The great thing about the Wilburys was that none of us had to take the heat by ourselves. I was just a member of the band. Nobody felt like he was above anybody else. We had such a good time. -Tom Petty Great
It's very easy to be cynical about the hall of fame. But on the other hand, it's really a beautiful thing for someone like me. I dedicated my entire life to this music. -Tom Petty Life
I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. -Tom Petty Attitude
The music business looks like, you know, innocent schoolboys compared to the TV business. They care about nothing but profit. -Tom Petty Business
I think that if people realize that with an mp3, you're only getting five percent of the sound that's there. But when you hear the entire thing... I think it would save the music business. It's such a drastic change. -Tom Petty Music
I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever. If you want to talk about something that is all about money, just watch the television. -Tom Petty Money
When I decided to be a musician I reckoned that that was going to be the way of less profit, less money. I was sort of giving up the idea of making a lot of money. It was what I loved to do. I would have done it anyway. If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music. -Tom Petty Music
What I've learned about marriage: You need to have each other's back; you have to be a kind of team going through life. -Tom Petty Life
Making a record? You've got to have the song, then you create a record. I think it's the same with a live performance. If the material is strong, you're already 90% there. I always tell young people it's all about the music, the songs. Work on the songs, work on the songs, work on the songs. -Tom Petty Work
It's funny how the music industry is enraged about the Internet and the way things are copied without being paid for. But you know why people steal the music? Because they can't afford the music. -Tom Petty Funny
The first time I tried to write was when I was 14, after I got an electric guitar. I put a song together, and it wasn't that bad! The writing came natural to me. -Tom Petty Time
It's very easy to be cynical about the hall of fame. But on the other hand, it's really a beautiful thing for someone like me. I dedicated my entire life to this music. -Tom Petty Music
When I decided to be a musician I reckoned that that was going to be the way of less profit, less money. I was sort of giving up the idea of making a lot of money. It was what I loved to do. I would have done it anyway. If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music. -Tom Petty Work
I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. -Tom Petty Life
Go after what you really love and find a way to make that work for you, and then you'll be a happy person. -Tom Petty Work
You get into your late fifties, people start falling like flies all around you. I don't take life for granted any more. I'm really glad to be here. -Tom Petty Life
I developed a problem with authority. Any time that authority was what I interpreted as being unjust, I stood up to it, and that became my personality. -Tom Petty Time
The great thing about the Wilburys was that none of us had to take the heat by ourselves. I was just a member of the band. Nobody felt like he was above anybody else. We had such a good time. -Tom Petty Time
Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things. -Tom Petty Life
TV does not care about you or what happens to you. It's downright bad for your health now, and that's not a far-out concept. I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health. -Tom Petty Health
I don't know, my music has always just come from where the wind blew me. Like where I'm at during a particular moment in time. -Tom Petty Music
