Pick a Day

Tom Petty Honored At MusiCares Gala

Tom Petty is honored as Person of the Year at the MusiCares gala, held two days before the Grammy Awards. "Twenty years ago I'd have been way too cynical to do this, but I'm 66 now and I feel ya," he says in his speech.

Petty isn't big on being feted, but he likes the cause; MusiCares helps out struggling musicians, and the foundation raises a record $8.5 million from the gala. The night is a testament to Petty's influence, with an impressive list of performers queuing up to play his songs in tribute. Here's the setlist: Randy Newman - "Refugee" George Strait - "You Wreck Me" Elle King - "American Girl" Taj Mahal - "Hometown Blues" Norah Jones - "Time to Move On," "You Don't Know How It Feels" Foo Fighters - "Honey Bee" (a song Dave Grohl played with the band on Saturday Night Live in 1994 when they needed a drummer), "Breakdown" The Lumineers - "Walls" Cage the Elephant - "Mary Jane's Last Dance" Jackson Browne - "The Waiting," "Learning To Fly." Lucinda Williams - "Rebels" Gary Clark Jr. - "Good Enough" Regina Spektor - "I Forgive It All" Lucinda Williams - "Southern Accents" Jakob Dylan - "Love is a Long Road" The Head and the Heart - "You Got Lucky" The Shelters - "Listen to Her Heart" Don Henley - "Free Fallin'" Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen - "Wildflowers" Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with the Bangles "Waiting for Tonight," "Don't Come Around Here No More" With Stevie Nicks - "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Insider" With Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison - "I Won't Back Down" Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "Runnin' Down A Dream" In his speech, Petty first pays tribute to the Heartbreakers, saying, "I may be in one of the best two or three rock and roll bands there is." He goes on to give a brief history of rock and roll, and how it came to him: "I got into music at age 10. I was collecting rock and roll records - not rock - this was rock and roll - the roll designates a swing. It's a music that was created by black people, given its name by a white DJ named Alan Freed, who along with Sam Phillips saw it as a conspiracy to get black music on white popular radio. And when Sam found Elvis he called Alan and said, 'We're ready to roll.' The music became popular and it empowered the youth of America. The government got very nervous - especially the Republicans - they put Elvis in the army, they put Chuck Berry in jail. Things calmed down for a couple of years, but it was too late: The music had reached England. In 1964 the Beatles came. I had my eyes opened and I joined the conspiracy to put black music on popular white radio." On October 2, 2017, Petty dies after going into cardiac arrest. In his MusicCares speech, he told a story about standing by at a session with George Harrison, Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr early in his career. Noticing some of these cool cats wearing dark glasses, he put some on himself. His label boss Leon Russell told him to take them off because wearing sunglasses at night is an honor you earn. In a rare acknowledgment of his legacy, Petty paused his speech to put on the glasses.

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• Awards and Honors