in this big living room with wood ceilings. Tom played 'Free Fallin'.' I have to imagine it was one of the first times. It was just unreal to hear it that way. I remember saying, 'Do it again, do it again.' I just had to hear it again. It was a fantastic presentation of a song."

The Songwriter: "Most great writers have their own take on the world. He sees things in his way, which makes it unique. I can't exactly explain that, except that you know his language when you hear his songs. By the words that he uses, often you can tell it's Tom."

The Band: "Those guys are individually great musicians and they really get Tom. They know when he's right; they know what to do to get to the right place musically. They just have that knack. Put that into a band and it makes life easy. Certainly it must make life easy for him, because he has such a wonderful support group."

Barbara Skyde - Sr. VP, William Morris Agency

The Songs: "If I could pick two, I'd pick 'Learning to Fly' and I love the song 'It's Good To Be King,' which affected me very deeply. When I first heard it, I had to sit down and write Tom a letter. I love that song and it just touched me somewhere very deep. That song really just stopped me in my tracks."

The Songwriter: "To be a great songwriter, you have to have experienced a lot and I think Tom has. You've got a depth that he really reaches down into and obviously he has a great talent for turning a hook."

The Band: "Each member brings tremendous musicianship. Mike Campbell is incredible, as is Ben. You're talking about world-class musicians. Tom's no slouch on his instrument either. It's the way they connect with the audience and the way they connect with each other. That's what makes a great live show."