WCSX Classic Cuts : You Got Lucky
WCSX Classic Cuts
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: “You Got Lucky”
The Hook: Although he says he’s “allergic” to synthesizers, keyboardist Benmont Tench — with the help of a hired “synth wiz” — was able to copy the parts guitarist Mike Campbell laid down on his demo of the song.
Album: Long After Dark
Year: 1982
Writers: Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
Stats: Topped Billboard’s Top Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks and peaked at number-20 on the Hot 100 singles chart.
Background: Keyboardist Benmont Tench explains why “You Got Lucky” stood out from the rest of the Long After Dark album, which was pretty much recorded live in the studio.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench on recording “You Got Lucky.” OC:…had played. :27
“‘You Got Lucky’ is an anomaly on Long After Dark, because Mike had a demo and we were trying to copy the demo to the track that he had made. It was right to try to copy it. It was our first experience with real synthesizers. I’m allergic to ’em. I think people who can play them well, I admire. I don’t have any clue what to do with them, so we had a synth wiz come in and turn it on for us and basically say, ‘Here’s how you get a sound.’ And then I played it and pretty much copied what Mike had played.”
