The post further explained that Petty could not be revived, dying peacefully in the presence of his family, bandmates, and friends. (Photo by Martyn Atkins, courtesy of Warner Music & Petty Legacy, LLC. "It was not the circle-of-life lesson that I wanted. Mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, White Zombie), the album kicks off with the visceral Halo Of Ashes, driven by Garry Lee . No. Tench has worked extensively with other musicians, playing keyboards on hundreds of songs on albums such as Stevie Nicks' Bella Donna, Bob Dylan's Shot of Love, along with other musical greats such as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Alanis Morissette, Eurythmics, Fiona Apple, U2, X (American band) among many more. Sep 7, 2022 Born on this day in 1953, Benjamin Montmorency " Benmont" Tench III, the American musician and singer, best known as keyboardist and a founding member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, turns 69. Top sources. We connected and we stayed in touch.. Nicks applauded Petty's brave decision to finish his 40th Anniversary Tour, concluding with a parting word that was felt by so many who knew and loved him. It was not the circle-of-life lesson that I wanted. Engineer/producer Ryan Ulyat has been the primary person working on the band's archival projects since Petty's death in 2017. Petty's wife, Dana, would later reveal that Petty required "powerful medications" to meet the physical requirements of jumping around onstage during the tour. (Photo by Eva Mueller), Tom Petty with guitarist Mike Campbell and bassist Howie Epstein in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Youre an unabashed Beatles fan. With The Beatles, its like the first time someone saw an electric light or a motion picture. Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Tom Petty website also promised special guests along the tour that would include Joe Walsh and Chris Stapleton. Release Date. The tour was announced in December and would consist of all of the old Heartbreakers favorites. In a way, the director Wharton had been preparing for this film all of her working life. Especially pleasing to fans was an acoustic sing-along of "Learnin' to Fly," with the audience singing out the chorus like "an eerily beautiful choral society" as a crescent moon shone brightly in the night sky and the night lights of Denver glowed far away. About This Deal. It says exactly what I want to say, the way I want to say it, he explained. They divorced in late 1999. And I really wish there was a way. No rock critic could ever deign to critique the significance of Tom Petty any better than Benmont Tench, whose objectivity about the late superstar's creative prowess and personal appeal is not. "We always recorded more than what we put out, but we always put out what we thought was the very best," he told Meredith, "but fairly often, I would wonder why a song had been left off the record. Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III is an American musician and singer, best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was buried at Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisadeswith his parents. Tom Petty's Heartbreakers bandmates are still grieving the death of their longtime frontman, but keyboardist Benmont Tench has announced that he will continue with his previous plan to perform a solo show at the end of October. A sought-after session player, he has contributed his talents to recordings by Jackson Browne, Johnny Cash, Elvis . Thats because Glyn Johns produced and engineered it. Petty and Tench played together as members of The Sundowners in 1964. He offered to do it a while ago and so I finally took him up on it. Benmont Tench talks with Kyle Meredith about Live at The Fillmore 1997, the new Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers box set that collects highlights from the band's famed 20-night sold out run. -This amount is like what a regular computer programmer would retire with not that much, really. But I wasnt very good nonetheless, I enjoyed it, but I like the instant gratification of playing something on the piano and having the melody available to my ears., I prefer the way we play the Full Moon Fever songs live to the way they sound on the record, but the 7 million people that bought Full Moon Fever might disagree., You cant draw comparisons that somebody is as good as this, or they arent as good as that, everybody is really different., I loved Mal Evans holding one note down on You Wont See Me from Rubber Soul., There was a period when you were getting signed just because you were in a famous band; you made a record and, maybe, you didnt have anything to say., I got to play on a couple of records with the Rolling Stones, and that was really special to me., Im definitely a better musician than I was when I was 26, but I have to try to keep the mental freshness and naivet that I had then, and put in something of what Ive learned since., I try to find little things that you can do to move the song along and things that serve the song., Some people can clearly write character songs, but there is always an aspect of them in the character they are writing about., Working with Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson takes you up another level.. Petty and Tench played together as members of The Sundowners in 1964. "I look back on that and what a magical moment that was," Nicks remembered. He was the very last person. Thanks for your music! In 2009, Tench frequently appeared with the Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles. It was believed that a venomous snake would die if placed in a vessel made of sapphire. He was also someone I looked up to enormously. "The loss of Tom Petty has just about broken my heart," she told a crowd at Radio City Music Hall that month, according toPeople. Born on September 7, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida, Tench took up piano at an early age, playing recitals at the age of six. I have no bloody idea! Margo Price, second from right, at L.A.'s EastWest Studios with Sturgill Simpson, from left, Benmont Tench, Jeremy Ivey and James Gadson. Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. Who is Benmont Tenchs wife? That said, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers prepared for the tour to kick off in Oklahoma City on April 20. This was also recorded by Carlene Carter in the early 1990s. Marc Maron on Underrated Albums and Interviewing Difficult Musicians Benmont left Tulane University to play with Mudcrutch. How would you describe their impact on you? ), Director Mary Whartons new YouTube Originals documentary, Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free, arrives on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. : benmonttench.com, Facebook, Twitter, instagram.com, Wikipedia, musicianbio.org, famousbirthdays.com, geni.com : In 2015, the Watkins Family Hour released their debut album and went on . Running the gamut from retro garage rock to rain-on-the-window balladry, its a poised disc well worth checking out. "Nothing Is Wrong" also includes the talents of Tom Petty keyboard player Benmont Tench. Brown, currently on tour with Phish, has been Tench's keyboard tech for 31 of these years, but has remarkably seen little change in the vintage-minded keyboardist's live rig during that time. Petty's death, the family said, was simply "an unfortunate accident," adding that "we recognize this report may spark a further discussion on the opioid crisis." At this point its absolutely blood. Led Zeppelin didn't continue.". These would be Steve Nieve, of Elvis Costello & the Attractions. A few years later, she was working with a new hire at VH1 named Adria Petty, who only after Wharton started to piece together clues, acknowledged that Tom Petty was her father. It really wasnt. I quit school at 19 to play with him full-time. The band embarked on their American tour on May 26, 2016. 1 at 17 with Spencer Davis Group, considered a boy wonder who could play every instrument, joins a super group with Clapton, falls into obscurity, nearly forgotten, then comes roaring back in the 80s to dominate the charts . And the songs were kind of the touchstones, Wharton says. Its on Refugee and everything else. I need to watch this show with you." In addition to Tench, musicians who collaborated with Watkins Family Hour include: Tench earned most of his wealth from being part of the band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The thing to take away from the Beatles is the spirit in which it was done. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Your purchases help youth music programs get the gear they need to make music. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. [13][14], In March 2019, Tench played three shows with Phil Lesh & Friends at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. In addition, Tench is a skilled session musician and collaborated with numerous artists. Its a Mason and Hamlin 1928 grand piano. The meeting "kicked off my love of music," according to Petty, who would later say that "I'd never thought much about rock n' roll until that moment." Producers: Jim Scott, Benmont Tench, Doyle Bramhall II. Benmont Tench on the New Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Set and Unreleased Vault Songs Benmont Tench talks with Kyle Meredith about Live at The Fillmore 1997, the new Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers box set that collects highlights from the band's infamous 20 night sold out run. Even as his health was failing, the musician rocked on with vigor, and it was all for the people who loved his music. Are you going to get a guy that has that swing in his rhythm? It was magical. The shows received rave reviews, with Variety's Chris Willmancommenting,"Petty and the Heartbreakers' 40th anniversary tour feels like a victory lap, but not a valedictory lap." I was always impressed that she didnt lead with that, Wharton says. Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench said the birth of his daughter two months after the death of Tom Petty had prevented him from falling apart. Sometimes you work with somebody youve never heard of because you just feel like working., My father told me one day when I was maybe ten, just playing the piano, Youre playing too much. He said it kindly, and he was right., I went to college and majored in Art. Benmont Tench was a Florida-born boy who never forgot his southern roots, even while playing keyboards in one of the hottest bands of the 1980s, The Heartbreakers. "He was also someone I looked up to enormously.". In 2015, he married Alice Carbone Tench. eBay item number: 125797211311. . And thats all the live shows I have planned for now; I hope it doesnt give me panic attacks or that people walk out bored en masse. "I need to stop working for a period of time." Baby Health & Safety Shop All . Benmont Tench talks with Kyle Meredith about Live at The Fillmore 1997, the new Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers box set that collects highlights from the bands infamous 20 night sold out run. Benmont Tench was born in the middle of Baby Boomers Generation. It just isn't the Heartbreakers," Tench says in a new Kyle Meredith With interview, which you can listen to in full below. "I hope it comes out because I think it's cool," Tench said, "but there's even more. [3] Concerts. In 2016, Benmont reunited with Mudcrutch to record the bands 2nd album, titled Mudcrutch 2. In the same year, Tench played the Fleetwood Mac tribute at the Fonda Theater in LA. Previous image. Benmont is doing better! So you have a relationship with somebody, but there were a lot of sides to him that I didnt know, and I saw him so much.. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Mudcrutch. Joe Walsh kicked things off before the band opened with an old favorite, "Rockin' Around (With You)," from their debut album so many years ago. Neutral. Tench remembers filmmaker Martyn Atkins coming by the Wildflowers sessions every so often, and that his fly-on-the-wall style put everyone there at ease. The band then launched into "Swingin'" from their 1999 album Echo, with Petty adapting some of the lyrics to fit the storm that had just passed through. He had also played at the Super Bowl, went solo for a bit, joined up with other famous musicians to form the Traveling Wilburys, and resurrected Mudcrutch. He did many of those great records from 20 or 30 years ago, and I love the way he thinks and hears. Well, he goes over to our piano, and he did that thing with the black keyswhere you roll them with your knuckles, back and forthand I was intrigued. Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench said the birth of his daughter two months after the death of Tom Petty had prevented him from falling apart. I was trying to tell a story that was bigger than the making of the album, and use that as the lens through which were viewing Tom Petty, Wharton says. Craftsman; Cuisinart; DeWalt; Dyson; Keurig; KitchenAid 2898 events. In 2008, Tench became part of a supergroup, initially named The Scrolls, now officially known as Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). You appreciate them, but theyre always there. These kinds of things set up a dynamic, Tench, now 68, says. It let me not go, 'Holy s--t. My world is fallen apart.' When famed rocker Tom Petty died, he was called "dynamic and iconoclastic" by Rolling Stone. Former Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench isn't interested in playing again as the Heartbreakers. 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WORKSHOPS HEALTH-WELLNESS. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP), Tom Petty as seen in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. ), Tom Petty and producer Rick Rubin as seen in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stevie Nicks - Trouble in Shangri-La - Stevie Nicks CD ELLN The Cheap Fast Free at the best online prices at eBay! ), Benmonth Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as seen in the new documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, which debuts on YouTube on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. By now, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had been around an amazing four decades, a claim few other American bands could make. Catherine came in December, Tom died in October, Tench said. Looking back, Petty still expressed shock at the incident. Welcome to Hell Wobbles Corrina, Corrina Dogwood You Should Be So Lucky Why Don't You Quit Leaving Me Alone Pledge China Doll "I'd hug every one of you if I could," Petty told his fans. Theres a 14-song version of the album on vinyl. 13 Concerts. Billboardreported on the event, which featured over three hours of performances by such music greats as the Bangles, the Foo Fighters, George Strait, Jeff Lynne, Randy Newman, and Petty's longtime friend, Stevie Nicks. Enjoying his music right now! Alice Carbone Tench October 24, 2019 Thank you, @uclahealth for taking such a good care of my husband, @benmonttench The entire staff at both ER and hospital was amazing, kind, with a great sense of humor, patient and understanding. It didnt give me something to push aside my grief or my acknowledgement of what was lost. huhhh??? Trisha Yearwood, Lee Roy Parnell, Paul Shaffer, Benmont Tench, Duke Levine, Beausoleil, Shawn Colvin, Matt Rollings. There is no way.. sherlyholmes @ www.instagram.com/p/Bc20QBMlxPI/", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benmont_Tench&oldid=1116239232, Works Progress Administration (band) members, Articles with dead external links from February 2021, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 October 2022, at 15:15. Notably, the band hadn't played together for a few years. I really loved that it caught things like him pretending to play the French horn that are goofy and silly and funny because he had a side that was really off the cuff. 9. Hey! I played with him since I was 18 or 19. Then I started lessons at age 7 and right from the start, I wanted to be a composer or a songwriter. My world world is fallen apart. Tom was the last person in the band that I expected ever to go. He had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Eight years later, the couple divorced. And maybe he was talking about it because [he] was ill. Rolling Stoneverifiesthat Fleetwood Mac's lead crooner and accomplished songwriter first met Petty back in 1978 and sang alongside him on the song "Insider" for his 1981 album Hard Promises. Raitt nailed this staggeringly intimate ballad in one take. For Wharton, theres a moment in the film that she still thinks about months later. So I started monkeying around on the piano. 89.3 WFPL News | 90.5 WUOL Classical At age 11, Tench met Tom Petty for the first time at a Gainesville music store. It was like a gift from heaven for me to work on this film.. You sing all the lead vocals on You Should Be So Lucky. Did you ever sing in The Heartbreakers? It brought a vital center to my life., Tench said he was now nearing completion of a solo album featuring a tiny, compact band as a result of the pandemic. Benmont Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, USA on Monday, September 7, 1953 (Baby Boomers Generation). And when it goes to vinyl I can sink my teeth into it even more. To Stevie Nicks especially, Petty's MusiCares award was well-deserved. Warm thoughts of health and happiness. He was not well." He even formed his own radio channel, Tom Petty Radio, and wrote Runnin' Down a Dream, a retrospective look at his own personal recollections. Most poignant was Stevie Nicks' reaction to Petty's death. "Plus, it took me a minute to recover from how sad it was." With Bruce Hornsby on piano and Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers on organ, she created an unexpected pop standard, performed [] Keyboardist Benmont Tench also uses his time to work with other classic rock artists. 4965 events. But because I had a daughter coming, I had to take care of my wife.. Even as Tom Petty and his band rocked the house, however, the last two songs on the final night (via Slate),September 25, show Petty visibly lumbering across the stage and limping off after signing a few autographs. News; Watch Live; Local News; Traffic; National; World; Entertainment Tench would drop out of college a few years. Hed attended school with Petty and spent most of his life making music with the band leader. Next: The Stories Behind the 36 Covers from Tom Petty's 'Fillmore' Box, 40 Years Ago: ELO Prompts Tom Pettys Change of Heart, Win a Signed Tom Petty Live at the Fillmore 1997 Vinyl Set, Watch New Unseen Clips of Tom Pettys Fillmore Residency, Win a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Fillmore Vinyl Box Set, The Stories Behind the 36 Songs Tom Petty Covers on Fillmore LP, Hear Tom Petty Cover Call Me the Breeze at 1997 Fillmore Show, Watch Never-Before-Seen Clip of Tom Petty at the Fillmore in 1997, Original Tom Petty Drummer Nearly Refused Mike Campbells Reunion Offer. Although the album opens with "Green Light Girl," a frenetic tune with lots of rockin . And here you are full circle, living out that childhood dream. Warm thoughts of health and happiness. By then, the whole world knew that Nicks and Petty were longtime friends. The set came in two volumes, each featuring seven albums on a dozen vinyl records, and was released between November and December. [8] Tench penned one of the songs on the album, named "The Price," sung by Sara Watkins and himself. And he had his friends in the band, and we had our own relationship, our own kind of language.. His first recital was at age six. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. We were shaking off the rust.". Best known as a founding member of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers . he wondered. Mostly, I enjoyed hearing Tom talking about the record, he says. And I think some people who see the film will get an insight from it, too., The story Wharton and her team wove together felt true when Tench watched the film, which includes such classic songs as Its Good to Be King, You Wreck Me, and You Dont Know How It Feels.. He says he's open to the idea of playing with the others in various groupings, but that things. After the MusiCares gala, according toPeople,Nicks said Petty was " talking to me about how important it was to him. "I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can." Benmont Tench, who was the keyboardist for the Heartbreakers from their inception in the 1970s through Petty's death in 2017, and Ryan Ulyate, Petty's producer in his latter era and the keeper . [] And then, of course, she turned into one of my great, great friends forever. Release Date. Stat News physician writer Lipi Royverified that surgery would have put Petty down for two months or more. Next . Born on September 7, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida, Tench took up piano at an early age, playing recitals at the age of six. Wed love to see you hit the road in support of your album. In 1976, he formed a new band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Tench grew up in Gainesville, Florida, as the son of Mary Catherine McInnis Tench and Benjamin Montmorency Tench, Jr., a circuit court judge. As the band began rehearsals for the 40th Anniversary Tour, Tom Petty received a nice surprise: In February 2017, he received the MusiCares Person of the Year award. I looked at the songs as the tentpoles that were holding up the story.. "I listened to a lot of The Band growing up," Goldsmith said. His father, he said, "took a belt and beat the living sh*t out of me." "You can't tour like that," Dimitriades said. When he passed away I went to have it serviced, but Bill had wiped out a lot of the serial numbers and disguised the parts, so you couldnt quite trace what he did to it. "@matthaig1 I suffer dreadfully from depression & anxiety. In his entire career, Petty sold over 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He was such a classic Southern gentleman, says Wharton, who like Petty, grew up in northern Florida. Freedom (B-Side of Butterfly)Dust emerged in July 1996, featuring guest spots from Benmont Tench, on loan from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready. " But Harrington apparently didn't see what Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band, who opened the concert, saw. "Shania got to stand there with me and watch my boys.". [] Tom was also making up songs on the spot. "I just have to learn to rest a little bit, like everyone's telling me," he said. . 1970s - 2010s. Songs written by Benmont and recorded by other artists include: Tench has lent his talents to the following artists: During the year 2009, Benmont often appeared with the Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet in LA. Later that day, a chaplain was summoned to Petty's hospital room as his family reeled from the early reports that he was already dead.