Why rock legend Tom Petty agreed to his cameo on The Simpsons

In The Simpsons episode “How I Spend My Vacation” (November 10, 2002), Homer (Dan Castelletto) was caught on camera drunkenly admitting that having a family never allowed him to pursue his dreams of being a rock star. His family hears the confession and, angered, also realizes that many of Homer’s dreams are indeed stifled by his domestic existence. As a favor, they enroll him in a sleepy rock and roll camp run by the Rolling Stones.

Homer has to interact with many famous camp counselors, all playing themselves. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards make up the camp program: the campers have to take singing and guitar/bass/drums lessons and put on a show at the end of the week. Consultants include Brian Setzer, Lenny Kravitz and Elvis Costello. The lyric workshop is taught by Tom Petty.

Petty proclaims during her lesson that lyrics are the hardest part of songwriting, but finding something meaningful makes the effort worthwhile. Homer and the other campers find the lesson boring, stating that rock and roll should be empty and hedonistic. In protest, Patty improvises a song about a girl who likes to go fast and hang out, but who is also concerned about the state of America’s public schools. Vacationers like only the first part.

The Simpsons writer Mike Scully said in a 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly that How I Spent My Vacation was originally planned to star B-level rock stars, but the cast was “enhanced” when the Rolling Stones were asked to appear in an episode. The Stones wanted to promote the Licks’ upcoming world tour, and The Simpsons producers were happy to oblige. Of course, once Mick and Keith get on board, other big rock stars will naturally follow.

Tom Petty seems to be easy to get under these conditions. Scully just had to ask.

Scully, like all sane people with good taste, was a big fan of the late Tom Petty and admitted he was the first major rock star he thought of for Strummer’s Vacation. If Jagger and Richards opened anyone’s list of potential rock stars, Scully was surely going to start with his favorite. Scully, having listened to so much of Tom Petty’s music, knew exactly how to write for her character. He even considered individual interviews. Scully said:

“There were a few people I always wanted to see on the show and he was one of them … It was so much fun writing his voice because I already knew him so well from all the years of seeing him play and hearing him interviewed and watched him on the (Harry) Shandling show. He was just one of those guys who, on top of all the musical talent, was really funny.

It just so happened that Petty was also a fan of The Simpsons. Indeed, it is difficult to find a person who is not. There was a brief bout of concern about Petty’s potential involvement, as the rocker is known for not licensing his music commercially, but Petty was immediately willing to appear, and it wouldn’t be anything like Michael Jackson’s banned episode. Indeed, Petty previously allowed the producers of The Simpsons to use his song “The Waiting” in the episode “The Cartridge Family” (November 2, 1997). It seems that Petty was not just a game, but a passion. It seems he even bragged about being on The Simpsons to his fellow heartthrobs. Scully said:

“We asked him and he said yes, it was that simple… He was a real fan and kept telling his band mates – they were recording all night at the time – and telling them to make sure to remind him that he had to leave to start recording”The Simpsons.”

At that moment, and at that moment only, Tom Petty lived up to his namesake.

Scully also found the actual logistics of recording with Tom Petty to be smooth and easy. He brought his guitar into the studio and serenaded the audio crew, and as Scully recalls, he had a great time. When it came time to record a “nonsense rock song” for the show, Petty was so on Scully’s wave that he was able to improvise a “nonsense rock song” that made it into the final cut. As Scully says:

“(He) just grabbed his guitar and asked us, ‘You mean something like that?’ and what he did was what we used in the show. He immediately understood the joke. guitar”.

Petty died in 2017 at the age of 66, the victim of an addiction to opiates and painkillers brought on by a series of illnesses. In 2024 “Almost Famous” director/writer Cameron Crowe the priceless 1983 MTV special “Heartbreakers Beach Party,” filmed just before the release of the “Long After Dark” album, was released in theaters. It included a lot of extra footage, including found footage of Petty performing. It was a gentle and glorious way to remember the legend in his prime. In the special, Petty even begins to wonder if even in 1983, he and his band are out of date.

Petey needn’t have worried. His legend now precedes him.