In a moving moment, Wilco paid tribute to Tom Petty, who had died at the age of 66 this past Monday following cardiac arrest, by covering a song by the late rock legend at their concert in Irving, Texas.
Jeff Tweedy and company offered up a faithful rendition of the cut “The Waiting,” which was a hit off of Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s 1981 record Hard Promises, which became a cathartic sing-along at the Music Factory.
Wilco previously remembered Petty on Twitter by unearthing a video of their 1995 live cover of the singer’s “Listen to Her Heart.”
The music world has paid homage to Petty in the days after his death: Coldplay teamed up with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck onstage to cover the classic “Free Fallin’,” while other artists, collaborators and friends like Sean Penn, Ryan Adams, Mark Ronson and Mike Judge have penned tributes to the Southern rock figurehead.
“It’s hard enough for any of us to share ourselves, to articulate in tone and content, to even one other individual,” Penn wrote of Petty. “But Tom was that extreme exception who could talk to and for millions through his music, words and way. We often say how lucky we were to know someone when they pass. Man, was I lucky, and moreso we were lucky that Tom Petty passed our way and left us a soundtrack more significant every day.”
Check out the Wilco cover as well as the original below.
Photo Credit: Alyssa Fried
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