Tom Petty’s ‘Buried Treasure’ Show Belongs in a Museum. SiriusXM Radio Should Release It to the Public.

Some songs find a place in our minds. When we hear them, they evoke memories of a particular time or place. When I was a kid, I went surfing one day with Tom Petty’s “Runnin Down a Dream” stuck in my head. And in the years since, each time I’ve heard the song, I’ve had a flashback of glassy waves. The animated music video didn’t do that song justice because it meant something completely different to me.

Tom Petty died last week and I felt the same way about many of the tributes to him. People knew him as a great singer and songwriter, which he was. But he was much more than that: also a music historian and an interpreter of American cultural history. SiriusXM Radio has custody of some of his best work in that area and I hope they release it to the public.

Beginnings

When I was a teenager, I thought Tom Petty was old. I’d heard most of his songs, which were quickly becoming staples of classic rock radio. And yet, he wasn’t “cool” to me because he was almost as old as my parents. I was listening to much trashier stuff, so I was not smart enough to go out and buy a Tom Petty album.

And then came “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” which was an instant hit. Tom Petty was in his 40s when he recorded it, yet the song was immediately relevant to kids in high schools and colleges. People smoked marijuana, but it was not prevalent in public discussion the way it is today. Petty’s song never actually mentioned the drug, but there was a double entendre. To some, it was a song about a girl. The music video starred the lovely Kim Basinger and opened with her dead in a morgue; it was strange enough that young people like me thought it was pretty cool.

For many years, that was Tom Petty to me. I enjoyed hearing the occasional TP song on a classic rock station, but for the most part, I didn’t pay much attention to his music.

Buried Treasure

That changed when I bought a car which had a subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio. This is a subscription-based radio service and it has many more amazing channels than the free local ones. Nevertheless, the subscription costs money, and I’m not the type of person to pay it unless the content blows me away. That was when I discovered Tom Petty’s channel and, more importantly, his ‘Buried Treasure’ show.

Creative Commons via Flickr by Mark Runyon, Concerttour.net.

The singer, songwriter, and musician Tom Petty died last week. While I enjoyed his music, it was Tom Petty the music historian who I came to respect the most. His ‘Buried Treasure’ show on SiriusXM radio was one of the best musical educations a fan could have. Here was someone at the top of his profession, with more money that he could ever spend and enough fame to do whatever he wanted. He chose to devote significant time and throw his passion into educating others on the radio about the music and traditions which influenced modern music.

He played records from his own personal collection on the show. Listening was a rare treat. I learned so much that I hadn’t known before about early American blues, the so-called British invasion (not just the Beatles), rockabilly, funk, and whatever music Tom Petty felt like sharing. Not only did we get songs from little-known artists whose work has been buried in archives; he also explained the context for each song and how it influenced other songwriters and bands. He even interviewed interesting people on the show from time to time.

It’s fortunate that he had a long and productive career, but unfortunate that he can no longer continue to share his depth of knowledge with that audience.

Tom Petty Should Be Remembered for More Than His Own Music

Since his death, there have been many tributes to the singer and musician. This is my remembrance of TP the music historian. RIP, professor, and thanks for giving me a deeper appreciation for the tunes that shaped your life and shaped American music.

SiriusXM radio created a classic with ‘Buried Treasure’. They own the material and have every right to profit from it. However, I call on them to make both the music list and the host’s commentary available to a broader audience. As Indiana Jones might have said, “It belongs in a museum”. Humanity would be richer if people could hear the passion Tom Petty had for real music.

Here are songs by a few artists who influenced Tom Petty and whose music was featured on his Buried Treasure show.

Champion Jack Dupree

Yardbirds

Howlin' Wolf

Conway Twitty

Santo & Johnny

Little Eva

Johnny Cash

And finally, here is Tom Petty singing “Learning to Fly” at Bonnaroo in 2006, one of his best live performances. He performed his final concert just a week before his death and thanked his fans for “40 years of a really great time.”