The NFL announced that classic rocker Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will headline the Bridgestone halftime show this year. Tom Petty, an 18-time Grammy nominee, has sold over 50 million records since his debut album in 1976. Halftime show performers in recent years includes some of the biggest names in music including Prince, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Diddy, U2 and Shania Twain.
In this Q&A with Rolling Stone, Tom Petty talks about his involvement in the game. Here are some of the highlights.
RS: Tell me your first reaction to their offer.
TP: I said, really? That was it. I was shocked, then I started thinking about it and thought it might be cool. It’s not the kind of thing you ever think about, playing the Super Bowl. It never really crossed my mind.
RS: What’s the show going to be like?
TP: I’m just … You don’t have a great deal of time. I’m trying to, right now, figure out how much material I can squeeze into that short space of time. I think that whatever you do you probably have to edit yourself a bit. I doubt we’d do a medley. We’ve never done a medley and I can’t picture us doing one. It’s not the kind of band that can remember a medley.
And of course, the question all Tom Petty fans are thinking right now...
RS: Has the NFL given you any guidelines as far as what you can’t play as far as drug references and whatnot?
TP: I don’t think anyone was too big on me making drug references, which I never even said I’d do. I was asked … it was strongly hinted that playing “You Don’t Know How It Feels” probably wasn’t the best thing. It’s a family show. People of all ages and musical tastes in one place is what’s exciting about it.
Comments