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In the “The Simpsons” episode “How I Spend My Strummer Vacation” (November 10, 2002), Homer (Dan Castellaneta) is caught on camera, drunkenly confessing that having a family never allowed him to realize his dreams of becoming a rock star. His family hears the confession and, while angry, also understand that many of Homer’s dreams are indeed stifled by his domestic existence. As a favor, they enroll him in a sleepaway rock ‘n’ roll camp run by the Rolling Stones.
Homer gets to interact with the camp’s many celebrity counselors, all of them playing themselves. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards lay out the syllabus for the camp: Campers are to take singing and guitar/bass/drum lessons, and will, at the end of the week, put on a show. The counselors include Brian Setzer, Lenny Kravitz, and Elvis Costello. The lyrics workshop is taught by Tom Petty.
Petty, during his lesson, announces that lyrics are the hardest part of songwriting, but that finding something meaningful makes the effort worthwhile. Homer and the other campers find the lesson boring, declaring that rock ‘n’ roll ought to be hollow and hedonistic. Petty, under protest, improvises a song about a girl who likes to go fast and party, but who is also concerned about the state of America’s public schools. The campers only like the first part.
“Simpsons” writer Mike Scully said in a 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly that “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation” was initially envisioned as starring B-level rock stars, but that the cast was “upgraded” when the Rolling Stones reached out about appearing on an episode. The Stones wanted to promote the upcoming Licks World Tour, and the “Simpsons” producers were happy to oblige. Of course, once Mick and Keith are on board, other major rock stars will naturally follow.
It seems that, under those circumstances, Tom Petty is an easy get. Scully just had to ask.
Tom Petty was more than happy to appear on The simpsons
Scully, like all sane people with good taste, was a huge fan of the late Tom Petty and admitted that he was the first major rock star he thought of for “Strummer Vacation.” If Jagger and Richards opened up the potential rock star roster to anyone, Scully was certainly going to start with his favorite. Scully, having listened to so much Tom Petty music, knew exactly how to write for his hero. He even took certain interviews into consideration. Scully said:
“There were a few people I always wanted to have on the show, and he was one of them … It was so much fun to write his voice because I already knew it so well from all the years of seeing him play and hearing him do interviews and watching him on the [Garry] Shandling show. He was just one of those guys who, on top of all the musical talent, was genuinely funny.”
As it so happens, Petty was also a fan of “The Simpsons.” Indeed, it’s hard to find someone who isn’t. There was a brief pang of concern about Petty’s potential involvement, as the rocker famously didn’t license his music for commercial purposes, but Petty was immediately game to appear, and it wouldn’t be anything like the banned Michael Jackson episode. Indeed, Petty had previously allowed the “Simpsons” producers to use his song “The Waiting” in the episode “The Cartridge Family” (November 2, 1997). It seems Petty wasn’t just game, but enthused. He even seems to have bragged about being on “The Simpsons” to his fellow Heartbreakers. Scully said:
“We asked, he said yes, it was that easy … He was a genuine fan, and he kept rubbing it in to his bandmates — they had been doing an all-night recording session at the time — and telling them to be sure to remind him that he had to leave to go record ‘The Simpsons.'”
In that moment and that moment alone, Tom Petty lived up to his namesake.
Tom Petty was a delight to work with
Scully also found the actual logistics of recording with Tom Petty to be smooth and easy. He brought his guitar into the studio and serenaded the audio crew, and, as Scully recalls, had a wonderful time doing it. When it came time to record the “mindless rock” line for the show, Petty was so on Scully’s wavelength, that he was able to improvise the “meaningless rock song” that made it into the final cut. As Scully tells it:
“[H]e just grabbed his guitar and asked us, ‘You mean something like this?’ and what he did was what we used in the show. He knew exactly what we were talking about. He got the joke right away. If you watch the closing credits of that episode, we have a snippet of him recording his lines and playing the guitar.”
Petty passed away in 2017 at the age of 66, a victim of opiate and painkiller addiction, brought on by a series of painful health maladies. In 2024, “Almost Famous” director/writer Cameron Crowe’s invaluable 1983 MTV special “Heartbreakers Beach Party,” filmed just before the release of the album “Long After Dark,” was released in theaters. It included a lot of bonus material, including found footage of Petty performing. It was a tender and glorious way to remember the legend during his heyday. In the special, Petty even begins to ponder if, even in 1983, he and his band are becoming obsolete.
Petty needn’t have worried. His legend now precedes him.
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