Following Tom Petty's death on Monday, celebrities have taken to various mediums to express their grief, as well as their appreciation for all the musician did for songwriting. Even Taylor Swift, who has only spoken publicly as of late about upcoming album Reputation, stepped out of the shadows to speak to Rolling Stone about the loss, and explained the influence the "Free Fallin'" singer had on her own work.
"To me, Tom Petty represented a kind of songwriting I idolized: complex simplicity," she told the outlet. "It said so much in the lyrics, the concepts, the stories, the message, the nuances ... but always brought you back to a hook that got stuck in everyone’s head. He motivated thousands of guitarists to learn to play just because they wanted to be able to play 'Free Fallin.'' Count me as one of them."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Swift also covered Petty's "American Girl" back in 2009 during her tour for Fearless.
This isn't the first time Taylor Swift has popped up in Rolling Stone this week. Kesha appears on the cover of the latest issue, and sung the "Ready For It" singer's praises.
"[Taylor] is a fucking sweetheart," she said. "Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn't even always pick up the phone!"
We're just happy to get any kind of insight into Swift's songwriting, since she went AWOL this past year following her public fight with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She finally emerged back in August when she started uploading cryptic videos before dropping "Look What You Made Me Do."
We don't know what's to come from the singer — other than her full album on November 10 — but now we'll listen to her songs with a whole new perspective thanks to Tom Petty's inspiration.