Tom Petty (photo: Jim Rinaldi)
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When the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hit single "Dani California" arrived earlier this year, pundits immediately took note of its similarities to Tom Petty's tune, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Not just musically, but even thematically in the lyrics, and both songs were produced by Rick Rubin. There had been rumors and speculaiton that Petty might even take legal action against the California rockers, but he sets the record straight in the new issue of Rolling Stone.Petty tells the magazine, "The truth is, I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of Rock & Roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took “American Girl” [for their song “Last Nite”], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn’t bother me."
When asked about the rumored lawsuit, Petty said, "If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."
