Tom Petty Respected Stevie Nicks More After He Accidentally Betrayed Her

In 1981, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks collaborated on the song “Insider.” The duet appeared on Petty’s album Hard Promises, which was not either of the artists’ original intent. Petty wrote the song for Nicks, but realized he wouldn’t be able to give it up. He said Nicks’ reaction to this made him respect her a great deal.

Tom Petty took back a song he wrote for Stevie Nicks

Nicks became a fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers the first time she heard one of their songs. It became one of her biggest goals for him to write her a song. Petty agreed and wrote “Insider,” a song he felt was in her style. Per Guitar Player, Petty admitted he quickly became “attached” to the song. This feeling only grew stronger after he heard Nicks record it.

“She walked back in and said, ‘How was it?’” Petty told Musician in 1981. “I said, ‘It’s amazing.’” 

The disappointment was clear on Petty’s face. Nicks realized she couldn’t hold onto the song and gave it back to him.

“She said, ‘I can tell by the look on your face, you don’t wanna give me this song. I’m giving it back to you right now,’” he recalled. “I really thought a lot of her for that.”

Though Nicks gave up the song without much complaint, Petty felt terrible. He wrote her “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which she ended up liking more.

“She says, ‘Wow! That’s why I wanted you to write me a song — it’s rock ’n’ roll, that’s what you do,’” he said. “‘Insider’ sounds like what I do.’”

While Petty and Nicks were happy with the trade, some of his bandmates were not as thrilled. 

“As a trade-out for ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,’ I didn’t think it was a good bargain at all,” drummer Stan Lynch said. “I remember [the discussion], ‘Well, we got ‘Insider,’ and I’m going, ‘Bad trade!’”

In the end, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” was the more commercially successful song.