The pleasure of playing Petty

Tom Petty would have been 73-years-old Friday.The rock icon — who was the leader of a band, a successful solo artist, and even, for a time, a Wilbury — died in 2017, just as he was completing a tour.There's a word I find myself using a lot when writing about someone's music: accessible. It usually means that a person doesn't only appreciate a song, but feels it.There are a number of great artists out there that have just never connected with me.With Petty, the connection has been deep and lasting.In 2010, I went to see Tom and the Heartbreakers at Blossom, a venue in Northeast Ohio.The group had released a new album, "Mojo," so it was natural to think the group would open with a song from that.That's what just about every artist I'd seen who was promoting a new record — from Eric Clapton to Bruce Springsteen and others — had done.But instead, when Tom came out, he an the band began playing the chords to "Listen to Her Heart," a classic hit from three decades earlier.Suddenly, at that concert, I felt at home.Petty's songs were often simple and catchy.Mike Campbell, Petty's longtime collaborator and the Heartbreakers' lead guitarist, said that the band had a saying: "Don't bore us. Get to the chorus."Petty's songs often only had three to four chords. That meant his songs were not only enjoyable for the listener, but also for someone learning to play guitar.I've been playing guitar for more than 25 years, and I can (mostly) play more Petty songs than I can of any other artist.In fact, this summer, when I was in Tuscany, Italy, I got to perform a song on guitar for the rest of the Americans on the trip.I quickly started strumming "Learning to Fly."Four chords I'd been playing forever, a good song. Suddenly, I was at home, again.But it would be a mistake to call all of Petty's work simple. He wrote and performed some very complex and interesting work. His album "Wildflowers" showed this, with the achingly personal "Crawling Back to You" and "Hard to Find a Friend."But he never strayed too far from the classic rock he was known for.Petty was a classic rocker even before he'd reached 40. He joined with George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison to form The Traveling Wilburys in the late 80s.The first record has been a listening pleasure for me since I was 8 years old.Tom has been gone for six years, and yet, sometimes I forget he's no longer around. I'm always listening to his station, "Tom Petty Radio," where his songs, his interviews and even recording of him playing disc jockey still play.It feels like he's still going.And in many ways, he still is.As accessible as ever.Happy birthday, Tom. Baker is sports editor at The Courier.