As a teenager, Tench met another up-and-coming rocker, Tom Petty, at a local music store. This didn't stop automakers from using it in commercials.

We asked him to do a little free associating about some of those artists and albums. Jimmy Iovine, producer of early Heartbreakers records like “Damn the Torpedoes” and “Hard Promises,” brought Tench in to play on Stevie Nicks’ landmark solo debut “Bella Donna” and Bob Dylan’s “Shot of Love,” helping launch Tench’s lengthy associations with both artists and a prolific side career. To live in a time when Bob Dylan is making music and still putting out really good music is to live in a time when Walt Whitman is putting out poetry, when Yeats is writing poetry, when Gershwin is presenting new songs, when Dickens is saying, ‘Here’s my latest novel’ and when Melville is putting out a little book called ‘Moby Dick.’ That’s the level and that’s the privilege that we have and that’s what we should be aware of that Bob Dylan is in the world and we have to really cherish that Bob Dylan is in the world.”, The first word that came to the self-deprecating Tench’s mind for this “Rattle and Hum” track was “guilty.”. Several years later (while on break from college),... Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Find Benmont Tench discography, albums and singles on AllMusic

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Follow her on Twitter @GlobeRodman, But in addition to Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-earning output, Tench has moonlighted like a madman, playing on hundreds of songs, both hits and deeper cuts, for a who’s who of rock, pop, and country artists as a session player. Tench has recorded with Nicks on several of her biggest hits including “Edge of Seventeen” — fun fact: Roy Bittan of the E Street Band also plays on that track — and there is, of course, this famous collaboration with his home crew. The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs. Benmont Tench Song list Blonde Girl, Blue Dress (2014) Wobbles (2014) You Should Be So Lucky (2014) Tench has put his fingerprints via piano, Hammond organ, mellotron, farfisa, and a multitiude of other instruments on songs by everyone from Johnny Cash to Alanis Morissette to Eurythmics to Fiona Apple and U2 — sort of, see below — and dozens more.


© 2019 Billboard. © Copyright 2020 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. Not that Alanis was a fluke, but the way that it came about. I didn’t actually get a chance to ask Tench about this ‘80s female empowerment anthem but I love this video. The longtime Tom Petty keyboardist shares his favorite tunes of freedom and escape, from the Band to Martha and the Vandellas. Best known as the longtime pianist and keyboard player for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench is one of rock's most respected instrumentalists, as he's guested on countless recordings other artists. Benmont Tench covered Corrina, Corrina and Duquesne Whistle. Both Nissan and Oldsmobile have used it in ads. Rosanne Cash recorded this hushed ballad on her album “King’s Record Shop.” Tench reclaimed it for his solo album. (His. I followed Mudcrutch around because I thought they were a great band. These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches. All those people are my dear friends.”, On Diamond: “A joy. Benmont Tench wrote Not Enough Love in … Even when the spirit is shambolic, such as on the pleasingly lazy Band-indebted "Blonde Girl, Blue Dress," there's an ease to the delivery that's smooth yet consciously dodges away from polish.

All Rights Reserved. A loyal Tom Petty collaborator since the Mudcrutch days, Benmont Tench hosts his own Sirius show, where he spins classic records and shares colorful anecdotes about the band. It went worldwide and they deserved it.”, “I think that’s a really excellent song and that album shows what Sheryl is capable of.”. Sign up for our newsletter. Benmont Tench wrote Not Enough Love in the World, Never Be You and Livin' It Down. In Gary Numan's "Cars," the message is that cars lead to a mechanical society devoid of personal interaction. Tench reclaimed it for his solo... Johnny Cash, “Hurt” (from “American IV: The Man Comes Around”). Lou Reed's 11-minute "Street Hassle" features a spoken part by Bruce Springsteen. Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism. But in addition to Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-earning output, Tench has moonlighted like a madman, playing on hundreds of songs, both hits and deeper cuts, for a who’s who of rock, pop, and country artists as a session player. “There’s nothing you can say about Bob Dylan. The Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench on 5 Transporting Songs The longtime Tom Petty keyboardist shares his favorite tunes of freedom and escape, from the Band to Martha and the Vandellas Benmont Tench covered Corrina, Corrina and Duquesne Whistle. “Fluke. In a chat, Tench (see accompanying Tench interview) who plays a sold out Fenway Park with the Petty and the Heartbreakers on Saturday, says he still pinches himself about the musicians he’s gotten to play with over the years. The Starland Vocal Band got the title "Afternoon Delight" from the late-afternoon appetizer menu at the restaurant Clyde's Of Georgetown in Washington, DC. Recruited by occasional Heartbreakers producer Rick Rubin, Tench plays piano, organ, and mellotron on the country legend’s haunting cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic. "Sing" was inspired by a girl that Ed Sheeran met in Las Vegas in the summer of 2013, when "one thing led to another and now she's kissing my mouth.". There’s a great, wonderful, lovely man.”, On Rubin (who worked with Tench in the Heartbreakers and brought him in on this session as well as ones for Cash, the Dixie Chcks, the Avett Brothers and more): “Grateful. Tench and the Heartbreakers have a long history with Dylan, even serving as his back-up band on a tour and, of course, Petty traveled as a Wilbury alongside the acclaimed singer-songwriter.

“I feel guilty about that because I’m credited on it and I’m barely on it. Talk about a heartbreaker. We want to hear from you! Want more Rolling Stone? I was a fan when I joined. Don't play "I Will Always Love You" at your wedding - Dolly Parton wrote it about leaving someone behind to strike out on her own. Best known as the longtime pianist and keyboard player for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench is one of rock's most respected instrumentalists, as he's guested on countless recordings other artists. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs, Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined, Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream. Born on September 7, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida, Tench took up piano at an early age, playing recitals at the age of six. Tench and company can drift, as they do on smoky instrumental "Ecor Rouge," dabble with the New Orleans rhumba ("Wobbles"), and work up a serious groove (a smoking cover of Bob Dylan 's latter-day gem "Duquesne Whistle"), but most of the record is anchored in roots rock that isn't necessarily rustic.

But it’s a beautiful song. You Should Be So Lucky is distinguished by that casual professionalism, and the album is so comfortable, so easy to enjoy that it can take a few listens to realize how deeply Tench's original songs sink in -- it's not just that ballads like "Today I Took Your Picture Down" start to resonate, but the pop hooks on "Veronica Said" and the title track seem stronger and cannier -- and how soulful this whole affair is.