Southern Accents (song)

1985 single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

"Southern Accents"

Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
from the album  Southern Accents
A-side| "Rebels"
Released| 1985
Genre|

* Rock
* heartland rock[1]

Length| 4:44
Label| MCA
Songwriter(s)| Tom Petty
Producer(s)|

* Tom Petty
* Mike Campbell

"Southern Accents" is the fourth track from the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album of the same name.[2] The song was also released as the B-side to "Rebels" and it was included on the compilation The Best of Everything.[3]

## Recording

[edit]

While this song was recorded there was tension between the bandmates, each having a different vision for what the final versions of the song and the album would sound like. It was during the recording sessions for this album that Petty broke his hand after punching a wall out of frustration.[4] The song, along with the rest of the album was recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California.

## Reception

[edit]

The song was met with generally positive reviews from several major sources such as Rolling Stone, which called it "a fierce defense of his Southern roots and an ambitious fight for his creative honor."[5] Most reviews for the whole album specifically mentioned this song as a highlight.

## Live performances

[edit]

The song was included on the 1985 live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live!.

It was also included on the 2009 collection The Live Anthology and in the 2018 posthumous collection An American Treasure. The featured performance is from the band's Gainesville, Florida, show on September 21, 2006.

## History

[edit]

Petty said: "That may be my favorite among my songs – just in terms of a piece of pure writing. I remember writing it very vividly. It was in the middle of the night and I was playing it on the piano at home in Encino. I was just singing into my cassette recorder and suddenly these words came out." Petty also mentioned his mother, Katherine, who died in 1980 in the song, and stated he didn't go to her funeral because of his hatred for funerals and because his presence would have raised a commotion.[6]

## Personnel

[edit]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

* Tom Petty – lead vocal, piano
* Mike Campbell – Dobro
* Benmont Tench – piano
* Howie Epstein – backing vocal
* Stan Lynch – percussion

additional personnel

* Jack Nitzsche – string arrangement

## Notable covers

[edit]

* Dolly Parton released a cover of the song in April 2024, in advance of the compilation album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "A One-Paragraph Review of Every Tom Petty (And the Heartbreakers) album". 3 October 2017.
2. ^ "Southern Accents". tompetty.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
3. ^ "The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career-Spanning Hits Collection 1976–2016 – Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
4. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (2 May 2012). "Amare Stoudemire's Smashed Hand Recalls 1984 Tom Petty Incident". ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
5. ^ Millman, Joyce (1985-05-23). "Southern Accents". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
6. ^ "Southern Accents by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers". www.songfacts.com.
7. ^ Strauss, Matthew (2024-04-05). "Dolly Parton Covers Tom Petty's "Southern Accents"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-04-10.

## External links

[edit]

* Tom Petty official website

* v
* t
* e

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

* Tom Petty
* Mike Campbell
* Benmont Tench
* Ron Blair
* Stan Lynch
* Howie Epstein
* Scott Thurston
* Steve Ferrone

Studio albums|

* Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
* You're Gonna Get It!
* Damn the Torpedoes
* Hard Promises
* Long After Dark
* Southern Accents
* Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
* Into the Great Wide Open
* Songs and Music from "She's the One"
* Echo
* The Last DJ
* Mojo
* Hypnotic Eye

Live albums|

* Official Live 'Leg
* Pack Up the Plantation: Live!
* The Live Anthology
* Mojo Tour 2010
* Kiss My Amps
* Kiss My Amps, Vol. 2
* Live at the Fillmore 1997

Compilations|

* Greatest Hits
* Playback
* Anthology: Through the Years
* An American Treasure
* The Best of Everything

Videography|

* Pack Up the Plantation: Live!
* Hard to Handle w/ Bob Dylan
* Playback
* Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ
* Runnin' Down a Dream

Songs|

* "Breakdown"
* "American Girl"
* "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll"
* "I Need to Know"
* "Listen to Her Heart"
* "Don't Do Me Like That"
* "Refugee"
* "Here Comes My Girl"
* "Even the Losers"
* "The Waiting"
* "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)"
* "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
* "You Got Lucky"
* "Change of Heart"
* "Don't Come Around Here No More"
* "Rebels"
* "Southern Accents"
* "Make It Better (Forget About Me)"
* "Needles and Pins
* "Jammin' Me"
* "Learning to Fly"
* "Into the Great Wide Open"
* "Something in the Air"
* "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
* "Walls (Circus)"
* "Change the Locks"
* "Free Girl Now"
* "Room at the Top"
* "Surrender"
* "The Last DJ"
* "I Should Have Known It"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs
* Awards
* Mudcrutch
* Blue Stingrays
* Unchained
* Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

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