In the most recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Kid Rock reminisced about a period when he was a drug dealer for Tom Petty during certain shows in Michigan.
During the conversation, they took a moment to grieve the passing of Petty, who lost his life on October 2, 2017, due to an accidental overdose of several medications.
“Dude, I used to be Tom Petty’s weed dealer in a sense. He would come to town, he married a girl from Saginaw, Michigan. I forget her name. Great girl. And they would come to outside Detroit where I lived and I’d get this call like, ‘Hey can you get Tom some weed?’ I’d be like, ‘F*ck, I’ll take him some weed.’ So I’d call some of my brother’s friends and get some weed. I’d be like, ‘This is f*cking awesome cause I love Tom Petty.’ And I didn’t really know him.”
However, when Kid Rock arrived at Petty’s dressing room with the marijuana, he realized that they didn’t have many things in common, which, in the singer’s words, ‘sucked’:
“I’d be in his dressing room and he’d be like, ‘So what’s up man?’ I’d be like, ‘Nothing.’ Then I’m like, we have nothing in common. This guy’s so f*cking high, I might have been tuned up on a couple beers or something. And I’m like, ‘Well, that sucked. Guess I’ll just enjoy the music.'”
Kid Rock mentioned that this occurred during his time as ‘a big star,’ expressing his initial excitement about hanging out with Tom Petty. However, his actual experience didn’t match his expectations:
“Not really. I was just taking him weed. Trying to hang out with him.”
Kid Rock Paid Tribute To Petty With A Song
Kid Rock’s 2015 album ‘First Kiss’ delved deeper into country music. The lead single, ‘First Kiss,’ suggested a connection to the genre’s typical themes of growing up in a small town, experiences like first girlfriends, and old Chevys.
In a nod to the tradition of artists paying homage to classic rock legends, Kid Rock paid tribute to Tom Petty in ‘First Kiss.’ The chorus includes the line:
“Tom Petty on the radio / Going steady with nowhere to go.”
Petty lost his life due to an accidental overdose of drugs.
You can see the latest episode below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uQjwBmpKdk&ab_channel=NotesFromTheUnderground
