Friday Song: “Insider”
Written for Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty kept it and gave her another song — a #1 hit
At a very young age, Stevie Nicks learned she was a great harmony singer, often joining her grandfather effortlessly and flawlessly as he sang at home. Singing harmonies is one of her many gifts.
When she wanted to explore a solo career after experiencing major success (and major turmoil) with Fleetwood Mac, she asked Tom Petty to produce her first album.
Petty’s guard was up, because Fleetwood Mac seemed like a corporate band, and Petty was fighting with his record company. But Nicks won him over, and he agreed to try. With a lot more people and process than he was accustomed to, he got one song done, and then baled, introducing Nicks to his producer, Jimmy Iovine, who would go on to produce both Petty and Nicks for a time.
Iovine was desperate to get Petty to write a song for Nicks, and he agreed. “Insider” was the result — a song that surprised Petty. He wrote the lyrics in 10-15 minutes, completing the entire song in about an hour. But then it got complicated, as Petty explained in an interview:
I remember bringing it to Jimmy, and he just flipped over the song. He thought it was incredible.
He said, ‘God, when I asked for a song, I didn’t expect this!’
I cut it there, just me and my guitar.
Then Stevie sang it with me. And then we put the band on after. But by the time the track was coming to fruition with the band and everything, I was getting a little depressed about giving away this song. [Laughs]
I was really attached to it. And it really hurt me when I did the track and the vocals.
So I said, [softly] “Stevie, I can’t give you this.”
And she said, “Well, I can relate to that. I completely understand. I’ll take something else.”
That “something else” was “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which became a #1 hit and a classic song. It wasn’t originally written as a duet, but with the two artists vibing like they were, it was easily adapted.
The two became fast friends, and performed together whenever they could.
“Insider” appeared on Petty’s Hard Promises album, and album that got its title from a lyric in the song. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” appeared on Nicks’ Bella Donna album. Both were released in 1981.
- Petty’s big hit from Hard Promises was “The Waiting.”
- Just imagine writing three songs like this in the space of a year. And Petty did this for decades.
“Insider” was never released as a single, but has become a favorite for fans of both artists, of which there are millions.
Enjoy!