According toThe Sound, Petty would later recall that when Nicks first befriended him, "We were a little wary of Stevie. Benmont Tench Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old | AllMusic And I really wish there was a way. "Should the Bowl just get them on the books now?" Craftsman; Cuisinart; DeWalt; Dyson; Keurig; KitchenAid I had to take care of my wife.". Benmont Tench - Billboard Watkins Family Hour is a bluegrass musical collaborative led by Sean and Sara Watkins. Looking back, Petty still expressed shock at the incident. These would be Steve Nieve, of Elvis Costello & the Attractions. In 2002, Tom and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had always been a fan of his music, but I really fell in love with him as a person.. Benmont Tench: A Heartbreaker Goes Soulful on Debut Solo Disc "It's hard to just realize, I suppose, that I'm not gonna get to play with that guy," he said. Tench would drop out of college a few years. Watching the new film, and appearing in it either in archival footage shot during the recording of the 1994 Wildflowers album, or new interviews with director Mary Wharton, Tench felt regret for what on a very personal level might have been. Tench and Tom met in high school and began playing in bands together when they were teenagers. [9], In 2009, Tench frequently appeared with the Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles. I have no bloody idea! He had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. But because I had a daughter coming, I had to take care of my wife.. Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench was expecting a call about the next tour in early-October of 2017 when his phone rang with much worse news. Considering you played a key role in forming it, where do you think The Heartbreakers sound comes from? Its a Mason and Hamlin 1928 grand piano. Thats because Glyn Johns produced and engineered it. Thanks for your music! Today in history - Sidney Daily News Everyone who plays on the album is a friend of mine, and almost everyone has been to my house. Engineer/producer Ryan Ulyat has been the primary person working on the band's archival projects since Petty's death in 2017. As ticket-holders reset their calendars for the new dates, the Mercury News'Jim Harrington "bet my copy of Damn the Torpedos" that the band would be back to play other northern California venues in the future. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. He's a rock 'n' roll rarity: an artist who was consistent until the very end. The world was in a very sort of chaotic and kind of scary place, Wharton says. Former Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench isn't interested in playing again as the Heartbreakers. Over the past few years, Tench has appeared as a session musician on the Who's WHO, Bob Dylan's Rough and. It says exactly what I want to say, the way I want to say it, he explained. Benmont Tench - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader When famed rocker Tom Petty died, he was called "dynamic and iconoclastic" by Rolling Stone. "He was also someone I looked up to enormously.". He was the very last person. Adria Petty and producer Peter Afterman told her that theyd recently unearthed an archive of film shot in the mid-90s as Petty was working on Wildflowers, most of which had never before been seen, and asked Wharton if she wanted to shape it into a documentary film. Mostly, I enjoyed hearing Tom talking about the record, he says. Petty fondly remembered, "We jammed for a few days and had the amps up loud," according toHear and Now. Running the gamut from retro garage rock to rain-on-the-window balladry, it's a poised disc well worth checking out. Keep in mind that we grew up in the same area, Gainesville, Fla., and listened to the same radio stations. [Laughs.] Its just a beautiful sounding instrument and its the favorite thing that I play. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Mudcrutch. How would you describe their impact on you? Benmont played piano from an early age, and his first recital was at age 6. My world world is fallen apart. Tom was the last person in the band that I expected ever to go. And that record is a prime example of that. Later that day, a chaplain was summoned to Petty's hospital room as his family reeled from the early reports that he was already dead. There is no way.. "You don't want to shake my hand today," he told others. Variety reports that the new song features Red Hot Chilli Peppers' guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and drummer Chad Smith, alongside Hammond organ by Benmont Tench, of The Heartbreakers-fame. Benmont Tench Recalls 'Circle Of Life Lesson' Following Tom Petty's Tom Petty had been nominated for 18 Grammy awards, scoring three wins (perGrammy.com). Now that he is gone, I do look at things a little bit differently, Tench says. -Cheers, Benmont Tench!! It has a beautiful, beautiful sound; I cant walk by without playing it, and if I sit down with it at night, Im not leaving until 4 a.m.! 1 at 17 with Spencer Davis Group, considered a boy wonder who could play every instrument, joins a super group with Clapton, falls into obscurity, nearly forgotten, then comes roaring back in the 80s to dominate the charts . By now, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had been around an amazing four decades, a claim few other American bands could make. X. Dylan Owens from the Denver Post's The Know called the show"a memorable one," with the band playing from "a seemingly bottomless bucket of hits." ), Tom Petty as seen in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. It didnt give me something to push aside my grief or my acknowledgement of what was lost. Based on your location, we've changed your settings: By clicking Subscribe, I agree to receive exclusive offers & promotions, news & reviews, and personalized tips for buying and selling on Reverb. "TOM PETTY. Trisha Yearwood, Lee Roy Parnell, Paul Shaffer, Benmont Tench, Duke Levine, Beausoleil, Shawn Colvin, Matt Rollings. In addition, Tom was a member of the late 1980s supergroup called Traveling Wilburys.. And to have one of the greatest songwriters in rock n roll history admit that hed never thought he was any good is jaw-dropping. I was like, Nothing, me and the rest of America are in our sweatpants with nothing to do, Wharton says. It saved me, having my daughter. Petty and Tench played together as members of The Sundowners in 1964. A guy named Bill Beer modified it, and he was secretive. huhhh??? His wife hosts the podcast Coffee with Alice.. Petty's manager, Tony Dimitriades, later said, "I don't think he even knew when it happened," but the rocker's hip was certainly bothering him. Mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, White Zombie), the album kicks off with the visceral Halo Of Ashes, driven by Garry Lee . Two decades later in early 2020, not long after the pandemic sent the world into lockdown, Adria Petty called Wharton, whod just finished the documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President, and asked what she was working on. Latest News Publishing BMG to Admin George Harrison's Publishing, Expands Dark Horse Records Partnership By . Shop all Home & Garden. When I started doing demos for this album and sent them to Glyn Johns, he said, You need to start singing every day and practicing everyday, and so I did. How are you going to do that? He even formed his own radio channel, Tom Petty Radio, and wrote Runnin' Down a Dream, a retrospective look at his own personal recollections. You describe an old-school approach, and the record has an old-school intimacy to itlike something cut 20 or 30 years ago. Benmont Tench Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic He was born on September 7, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida, USA. Benmont Tench first met Tom Petty in a Gainesville, Florida music shop. There, he lingered on life support, while certain news sources (including CBS News and Rolling Stone, via iHeart Radio) jumped the gun and reported that Petty had died. Speaking to Billboard about the rocker's legacy, Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench elaborated on losing his friend and how he continues to cope with the sudden loss (Petty died of cardiac arrest). Jeff Lynne and Dave Ste. In the late evening of October 1, Tom Petty "was found unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest" at his home in Malibu, California, according toTMZ. Next: The Stories Behind the 36 Covers from Tom Petty's 'Fillmore' Box, 40 Years Ago: ELO Prompts Tom Pettys Change of Heart, Win a Signed Tom Petty Live at the Fillmore 1997 Vinyl Set, Watch New Unseen Clips of Tom Pettys Fillmore Residency, Win a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Fillmore Vinyl Box Set, The Stories Behind the 36 Songs Tom Petty Covers on Fillmore LP, Hear Tom Petty Cover Call Me the Breeze at 1997 Fillmore Show, Watch Never-Before-Seen Clip of Tom Petty at the Fillmore in 1997, Original Tom Petty Drummer Nearly Refused Mike Campbells Reunion Offer. The post further explained that Petty could not be revived, dying peacefully in the presence of his family, bandmates, and friends. 19990000. And on the band's first night out at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed to a more-than-pleased crowd, according toJambase. SoCal sounds comes to Utopia Benmont Tench Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives These kinds of things set up a dynamic, Tench, now 68, says. And here you are full circle, living out that childhood dream. 10. View wiki rock singer-songwriter soft rock thrilling adventure hour usa Add tags View all tags My favorite is my Hammond C3 organ that I got in 1978. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP), Tom Petty as seen in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. "I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can." Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench said the birth of his daughter two months after the death of Tom Petty had prevented him from falling apart. Other articles where Benmont Tench is discussed: Tom Petty: former members, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, joined Ron Blair and Stan Lynch to form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. So when I hear him talking, and explaining what was in his head, that was educational for me, Tench says. Do the Heartbreakers record live as well? Fast-forward to 2016. Joe Walsh kicked things off before the band opened with an old favorite, "Rockin' Around (With You)," from their debut album so many years ago. One just doesn't find a lead guitarist like Mike Campbell in a friend's back room or a keyboardist like Benmont Tench, the son of a Florida judge who had to fight to be a musician. Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. As the band began rehearsals for the 40th Anniversary Tour, Tom Petty received a nice surprise: In February 2017, he received the MusiCares Person of the Year award. "American Girl" - Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and The Hed attended school with Petty and spent most of his life making music with the band leader. For Wharton, theres a moment in the film that she still thinks about months later. : benmonttench.com, Facebook, Twitter, instagram.com, Wikipedia, musicianbio.org, famousbirthdays.com, geni.com : It would last several months. Benmont Tench's birthstone is Sapphire. But as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tenchs keyboards are indelibly etched on a slew of hits, from Refugee and Jammin Me to the Heartbreakers-backed hit for Stevie Nicks, Stop Draggin My Heart Around. Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Green Day: theyve all tapped Tench to lend his sublime keyboard sorcery to their songs. 1970s - 2010s. Early on its me and [drummer] Stan Lynch singing the background vocals on I Need to Know, The Waiting and Refugee. But I dont think I sing on anything else. Producer Glyn Johns' famous drum mic technique. When nothing came of it at the time, he forgot all about it until he was shown what had been captured on the beautiful black and white film. That band eventually became Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in which Tench was a member until Pettys 2017 death. Today is Saturday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2019. He was such a classic Southern gentleman, says Wharton, who like Petty, grew up in northern Florida. Mudcrutch Live - Mudcrutch (CD, 2008) Tom Petty Tom Leadon Mike In October, American Songwriterannounceda mega-40th-anniversary, remastered vinyl box set that would include all 16 albums by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as Petty's three solo albums (Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, and Highway Companion). As tributes rolled out across the media,the cause of Tom Petty's death remained "pending" (per Becker'sHospital Review)as an official autopsy was performed. The article gave further updates throughout the following early afternoon, including a report that EMTs were able to get a pulse before taking the singer to UCLA's Santa Monica Hospital. . (Photo by Martyn Atkins, courtesy of Warner Music & Petty Legacy, LLC. And the fact we loved the way Tom wrote gave us a vision and a focus. Benmont Tench Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Despite the decades spent together on vans and buses and planes, the days and nights in cheap lodgings and fancy hotels, and the thousands of hours in recording studios and on stage, Tench says the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free, which arrives on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, showed him more of Petty than he knew. It was the mid-'60s and Tench was 11 or 12, Petty three years older. The news set off a whole new series of alarms regarding the growing opioid crisis among celebrities. There was no time to really deal with it, since the tour was kicking off soon, and Petty, ever mindful of his fans, did not want to disappoint anyone. At age 11, Tench met Tom Petty for the first time at a Gainesville music store. By. The records with the outtakes give you a certain picture of the way it went deeper, but the film, especially because you get to hear Tom talk so much, the film takes you further.. "If we had a reason, then I would be all aboard," Campbell added. This film is part and parcel of the same thing, Tench says. "Nothing Is Wrong" also includes the talents of Tom Petty keyboard player Benmont Tench. [2] The Tench family's garage was a frequent practice site for the band. 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Next . Take us to the moment when the light bulb went offthat you knew you wanted to play keyboards. Godspeed to her. The band is composed of Tench, Sean Watkins (guitar), Sara Watkins (fiddle), Glen Phillips (guitar, vocals), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Greg Leisz (various), Pete Thomas (drums), and Davey Faragher (bass). What The Final 12 Months Of Tom Petty's Life Was Like - Grunge.com But retirement, according to Lewis, was not in the man's vocabulary. To me tape feels better, and I can sink my teeth into it. Early on, Petty had also gained the musical nation's respect when, according toNewsweek,he had the guts to take on record labels who habitually put their musicians into debt. [4] While on a college break, Tench went to a concert by Mudcrutch, Petty's band, with an opening act from nearby Jacksonville, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The piano I play at home I got 7 or 8 years ago, and Nicky Hopkins played it at his house. Although the album opens with "Green Light Girl," a frenetic tune with lots of rockin . They were fortunate with technology, where they stretched it to a certain point but you couldnt tweak things with a computer. Tench grew up in Gainesville, Florida, as the son of Mary Catherine McInnis Tench and Benjamin Montmorency Tench, Jr., a circuit court judge. "Better safe than sorry, I guess," Petty told the audience. Contact: The Heartbreaker Benmont Tench - Mother Jones I cant do that now. "If there was something that makes sense to me as a real reason to do it, but I don't really feel it right now. Its family. We followed what felt good, and what made sense, she says. Benmont Tench | Discography | Discogs He says he's open to the idea of playing with the others in various groupings, but that things. Oops, looks like you forgot something. Its like this: Youve seen beautiful, laser-cut pieces of wood, but have you seen things cut by hand? Tench singing with the Heartbreakers at Hollywood Bowl. On the eve of its Feb. 18 release, Tench talked to Reverb about the new effort, his favorite gear, his time with Tom Petty, and his love of a Liverpool band that changed his life. Even as his health was failing, the musician rocked on with vigor, and it was all for the people who loved his music. Three long months later, Rolling Stone reported that the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner had found numerous drugs in Petty's system. His collaborator and bandmate of over 40 years, Tom Petty, was in the hospital, after being found in his home unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest. "We're all on the backside of our sixties," he said. It really wasnt. Sometimes you work with somebody youve never heard of because you just feel like working., My father told me one day when I was maybe ten, just playing the piano, Youre playing too much. He said it kindly, and he was right., I went to college and majored in Art. Neither knew it was the last time they would see Petty sing. Sometimes he played bass.