Monday, March 14
mystery solved
It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
I had the radio on, I was drivin'
Trees flew by, me and Del were singin' little Runaway
I was flyin'
Yeah runnin' down a dream
that never would come to me
workin' on a mystery,
goin' wherever it leads
All my life, I have wondered--who is Del? (Well maybe not the whole life--but definitely the part where I have known the lyrics to this song--so let's say for about 15 years, given that I have loved it since the age of 6.)
For the uninformed, the song is Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty. We all know that I think Tom Petty is a god. But I honestly never knew who Del was.
On Saturday night, I was reading Rolling Stone and there was a bit in there about a reissue of an album by Del Shannon, and it mentioned that in the mid-Eighties, Tom Petty helped him with an album.
I may not have made the connection--except that I happened to hear Runnin' Down a Dream on Sunday morning. And suddenly, one of the great mysteries of my life was solved.
Del is Del Shannon. Runaway was his biggest hit. He and Tom were friends, apparently. Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever album was released in 1989; Del Shannon killed himself in 1990. It all fits.
Here is Tom (pic from his website):
~Currently playing: MXPX "The Ever Passing Moment" album ~
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I had the radio on, I was drivin'
Trees flew by, me and Del were singin' little Runaway
I was flyin'
Yeah runnin' down a dream
that never would come to me
workin' on a mystery,
goin' wherever it leads
All my life, I have wondered--who is Del? (Well maybe not the whole life--but definitely the part where I have known the lyrics to this song--so let's say for about 15 years, given that I have loved it since the age of 6.)
For the uninformed, the song is Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty. We all know that I think Tom Petty is a god. But I honestly never knew who Del was.
On Saturday night, I was reading Rolling Stone and there was a bit in there about a reissue of an album by Del Shannon, and it mentioned that in the mid-Eighties, Tom Petty helped him with an album.
I may not have made the connection--except that I happened to hear Runnin' Down a Dream on Sunday morning. And suddenly, one of the great mysteries of my life was solved.
Del is Del Shannon. Runaway was his biggest hit. He and Tom were friends, apparently. Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever album was released in 1989; Del Shannon killed himself in 1990. It all fits.
Here is Tom (pic from his website):
~Currently playing: MXPX "The Ever Passing Moment" album ~
