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In interview Ringo Starr talks about Tom Petty’s death

In interview Ringo Starr talks about Tom Petty's death

Classic Rock

In interview Ringo Starr talks about Tom Petty’s death

Ringo Starr remembered his “good friend” Tom Petty in a new interview for Bilboard following the rock icon’s death at the age of 66.

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“I’ll miss Tom. Tom was a good friend. I played with Tom, Tom played with me. I got to know him over the years, really got to know him when he was in the [Traveling] Wilburys ’cause of George [Harrison]”.

In interview Ringo Starr talks about Tom Petty's death

“All through my career we’ve lost really great friends, and people who aren’t my friends, but were great musicians and writers. In our business we’ve lost them very young as well. But overall there’s still a lot of us out there doing what we do.”

Ringo was in Las Vegas on business at the time of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, which occurred hours before Petty’s death.

“The vibe was pretty low – understandably, of course,” Starr said of the hours after the shooting. “Then in the middle of this meeting someone turned to me and said, ‘Tom Petty’s dead.’ ‘Oh my God! What else can go down?’ It was a shock. When you first hear it, it’s like, ‘What…?!’ Like when I heard Elvis was dead… It has to sink in. It was very sad. That’s all I can say, really.”

In interview Ringo Starr talks about Tom Petty's death (1)

During Petty’s MusiCares Person of the Year acceptance speech in January, Petty revealed that while he served as a session musician at Leon Russell’s Los Angeles studio in the mid-Seventies, his first session found him in the same room as Starr, Harrison and drummer Jim Keltner. Starr also attended the ceremony.

“They didn’t need any words, but those cats were so cool, you know. And I found myself, after the session when we were hanging out, I found myself slipping my sunglasses on,” Petty said. “Leon said, ‘What the hell are you doing with the dark glasses, man?’ I said, ‘It feels cool, you know, like Jimmy Keltner – he’s got his on.’ [Russell said] ‘Wearing sunglasses at night is an honor you earn.'” Petty then looked up from his speech to his sunglasses on.

Watch Ringo and Petty meeting on Buffalo airport in 2008:

Read more about Tom Petty

I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago. Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions. After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world! MTB: 0021377/MG

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