Tommy Youngsteen is Canada’s definitive rock ‘n’ roll cover band, playing sold-out shows to the tunes of Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and, for our purposes, Tom Petty—the greatest musician to ever use the verb RUN in a song (Running Down a Dream, from Full Moon Fever, naturally).
Ahead of their gig at the Horseshoe Tavern on September 8, which we encourage everyone to attend, we asked Alan Snoddy, former guitarist in the great Canadian indie rock band Stars and Tommy’s lead singer, to countdown the best Tom Petty running songs. Did he miss one of your favourites? Let us know, and see you at the show.
10. You Wreck me – Just the guitars at the beginning, then the band kicks in… Great way to start off a run.
9. The Apartment Song – If we could all write ’em like this.
8. Won’t Back Down – Love the steady groove on this one… rumour has it, it’s Ringo on drums, but who knows?
7. I Need to Know – This one coulda been written for the Ramones.
6. Handle with Care – Can’t top the Petty, Dylan, Orbison, Harrison, & Lynn harmonies on this one.
5. Honey Bee – Little Zeppelin in the house, maybe?
4. You’re so Bad – Love that swishy 12 string acoustic.
3. Runnin down a Dream – That riff off the top really pushes you though those last few Km’s.
2. Refugee – That opening drum fill could be the whole song.
1. American Girl – One of the best rock n roll guitar solos of all time!
Photographs of Tom Petty courtesy of Warner Brothers records. For tickets to the Tommy Youngsteen show, selling out quickly, please click here.
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