Taylor Swift Was Inspired By Tom Petty

She recently opened up about how the musician influenced her music.

Fans and fellow musicians everywhere continue to pay tribute to the legend Tom Petty after his unexpected death earlier this week.

Taylor Swift is one of the many who’ve been inspired by Tom Petty. In an interview with Rolling Stone she said, “To me, Tom Petty represented a kind of songwriting I idolized: complex simplicity.”

She went on to say: “It said so much in the lyrics, the concepts, the stories, the message, the nuances…but always brought you back to a hook that got stuck in everyone’s head. He motivated thousands of guitarists to learn to play just because they wanted to be able to play ‘Free Fallin’.’ Count me as one of them.”

In the past she’s shown her love of his music but covering his iconic song “American Girl.” Check out this cover she recorded during her 2009 Fearless tour:


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