Val’s Top 5 Favorite Tom Petty Videos

The news of Tom Petty's sudden passing yesterday was a shock. He was a rock icon through and through. For me, as a kid growing up in the MTV era (back in the 80s and 90s when they played music videos!), I was first introduced to Tom Petty's music via this visual medium. So I thought I would take a minute to share with you my top 5 favorite Tom Petty videos. And let me tell you, narrowing it down to five was tough!

5. Don't Come Around Here No More

Full disclosure, this video used to freak me out as a kid. But, in a good way.

4. Into The Great Wide Open

Amazing bit of storytelling, with an all-star cast. Johnny Depp plays "Eddie," Gabrielle Anwar (Once Upon a Time, The Tudors, Burn Notice) plays his girlfriend, and an incredible Faye Dunaway plays Eddie's overbearing agent.

3. Free Fallin'

A love letter to Southern California and a reflection on misguided youth. Plus, hearts drawn in the sky. What's not to love?

2. You Don't Know How It Feels

Aside from being an outstanding song (definitely a crowd-pleaser, if you were lucky enough to see Petty perform it live), the video is just so cool. It's a one-take continuous shot, with different characters stepping in and out, and lots happening in the background.

1. Mary Jane's Last Dance

Featuring Kim Basinger as possibly the world's most gorgeous corpse, this video made a major impact on pop culture, and suddenly it seemed like all pop artists were trying to out-do each other in making the next epic video.

Cheers to you Tom Petty, and thank you for giving us so much music and art. You were one of a kind.

"You belong among the wildflowers." -Tom Petty
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