44 minutes of pure Florida swamp rock that'll make you believe in guitar solos again.
Frontman/guitarist Tom Petty, guitarist Mike Campbell, bassist Ron Blair, keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Stan Lynch opened their taping at WDR Studio-L in Cologne with the rarity “Surrender.” A cover of Chuck Berry’s “Jaguar and Thunderbird” was performed next, followed by “American Girl.” Other well-known originals filling out the setlist include “Listen To Her Heart” and “Breakdown.” The taping concluded with back-to-back covers of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66” and The Isley Brothers’ “Shout.”
Sound
Benmont Tench's keyboards fighting Mike Campbell's guitar for dominance.
Production
German TV crew capturing lightning in a WDR Studio-L bottle.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Rockpalast was West Germany's legendary music TV show, the European equivalent of ACL—this 1977 taping predates Petty's 'Damn the Torpedoes' breakthrough by two years.
The Chuck Berry and Bobby Troup covers weren't random—Petty was consciously placing himself in the American roots lineage, a move that would define his entire career.
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